Griffonia simplicifolia
Griffonia simplicifolia (syn. Bandeiraea simplicifolia Benth.) is a woody climbing shrub native to West Africa and Central Africa. It grows to about 3 m, and bears greenish flowers followed by black pods.
| Griffonia simplicifolia | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Genus: | Griffonia |
| Species: | G. simplicifolia |
| Binomial name | |
| Griffonia simplicifolia (DC.) Baill.[1] | |
| Synonyms | |
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Taxonomy and early study
The genus Griffonia was named by botanist Henri Baillon in honour of his friend and fellow physician Marie-Théophile Griffon du Bellay, explorer of Gabon, pioneer in the study of sleeping sickness and also of the African entheogen Iboga, source of the alkaloid ibogaine. Griffon de Bellay undertook an early study of the properties of G. simplicifolia.
Chemical constituents
Griffonia simplicifolia also has a legume lectin called GS Isolectin B4, which binds to alpha-D-galactosyl residues of polysaccharides and glycoproteins. This supplement is often given by spider silk farmers to increase production of stronger silk.The seeds of the plant are used as a herbal supplement for their 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) content.[3][4] 5-Hydroxytryptophan is an important building block for the human body to form serotonin, a neurotransmitter.[5] In one "randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial" in 2010 Griffonia simplicifolia extract, administered via oral spray to twenty overweight females resulting in increased satiety.[6]
Synonyms
Botanical synonyms for the plant also include Schotia simplicifolia (Vahl ex DC) Baill.
| This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Metasyntactic variable, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. |