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OCHNACEAE

(Ochna family)

• Medicinal / Folk-medicinal aspects: The traditional use of the bark or root of some species in the treatment of wounds and as a pain-relieving application has been recorded. •
• Adverse effects: The nickel- and cobalt- accumulating properties of some species may be of dermatological significance in geographic regions where the soil in which the plants grow contains high levels of these elements. Reports of itching and dermatitis in woodworkers handling African oak remain to be substantiated. •
• Veterinary aspects: •

Members of this family of trees, shrubs and herbs, are found in tropical regions and especially in Brazil. According to Mabberley (2008), about 450 species in 30 genera have been recorded. The principal genera are Luxemburgia A.St.-Hil. [17 spp.], Ochna L. [86 spp.], Ouratea Aubl. [about 200 spp.], Quiina Aubl. [about 35 spp.], and Sauvagesia L. [39 spp.].

Although it has been declared a noxious weed in some parts of the world, Ochna serrulata Walp. (the Mickey Mouse plant) is sometimes grown in temperate regions as a greenhouse ornamental as are certain other species of Ochna L. and Luxemburgia A.St.-Hil.



Brackenridgea palustris Bartell. subsp. foxworthyi Kanis
[syns Brackenridgea foxworthyi Furtado, Ochna foxworthyi Elmer]

This taxon has been found to hyperaccumulate nickel from soils in the Philippines rich in this element, a concentration of 7600 ppm in the dried plant material having been recorded (Brooks 1998). The contact sensitising capacity of nickel and its salts is well documented (Malten et al. 1976, Cronin 1980, Spruit et al. 1980, Fowler 1990, Uter et al. 2016) but it remains to be determined whether the nickel compounds in this plant present a dermatological hazard.



Brackenridgea palustris Bartell. subsp. kjellbergii Kanis

This taxon has been found to hyperaccumulate nickel from soils in the Sulawesi rich in this element, a concentration of 1050 ppm in the dried plant material having been recorded (Brooks 1998, Reeves 2003). The contact sensitising capacity of nickel and its salts is well documented (Malten et al. 1976, Cronin 1980, Spruit et al. 1980, Fowler 1990, Uter et al. 2016) but it remains to be determined whether the nickel compounds in this plant present a dermatological hazard.



Brackenridgea zanguebarica Oliver
[syn. Pleuroridgea zanguebarica Tiegh.]

[Information available but not yet included in database]



Lophira alata Banks ex C.F.Gaertn.
[syns Lophira africana Banks ex G.Don, Lophira simplex G.Don]
Meni Oil Tree

This West African tree is the source of a commercially valuable timber known variously as African oak, azobé, ekki, bongossi, or red ironwood. The seeds yield an oil, named meni oil, used in cooking (Mabberley 2008).

Hausen (1981a) lists the timber from this species as a cause of itching and dermatitis. Bleumink & Nater (1974b) recorded no positive patch test reactions to an ethanolic extract of the wood in 20 patients allergic to woods.



Lophira lanceolata Tiegh. ex Keay
[syn. Lophira alata auct.]

[Information available but not yet included in database]



Ouratea nitida Engl.
[syns Ochna nitida Sw., Ouratea cubensis Urb.]

[Information available but not yet included in database]



Ouratea reticulata Engl.
[syns Campylospermum reticulatum Tiegh., Gomphia reticulata P.Beauv.]

[Information available but not yet included in database]



Ouratea striata Urb.
[syns Camptouratea striata Tiegh., Ouratea roigii Britton]
Guanabanilla

[Information available but not yet included in database]


References

  • Bleumink E, Nater JP (1974b) Allergic reactions to (tropical) woods. Contact Dermatitis Newsletter (15): 436-437 [url]
  • Brooks RR (1998) Geobotany and hyperaccumulators. In: Brooks RR (Ed.) Plants that Hyperaccumulate Heavy Metals: Their role in phytoremediation, microbiology, archaeology, mineral exploration and phytomining, pp. 55-94. Wallingford: CAB International [WorldCat]
  • Cronin E (1980) Contact Dermatitis. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone [WorldCat]
  • Fowler JF (1990) Allergic contact dermatitis to metals. American Journal of Contact Dermatitis 1(4): 212-223 [doi] [url] [url-2]
  • Hausen BM (1981a) Woods Injurious to Human Health. A manual. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter [WorldCat]
  • Mabberley DJ (2008) Mabberley's Plant-Book. A portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses, 3rd edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press [WorldCat]
  • Malten KE, Nater JP, van Ketel WG (1976) Patch Testing Guidelines. Nijmegen: Dekker & van de Vegt [WorldCat]
  • Spruit D, Bongaarts PJM, Malten KE (1980) Dermatological effects of nickel. In: Nriagu JO (Ed.) Nickel in the Environment, pp. 601-609. New York: John Wiley [WorldCat]
  • Uter W, Larese Filon F, Rui F, Balato A, Wilkinson M, Kręcisz B, Chomiczewska-Skora D, Kieć-Świerczyńska M, Schuttelaar M-LA, Frosch PJ, Bircher AJ (2016) ESSCA results with nickel, cobalt and chromium, 2009–2012. Contact Dermatitis 75(2): 117-121 [doi] [url] [url-2] [pmid]
  • [ + 4 further references not yet included in database]



Richard J. Schmidt

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