Ipomoea purga

Ipomoea purga is a species of flowering plant in the genus Ipomoea. It is commonly referred to as jalap and is probably also the source of the John the Conqueror root.

Ipomoea purga
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Solanales
Family:	Convolvulaceae
Genus:	Ipomoea
Species:	I. purga
Binomial name
Ipomoea purga (Wender.) Hayne

Description

Ipomoea purga is described as a vine that can reach heights of 12 feet (3.7 m). When fresh, the root is black externally, white and milky within, and varies in size according to its age. It has heart shaped leaves and purple trumpet like flowers. Ipomoea purga is rather difficult to break down, but if triturated with cream of tartar, sugar of milk, or other hard salts, the process of pulverization is much easier, and the powder rendered much finer. When in powder form in order to ingest, the color is a pale grayish brown. Ipomoea purga is native to Mexico and it is naturalized in other parts of the neotropics.

Discovery

Ipomoea purga was encountered by Spanish conquistadores during the conquest of Mexico. It was introduced to Europe in 1565 as a medical herb used to treat an array of illnesses up until the 19th century when modern medical practices became the norm.

Medical uses

Called "mechoacán" and "mechoacan potato" by the English, the root contains convolvulin, which is a powerful cathartic. Root extracts were used to accelerate defecation. It may also induce nausea or vomiting. In higher quantities, it can lead to intense hypercatharsis, potentially resulting in fatal outcomes. When applied to a wound, it is said to induce purgation.

Chemical composition

Ipomoea purga resin can be dissolved in either alcohol or diethyl ether. The resin that is insoluble in ether is odorless while the resin soluble in alcohol does have an odor and is typically a brownish color. The convolvulinolic acid (C₂₈H₅₂O₁₄)that is produced in Ipomoea purga can be broken down into a sugar molecule (C₆H₁₂O₆) and a form of crystallized convolvulinolic acid (C₁₆H₃₀O₃) when diluted.

Synonyms

Basionym

• Convolvulus purga

Homotypic

• Exogonium purga

Heterotypic

• Convolvulus officinalis Pelletan, J. Chim. Méd. t. 1. 1834.
• Ipomoea jalapa Nutt. & Cox, Journ. Am. Med. Sci. 5: 305. 1830, nom illeg. non Pursh (1813).
• Ipomoea jalapa Schiede & Deppe ex G. Don, Gen. Hist. 4: 271. 1838.
• Ipomoea schiedeana Zucc., Flora vol. 14, 802. 1831.

Bibliography

References

• Chevallier, Andrew (1996). The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. p. 222. Retrieved December 2, 2013 – via Internet Archive (Boston Public Library). LCCN 96-15192; ISBN 0-7894-1067-2, 0-7894-1067-2; OCLC 34513394 (all editions).
• Feiling, Tom [in Polish] (2018). The Island that Disappeared: The Lost History of the Mayflower's Sister Ship and Its Rival Puritan Colony (limited preview). Brooklyn and London: Melville House Publishing. p. 48. Retrieved April 23, 2024 – via Google Books. LCCN 2017-55039 (reflowable ebook); LCCN 2019-716568 (hardcover); ISBN 978-1-6121-9708-1, 1612-1-9708-6; ISBN 978-1-6121-9410-3 (reflowable ebook); OCLC 992182707 (all editions).
• Don, George (1798–1856) (1838). A General System of Gardening and Botany. Founded Upon Miller’s Gardener’s Dictionary, and Arranged According to the Natural System. Issued also during the same years under other titles, including: A General History – Dichlamydeous Plants, Comprising Complete Descriptions of the Different Orders; Together With the Characters of the Genera and Species, and an Enumeration of the Cultivated Varieties; Their Places of Growth, Time of Flowering, Mode of Culture, and Uses in Medicine and Domestic Economy; The Scientific Names Accentuated, Their Etymologies Explained, and the Classes and Orders Illustrated by Engravings, and Preceded by Introductions to the Linnæan and Natural Systems, and a Glossary of the Terms Used: The Whole Arranged According to the Natural System (4 vols.). Printed for Charles James Gage Rivington and Francis Rivington (Rivington Publishers), et. al.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) Retrieved July 2, 2024. OCLC 6825168 (all editions).

1. Vol. 4. 1838. p. 271: "Ja'lapa" – via Internet Archive (North Carolina State University Libraries).

• "Ipomoea purga". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
• King, John (1813–1893) (1905) [1898; 1854]. Felter, Harvey Wickes, M.D. (1865–1925); Lloyd, John Uri, Phr.M., PhD (eds.). King's American Dispensatory (19th ed.; 3rd rev.; 2 Vols.; re: King's American Dispensatory). pp. 1083–1087 – via Internet Archive (University of Toronto).{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) Retrieved December 2, 2013. LCCN 98-1036 (1898 ed.); OCLC 1153364973 (all editions).

See also: King's American Dispensatory

.

• Species: Ipomoea purga. Retrieved December 2, 2013 – via Wikispecies.
• Wenderoth, Herrn Doktor Professor Georg Wilhelm Franz (1774–1861) (November 1830). "Uberdie Abstammrung der Japalenwurzel" [On the Origin of the Japalen Root]. Pharmaceutisches Central-Blatt (presented from Marburg to the editorial office November 1, 1830) (in German). 1 (29): 456–458.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) Retrieved July 2, 2024. ISSN 2194-2064; OCLC 8580665 (all editions).

1. Via Google Books (Radcliffe Science Library).
2. Via Google Books (Ohio State University).

• Wenderoth, Herrn Doktor Professor Georg Wilhelm Franz (1840). "Exogonium purga". In Bentham, George (1880–1884) (ed.). Plantæ Hartwegianæ – Imprimis Mexicanas Adjectis Nonnullis Grahamianis Enumerat Novasque Describit [Hartweg's Plants – Primarily Mexican – With Some of Graham's Plants Added – Enumerations and Descriptions of New Species] (in Latin). p. 46.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: editors list (link) Retrieved July 2, 2024. OCLC 5722320 (all editions).
  Re:

1. Karl Theodor Hartweg (1812–1871)
2. Robert Graham (1786–1845)
1. Via Internet Archive (Missouri Botanical Garden).