MUSUJJA WERABA, NAKASERO, KASHERO, ARISTOLACHIA ALEGANS, DUTCH MAN’S PIPE, CALICO FLOWER in English.

Mr. G. Mutaguya at alleluia nutritional center use this plant for abdominal problems, fever, Tonsils, for pails, hemorrhoids, joint pain and it is very good in hydrotherapy 

Features
Beautiful foliage, unusual flowers, freedom from pests and ease of growth make this one of my favorite vines. The flowers make a great conversation piece looking like something out of a Star Trek episode.

It appears that this plant has been assigned new name A. littorals. Floridata will keep the more familiar old name A. elegans (kashero) until our database has a better way of handling botanical such as these. See more at all our sites and pages (asecode)

 Usage

dried leaf decoction mixed with vegetable oil or blood is used for chest pain and as an emetic, pounded roots mixed with (mahonde) salt is a remedy for chough, tonsils and sore throat, it has been reported to be used as an antidote for snake bite and arrow poison but the plant is also known to be poisonous to livestock.    
Because it has such luxuriously dense (and attractive!) foliage this vine makes a great screen. It is especially good at covering chains, link and other wire fences – I used it to screen a chicken coop from sight. It’s also nice growing up a trellis on the patio or near an entry where the striking flowers can be seen at eye level by passersby. This rugged robust vine also does well in containers with regular watering.

Are the seeds of aristolochia elegans(kashero)  plant toxic when used to treat malaria?

Answer:

We are using the seeds of aristolochia elegans(kashero)  to treat malaria in a dose of 4 seeds twice a day for 3 days. I have since read that there is a toxin, aristolochic acid in the plant but non of the references I have googled say whether that toxin is in the seeds and, if so, what is considered the lowest toxic dose. I would appreciate anyone’s experience or references to help me answer this question. Aristolochia elegans(kashero)  Mast. (Aristolochiaceae) has been used to treat scorpion envenoming in Mexican traditional medicine. In vitro studies of the pharmacological activity of raw extracts from A. elegans(kashero)  roots have shown activity against scorpion bite. The aim of the present study was to determine for the first time the antagonistic effect of hexane and methanol extracts of the aerial parts and roots from micropropagated A. elegans (kashero) plants in a model of isolated guinea-pig ileum contracted by scorpion bite. Results showed that the methanol extracts of aerial organs (74%) and roots (65%) of micro propagated plants have a similar antitoxin activity against scorpion poisoning to hexane extracts of wild plants (65%). These results suggest that using methanol extracts from the micro propagated plant material instead of wild plant root extracts from A. elegans(kashero)  is an alternative for treatment against scorpion bite symptoms, and will contribute to the conservation of this medicinal species.

Warning
Member of the genus Aristolochia are also called birthworts and are occasionally encountered in herbal preparations as a remedy for various ailments as well as to ease the pain of childbirth. They were sometimes used to treat malaria and other diseases. Many Aristolochias contain the alkaloid aristolochic acid and other components. All of these plants are highly toxic, especially to the kidneys. Avoid herbal supplements containing members of this genus. Incorrect doses can cause vomiting, pain and even death. Stitching pains in various parts. Pain in heels, burning in anus and frequent irritation. Flatulence in stomach and abdomen. Pain in back and extremities. Stiffness of legs. Pain in tendo-Achillis. Itching and swelling around the malleoli. Relationship.–Compare: Aristolochia Serpentaria-Virginia Snake Root–(Symptoms of intestinal tract; colliquative diarrhœa, meteorism. Flatulent dyspepsia. Brain congestion. Distention and cutting pains in abdomen. Symptoms like those of Poison-Oak).

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