Abrus precatorius, also known as jequirity bean or rosary pea, is a tropical plant with a stunning appearance, often used in traditional medicine. However, its seeds contain abrin, one of the most toxic plant proteins, making safe usage challenging. This review explores various detoxification techniques employed to reduce the seeds' toxicity, enabling their medicinal applications.
Traditional detoxification methods include soaking the seeds in cow’s milk, fermented rice water, and lemon juice, which may neutralize toxins while preserving beneficial properties. Techniques like shodhana, an Ayurvedic purification method, also play a crucial role in transforming toxic compounds into safer forms. Modern approaches involve heat treatments and physical scrubbing of the seed coating to mitigate toxicity.
Research indicates that specific treatments deactivate abrin by breaking its protein structure, potentially allowing safe usage in pharmaceutical and agricultural products. Despite the effectiveness of these methods, each approach has limitations, calling for continued research to optimize detoxification while preserving therapeutic properties.
These methods offer promising avenues for safe incorporation of Abrus precatorius in medicine, but caution remains essential to prevent accidental exposure.
Full Text: https://www.igminresearch.com/articles/html/igmin189
DOI Link: https://dx.doi.org/10.61927/igmin189
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