Curculigo Explained

Curculigo is a flowering plant genus in the family Hypoxidaceae, first described in 1788. It is widespread across tropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas.^{[1] [2]}

Curculin is a sweet protein that was discovered and isolated in 1990 from the fruit of Curculigo latifolia,^[3] a plant from Malaysia. Like miraculin, curculin exhibits taste-modifying activity; however, unlike miraculin, it also exhibits a sweet taste by itself. After consumption of curculin, water and sour solutions taste sweet. The plant is referred to locally as lembah or lumbah; English: 'weevil-wort'.^[4]

Species

Plants of the World Online includes:

1. Curculigo annamitica Gagnep. – Vietnam
2. Curculigo breviscapa S.C.Chen – China (Guangxi, Guangdong)
3. Curculigo capitulata
4. Curculigo conoc Gagnep. – Vietnam
5. Curculigo crassifolia
6. Curculigo disticha Gagnep. – Vietnam
7. Curculigo ensifolia R.Br. – Australia
8. Curculigo erecta Lauterb. – Philippines, Sumatra, New Guinea, Solomon Islands
9. Curculigo fabrei
10. Curculigo fakimensis
11. Curculigo gracilis
12. Curculigo janarthanamii R.D. Gore & S.P.Gaikwad – India^[5]
13. Curculigo latifolia
14. Curculigo maharashtrensis M.R.Almeida & S.Yadav – Maharashtra
15. Curculigo maheensis
16. Curculigo oligantha
17. Curculigo orchioides Gaertn. – China, Japan, Indian Subcontinent, Papuasia, Micronesia
18. Curculigo pilosa (Schumach. & Thonn.) Engl. – tropical Africa, Madagascar
19. Curculigo prainiana
20. Curculigo racemosa Ridl. – Borneo
21. Curculigo rhizophylla
22. Curculigo sabui S.P. Gaikwad & Gore – India^[6]
23. Curculigo savantwadiensis M.R.Almeida & S.Yadav – Maharashtra
24. Curculigo scorzonerifolia (Lam.) Baker – southern Mexico, Central America, West Indies, northern South America
25. Curculigo seychellensis Bojer ex Baker – Seychelles
26. Curculigo sinensis S.C.Chen – China (Yunnan)
27. Curculigo tonkinensis Gagnep. – Vietnam
28. Curculigo trichocarpa

Notes and References

1. http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=303669 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
2. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=108705 Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 271 仙茅属 xian mao shu Curculigo Gaertner, Fruct. Sem. Pl. 1: 63. 1788.
3. Yamashita H, Theerasilp S, Aiuchi T, Nakaya K, Nakamura Y, Kurihara Y . Purification and complete amino acid sequence of a new type of sweet protein taste-modifying activity, curculin . J. Biol. Chem. . 265 . 26 . 15770–5 . September 1990 . 10.1016/S0021-9258(18)55464-8 . 2394746 . free .
4. Book: Tumbuhan liar: khasiat ubatan & kegunaan lain . 24 . Hean Chooi Ong . Utusan Publications . 2004 . 9676116300.
5. Gore & S.P.Gaikwad (2018) Phytotaxa 357(1): 72.
6. S.P.Gaikwad & Gore (2019) Nordic J. Bot. 37(7)-e02340: 2.