Curculigo Explained

^[1] 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.^{[2] [3]}

Curculin is a sweet protein that was discovered and isolated in 1990 from the fruit of Curculigo latifolia,^[4] 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'.^[5]

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^[6]
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^[7]
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. Yousif, Ragheed Hussam, et al. "Exploring the Molecular Interactions between Neoculin and the Human Sweet Taste Receptors through Computational Approaches." Sains Malaysiana 49.3 (2020): 517-525.

   APA

2. http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=303669 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
3. 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.
4. 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 .
5. Book: Tumbuhan liar: khasiat ubatan & kegunaan lain . 24 . Hean Chooi Ong . Utusan Publications . 2004 . 9676116300.
6. Gore & S.P.Gaikwad (2018) Phytotaxa 357(1): 72.
7. S.P.Gaikwad & Gore (2019) Nordic J. Bot. 37(7)-e02340: 2.