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The Crassulaceae J. St.-Hil. family is composed of 36 genera. Species of this family are distributed in Africa and Asia, predominantly in Madagascar and Arabia but are also found in the Americas and in Australia. The genus Kalanchoe Adans (Heterotypic Synonyms: Baumgartenia Tratt., Bryophyllum Salisb., Crassuvia Comm. ex Lam., Geaya Costantin and Poiss., Kitchingia Baker, Meristostylus Klotzsch, Physocalycium Vest, and Vereia Andrews) belongs to the Crassulaceae family and comprises 179 accepted species.
- traditional use
- chemical composition
- botanical description
- Kalanchoe
1. Traditional Uses
The genus Kalanchoe is widely used in folk medicine to treat different health diseases and disorders. Thus far, only 21 of the 133 species of the genus Kalanchoe have been reported regarding their popular uses, as described in Table 1.
Table 1. Traditional uses of Kalanchoe species.
| Species | Traditional Uses | Form of Use and Plant Part | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| K. ceratophylla | To treat injuries, pain, fever, and inflammation. | Internal or external administration of crude extracts or plant juice. | [14,15,16,17] |
| K. crenata | Antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, vermifuge, and anti-infective agent; to treat wounds, abscesses, abdominal pain, asthma, headache, convulsion, smallpox, peptic ulcer, upper respiratory tract infections, coughs, otitis, palpitations, cancer (or disease states with symptoms related to cancer), diabetes, swollen areas for muscle sprain and myalgia; and to heal umbilical cord wounds in newborns. | Internal administration of crude extracts, plant juice, leaves juice, or chew the leaves; external administration of crude extracts or plant juice and from macerating the leaves into a cream. Use of roots. | [6,14,15,16,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27] |
| K. daigremontiana | Anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiseptic, carminative and cardioactive agent; to treat skin injuries and wounds; to staunch bleeding; to treat infections, rheumatism, earache, burns, arthritis, gastric and menstrual disorders, cough, fever, cardiovascular dysfunction, diabetes, psychic agitation, restlessness and anxiety, some cancers; a chemo preventive. | Internal or external administration of crude extracts or plant juice and use of roots. | [9,10,11,12,15,21,28,29,30] |
| K. delagoensis | To treat wounds, epilepsy, neoplastic diseases, fever, abscesses, bruises, pneumonia, coughs, stomachache, and as a vermifuge. | Internal or external administration of crude extracts or plant juice and use of roots. | [14,15,21,31,32,33,34] |
| K. densiflora | To treat wounds and skin disorders, rheumatism, hemorrhoids, eye problems, joint and muscle pains, stomach and liver problems, umbilical cord, cardiac disorders, edema, poisonous, abortifacient. | Internal or external administration of crude extracts or plant juice. | [15,24,27,35] |
| K. flammea | To treat fever, wounds, inflammation, and cancer. | [36] | |
| K. fedtschenkoi | Analgesic, cytotoxic, and antimicrobial treatments. | Internal or external administration. Use of leaves and roots. | [21,37] |
| K. gastonis-bonnieri | To treat genital-urinary and vaginal infections and as a vaginal contraceptive. | [38] | |
| K. germanae | After removal of ganglions the leaves are used to treat the affected area. | Internal or external administration of crude extracts or plant juice. | [15] |
| K. glaucescens | To treat coughs and rheumatism. | Internal or external administration of crude extracts or plant juice. | [15,24] |
| K. integra | Antihypertensive. | [39] | |
| K. laciniata | As an anti-inflammatory, astringent, and antiseptic; to treat wounds, inflammation, headache, diabetes, heart discomfort, gastric disorders, lithiasis, diarrhea, fever, cough, snakebites, erysipelas, boils, and human prostate cancer. | Internal administration of crude extracts, plant juice, leaves juice or chew the leaves; external administration of crude extracts or plant juice and from macerating the leaves into a cream. | [6,11,15,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49] |
| K. lanceolata | To treat dysentery, rheumatism, hemorrhoids, splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, and pains. | Internal or external administration of crude extracts or plant juice. | [15,24,27,35] |
| K. marmorata | To treat wounds, boils, bruises, periodontal disease, cracked lips, arthritis, gastric ulcers, ear diseases, eye infections, dysentery, fever, common cold, coughs, cholera, urinary diseases, stiff muscles, liver problems, and headaches. | Internal or external administration of crude extracts or plant juice. | [15,24,50,51,52] |
| K. mortagei | As an antimicrobial; to treat digestive disorders, parasites, and neoplastic diseases orally; and as a local remedy for cancer. | Internal or external administration. Use of leaves and roots. | [21,37] |
| K. obtusa | Children’s diseases and as pesticide. | Use the whole plant. | [24] |
| K. petitiana | To treat epilepsy, trachoma, allergies, intestinal parasites, gonorrhea, bone setting after fractures, wound healing, breast tumors, skin cancer, swelling of gland/lymph adenitis, toothache, dysentery, liver problems, stomachache, tonsillitis, gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, and foot problems (fungal nails, corns, and calluses, athlete’s foot, plantar warts). | Internal or external administration of crude extracts or plant juice. | [15,53,54,55,56] |
| K. pinnata | Antipyretic, antibacterial, antiseptic, antimalaria, anti-inflammatory, and antipsychotic agent. To treat the following: wounds, burns; cardiovascular dysfunctions; cancer; rheumatoid arthritis; digestive, menstrual and psychiatric disorders; hypertension; skin, respiratory and genitourinary infections; kidney, liver and urinary disorders; ear, head and toothache; insect, snake and scorpion bites; muscle bruises; cholera; leishmania; leprosy; lithiasis; viruses; restlessness; biostimulator during skin transplantation; to prevent premature labor and help women recover after childbirth; diabetes; cold, whooping cough, bone fracture, Chikungunya virus, and against COVID-19 symptoms. | Internal administration of crude extracts, whole plant, or leaves juice, chew the leaves or leaves infusion; external administration of crude extracts or plant juice and from macerating the leaves into a cream. Use of roots. | [6,8,9,14,15,21,41,42,43,44,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93] |
| K. prittwitzii | Stiff joints and rheumatism. | Use of leaves. | [24] |
| K. serrata | To treat pain, inflammation, fever, and viruses. | Use of leaves and roots. | [21] |
| K. x houghtonii | To treat infections, rheumatism, coughs, fever, and inflammation. | [30] |
From these 21 species, there exists a broad ethnopharmacological knowledge of four species that are more often cited as medicinal plants (K. pinnata, K. laciniata, K. crenata, and K. daigremontiana), suggesting that they can be adopted to treat wounds, cancer, diabetes, infections, and inflammation. However, there are no reports in the scientific literature that describe the amounts of plant or dosages for ethnomedicinal uses.
All parts of the Kalanchoe species are traditionally used for medicinal purposes, but the juice or crude extract preparations (produced by maceration) are cited as the primary forms of administration [6,8,11,15,18,20,21,28,37,43,49,63,65,70,78,79,81].
In the cases of K. × houghtonii, K. flammea, K. gastonis-bonnieri, and K. integra, the literature does not describe which parts of the plant, method of preparation, or the dosage are popularly recommended for medicinal use. As is the case with many medicinal plants, folk-information related to traditional use of medicinal plants contributes to the search for scientific basis in these treatment regimens. These data, and the important lack thereof in most cases, reinforce the importance of additional investigations into the chemistry and bioactivity of this genera.
2. Botanical Description
Species of the Crassulaceae family are herbaceous or sub-shrubs, usually succulent, opposite, or alternate, and exstipulate. The flowers are actinomorphic, hermaphrodite, and usually cymose [5]. Species of the Kalanchoe genus are herbaceous or sub-woody; they have small branches and can reach from 1 to 1.5 m in height, especially during their flowering stage. Its leaves are opposite, succulent, oval, and have crenated margins, which are 10 to 20 cm long. Flowers can measure up to 5 cm in length, are pendant, and are arranged in inflorescences. Fruits are membranous, and the seeds are ellipsoid. The stem has thin-walled cells located deep in the epidermis. These cell walls are impregnated with resin, forming a thin layer that can reduce liquid evaporation [94,95,96].
These species adapt well and tolerate extreme conditions, such as lighting and water scarcity. One feature of this plant is a compartment in the leaves and stem tissues that can store and inhibit water loss [2,96,97]. This physical adaptation works in tandem with crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), a metabolic adaptation to perform photosynthetic CO2 fixation and water loss reduction. During the night, and at low temperatures, the stomata open, and the plant can assimilate atmospheric CO2. However, daylight closes the stomata structure and CO2 fixation occurs [98,99,100]. The stomatas have been described in detail and can be considered anatomical markers of the family [101].
Species of the genus Kalanchoe are popularly known due to their propagation by leaf embryos, and these propagules (also called leaf bulbs or bulbils) from the margins of the leaves are responsible for their tremendous invasiveness. New plants can be produced from parts of the mother plant, especially by clonal growth through the bulbs that arise from the leaf margins. In suitable open places (such as rocky or sandy environments) these populations can quickly form dense stands. This feature is the primary reason they are popularly known as “mother-of-thousands” or “mother-of-millions” [8,12,102].
Only 16 of the 133 species of the genus Kalanchoe have had their botanical aspects formally described in the literature (Table 2). More specifically, 11 of them have a macroscopic description (K. blossfeldiana; K. marmorata; K. beharensis, K. laxiflora, K. orgyalis, K. rhombopilosa, K. synsepala, K. tetraphylla, K. tomentosa, and K. × houghtonii), and only 5 have additional botanical evaluation/microscopical analysis of the plants (K. daigremontiana, K. delagoensis, K. laciniata, K. pinnata, and K. pumila).
In the case of K. blossfeldiana, five genotypes were also distinguished by morphological characterization (assessing the flower’s anatomical aspects and plant height), and molecular profiling (random amplified polymorphism DNA (RAPD), inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR), and start codon targeted (SCoT)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tools) [103].
Table 2. Botanical aspects of Kalanchoe species.
| Species | Macro Aspects | Micro Aspects | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| K. beharensis | The largest species of the genus, with 3 m in height; unbranched stems; leaves crowded at the branch tips; lobed, covered in a dense felt; ranging from 12–35 cm in length and 7–35 cm in width. | [6] | |
| K. blossfeldiana | Dark green, succulent, and perennial plant, with scallop-edged leaves and large umbels of flower clusters held above the foliage. The fleshy, dark shiny green leaves have lobed edges and can reach 7.7 cm in length and 3.8 cm in width. Floral colors range from traditional red to yellow, orange, salmon and pink. | [104] | |
| K. daigremontiana | Perennial short-lived succulent herb; monocarpic multi-annuals. The most characteristic feature of the species is its method of asexual reproduction by auto-propagation. Flowering tends to be sporadic, in winter, and, when it occurs, the main stalk elongates vertically, developing a terminal inflorescence of small, bell-shaped, pendulous flowers with a pinkish or purple corolla. The stem is unbranched, up to 1.5 m in height. The leaves are thick, fleshy, lanceolate, tapered at the apex and serrated in the margins, dark green colored, and have purple-brown spots on the abaxial side. The apex bears hydathodes and adventitious buds, from which propagules are formed and developed. | The epidermis is single-layered, with parenchymatic cells, convex outer walls surface, wax patches in cuticles, is smooth-undulating, and striated only on subsidiary cells. The leaves are amphistomatic, with anisocytic stomata. The subepidermal mesophyll consists of one or several layers of small, closely adherent cells. The central vascular bundles are surrounded by perivascular sheaths composed of mesophyll cells. Between the epidermis and mesophyll in the petioles there are 1–3 layers of compact angular collenchyma. The vascular bundles are collateral. In the central veins in the petiole and the leaf are three large bundles. The cross-sections show fine lateral vascular bundles surrounding large bundles in the petioles and leaf blades. The different tissues of the leaf contain numerous phenolic idioblasts, accumulating phenolic compounds in their vacuoles, present in epidermal cells, in the subepidermal layer, near the vascular elements, around the large vascular bundles in the leaf petioles, and surrounding the smaller vascular bundles, dispersed in the parenchyma as single cells or form multicellular aggregates. | [6,12,29,97,105,106] |
| K. delagoensis | It has dark purplish, speckled, tubular leaves, which are filled with plantlets. It typically grows to about 1 m in height before blooming. It overwinters as a terminal inflorescence bearing orange or red pendant bell-shaped flowers and then dies. | The leaves are tubular and have 6–8 apical buds. The epidermal cells are uniseriate with sinuous anticlinal walls. The leaves are amphistomatic with anisocytic stomata. The mesophyll has regular chlorenchyma. The vascular system has collateral bundles distributed in the form of an arc. Anthocyanin idioblasts occur throughout the leaf blade, in the epidermis; hypodermis; layer beneath the hypodermis; scattered in the chlorenchyma; surrounding the vascular bundles; vascular tissues; and apical buds. | [6,107] |
| K. ceratophylla | Perennial, succulent, and glabrous species. | [16] | |
| K. laciniata | Perennial or biennial herb that grows from 30 cm to 1.5 m in height. Its leaves are oval, opposite, fleshy, simple, short-petiolate, glossy, and pale green to dark green in color. They have dentate to crenate leaf margins, with a cylindrical herbaceous stem and fleshy petiole. | The secretory structures found in the stems, petioles and leaf blades consist of idioblasts that contain anthocyanins. The epidermis of K. laciniata is a single layer with adhering and oblong cells. The outer cell wall is convex and covered with cuticles. The leaves are amphistomatic and the chlorenchyma tissue is uniform. The cells of the chlorenchyma tissue have irregular, spherical-ellipsoidal shapes. The vacuoles of some mesophyll cells located near the epidermis, vascular bundles, and hydathodes contain phenolic compounds. The leaves show the presence of adaptive traits that enable them to survive in dry environments | [42,44,108] |
| K. laxiflora | Perennial species with multicolored leaves, that are crenate, green in shady settings, and pink or purple in bright sun. The flower buds are almost transparent but when they open, they turn orange. | [6] | |
| K. marmorata | The leaves are large, oval, blue-green colored, with purple markings, arranged in stacked, opposite pairs to a height of 30 cm. The brown spots become brighter during summer dormancy and in strong sunlight; during winter they become pale or disappear altogether. | [3,6] | |
| K. orgyalis | It is a much-branched slow-growing shrub that can reach approximately 1–2 m in height. It has spoon-shaped leaves, which are bronze to gray on the underside, and felted on the top of each leaf, with cinnamon-toned fuzz. Late winter or early spring brings bright yellow flowers in terminal clusters at the branch tips. | [6] | |
| K. pinnata | An erect, succulent, perennial and glabrous plant that grows up to 1.5 m in height. The species reproduces through seeds and from leaf bulbils. The freshly dark green leaves are large (12–18 cm and 6–8 cm in size), simple, opposite, ovate, or elliptic, have serrate-crenate margins with buds, an obtuse apex, asymmetric base, reticulate venation, and long petiole. The flowers are pendulous, dark, and bell-like. The stems are tall, hollow, obtuse, and four-angled. The fruits are enclosed in the calyx and corolla. The seeds are small, smooth, oblong-ellipsoid, rarely striate, and smooth. | The leaves are broadly shallow on the adaxial side and convex on the abaxial side. The epidermal layer is thin, with small prominent cells on the adaxial side and less distinct on the abaxial side. The ground tissue of the midrib is parenchymatous and homogenous. The cells are circular or angular and compact. The vascular strand is single, collateral, small, and hemispherical; it consists of a thick horizontal band of xylem and a wide band of phloem. The lamina is uniformly flat with an even surface. The mesophyll tissue is not differentiated into palisade and spongy parenchyma. The stomata are anisocytic. The leaf petiole shows prismatic crystals of calcium oxalate embedded in parenchymatous cells, and annular and spiral vessels. In the powder, part of the vascular bundle, epidermis, annular and spiral xylem vessels were observed. The secretory structures found in the stems, petioles, and leaf blades consisted of idioblasts containing anthocyanins. | [12,42,44,63,78,79,106,109] |
| K. pumila | It is a 30 cm high shrublet with small, fleshy leaves covered with powdery deposits formed by calcium carbonate sediments. The leaves are obovate (2.8 cm long, 1.7 cm wide, and 2.5 mm thick), opposite, wedge-shaped, and have a sinuate basis and dentate-serrate margins. | The reddish-brown or purple color appears along the leaf margins after exposure to sunlight due to the presence of anthocyanins in the epidermal cells and mesophyll vacuoles. The epidermal cells are polygonal–isodiametric or slightly oblong; they are more numerous on the abaxial surface. The anticlinal walls are curved or straight and are convex on the outer walls. The walls are thickened due to the presence of wax. The cuticula is smooth or slightly undulating, elevated or with striae, with sparse white or gray irregularly shaped and sized wax structures on the surface. The leaves are amphistomatic, with anisocytic stomata. The vascular bundles are collateral and closed. The sheath cells, or phloem, xylem parenchyma cells, subepidermal ground tissue, mesophyll tissue, and chlorenchyma tissue cells may contain tannin substances. | [110] |
| K. rhombopilosa | Small plant (no more than 10 cm tall), which blooms in spring. The leaves are hard and triangular, with a pale and wavy margin and green-yellow flowers with red lines. | [6] | |
| K. synsepala | One of the more unusual species of the genus because it is one of the few that produces stolon (lateral spreading stems). The leaves are arranged in rosettes and are thick, succulent, smooth, shiny, and green, with violet-red marks along the margins. This species is dormant in winter. The flowers are small, hairy, tubular, numerous, and pink. | [6] | |
| K. tetraphylla | The leaves are silvery pale green, which turn red in bright sun and revert to green in active growth. It has a large rosette of rounded or wavy leaves. The inflorescence is terminal and erect, with densely clustered panicles of greenish, waxy, narrow, urn-shaped flowers. | [6] | |
| K. tomentosa | The leaves are silvery, about 30 cm tall, reflecting the sun’s rays, lessening the chances of leaves overheating. | Its dense trichomes arise in triplets and perform a vital function in dry environments, helping to reduce the transpiration of water from the leaf surface | [6] |
| K. × houghtonii | A perennial erect herb, monocarpic, and can reach a height of up to 1.5 m. The leaves are opposite or verticillate, petiolate, with the leaf blade simple. The leaves vary from triangular to narrowly lanceolate, are serrate and mottled. The species forms corymbiform inflorescences of more than 100 pendulous, tetra or pentameric, dark-red flowers. | [102] |
These data demonstrate that even with some similarities between the species, an adequate morpho-anatomical study of the material can allow the correct identification of the studied species and validation of the scientific data (biological or chemical study). In this review, species identification errors that could disavow the scientific data obtained have been identified [29,106].
This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/molecules28145574
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