PARTE UTILIZADA= Used part: Planta entera.

ACCIÓN FARMACOLÓGICA= Pharmacological action: Diurético, antitumoral.

COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA= Chemical composition: From Euphorbia serpens microfilia and E. minuta, satd. unbranched C24 to C36 hydrocarbons were obtained.  The flavonoid compn. of E. serpens microfilia included luteolin 3-O-glucoside, quercetin 3-O-galactoside, vitexin, isovitexin, quercetin, luteolin, and apigenin.  Flavonoids of E. minuta included luteolin 7-O-glucoside, apigenin 7-O-glucoside, quercetin 3-O-glucoside, vitexin, isovitexin, quercetin, isorhamnetin, and apigenin.  The anthocyanins identified from E. serpens microfilia included cyanidin 3-O-glucoside and delphinidin 3-O-glucoside; cyanidin 3-O-galactoside was found in E. minuta.  

ZONA GEOGRÁFICA= Geografical zone: Argentina. 

DIVERSIDAD GENÉTICA Y MEJORAMIENTO DE PLANTAS MEDICINALES= Medicinal plants and improvement of medicinal herbs:

A chemotaxonomic study of 12 Chilean species of the genus Euphorbia L. (E. copiapina, E. helioscopia, E. hirta, E. lactiflua, E. lathyris, E. klotzschii, E. peplus, E. platyphyllos, E. portulacoides, E. pulcherrima, E. serpens and E. thinophila) based on their flavonoid profile is reported.  Twenty two flavonoids (13 flavonols, 8 flavones and 1 flavanone) were isolated from these species using paper chromatog. and thin layer chromatog. techniques.  The identification was done by UV spectroscopy.  The phenetic relationships among species were studied using distance coeffs. and the UPGMA clustering algorithm.  This study showed a close relationship among the Chamaesyce species (E. hirta, E. klotzschii, E. serpens) forming a well defined group which is distantly related to the other species.  

Summary
Roundleaf spurge (Euphorbia serpens – Euphorbiaceae) is traditionally used as a diuretic agent. There is very little pharmacological information for this species. However, the presence of terpenic phorbol esters in several species of the genus suggests that the use of E. serpens could be dangerous, mostly due to the carcinogenic nature of these compounds.

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2) DEL V GALARZA, S.; CABREYA, J. L.; JULIANI, H. R. Constituents of Euphorbiaceae from Argentina. Part I. Anales de la Asociacion Quimica Argentina. 1983, vol.71, nº4, p.505-508.
 
3) AQUEVEQUE, P., et al. Chemotaxonomy of Chilean species of the genus  Euphorbia  L. based on their flavonoid profiles. Boletin de la Sociedad Chilena de Quimica. 1999, vol.44, nº1, p.61-65.

4) ALONSO, Jorge ; DESMARCHELIER, Cristian. Plantas medicinales autóctonas de la Argentina : bases científicas para su aplicación en atención primaria de la salud.  Buenos Aires: L.O.L.A, 2005, p. 625.

5) Plantas medicinales autóctonas de la Argentina. Bases científicas para su aplicación en atención primaria de la salud / Jorge Alonso y Cristian Jorge Desmarchelier. - 1a ed. - Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires: Corpus Libros Médicos y Científicos, 2015.