| Solanum paniculatum | |
|---|---|
| Jurubeba | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Solanales |
| Family: | Solanaceae |
| Genus: | Solanum |
| Species: | S. paniculatum |
| Binomial name | |
| Solanum paniculatum L. |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
See text |
|
Solanum paniculatum, commonly known as Jurubeba, is a nightshade common in almost all of Brazil. It is used as a medicinal plant and has a bitter taste.
An infusion of its stem and its root in sugar cane alcohol (cachaça) is popularly used as an apéritif or a digestif.
Traditional medicine recommends using a tea as a cardiovascular tonic; for stimulating appetite, liver, and spleen; against digestive problems, and for its diuretic, hypoglycemic, antianemic, febrifugal, and cicatrizant properties. It has also been used for treating infections of the skin, like acne.
Well-known in its native range, this species has been described time and again under different now-invalid names. Some of these are homonyms of other Solanum taxa.[1]
Two varieties were once recognized, but they are not generally considered valid anmyore:[1]
Similar nightshade species that were once included with S. paniculatum but are now considered distinct are:[1]