''Bituminaria bituminosa'', the Arabian pea or pitch trefoil, is a perennial Mediterranean herb species in the genus '' Bituminaria''. The

pterocarpan Pterocarpans are derivatives of isoflavonoids found in the family Fabaceae. It is a group of compounds which can be described as benzo-pyrano-furano-benzenes (i.e. 6''H''- enzofuro ,2-chromene skeleton) which can be formed by coupling of the B rin ...

s bitucarpin A and B can be isolated from the aerial parts of ''B. bituminosa''. It has several potential uses: (i) forage crop, (ii) Phytostabilization of heavy metal contaminated or degraded soils, (iii) Synthesis of

furanocoumarin The furanocoumarins, or furocoumarins, are a class of organic chemical compounds produced by a variety of plants. Most of the plant species found to contain furanocoumarins belong to a handful of plant families. The families Apiaceae and Rutacea ...

s (

psoralen Psoralen (also called psoralene) is the parent compound in a family of naturally occurring organic compounds known as the linear furanocoumarins. It is structurally related to coumarin by the addition of a fused furan ring, and may be considered a ...

angelicin Angelicin is the parent compound in a family of naturally occurring organic compounds known as the angular furanocoumarins. Structurally, it can be considered as Benzopyran, benzapyra-2-one fused with a furan moiety in the 7,8-position. Angelicin ...

xanthotoxin Methoxsalen, sold under the brand name Oxsoralen among others, is a medication used to treat psoriasis, eczema, vitiligo, and some cutaneous lymphomas in conjunction with exposing the skin to ultraviolet (UVA) light from lamps or sunlight. Methox ...

and

bergapten Bergapten (5-methoxypsoralen) is a naturally-occurring organic chemical compound produced by numerous plant species, especially from the carrot family Apiaceae and the citrus family Rutaceae. For example, bergapten has been extracted from 24 ...

), compounds of broad pharmaceutical interest. It is easily recognizable by the characteristic smell of

bitumen Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

from its leaves. This strong tar-like characteristic aroma appears to be the result of a combination of several substances such as

phenolic Phenolic is an adjective and a substantive (noun) that may apply to : * Phenol (or carbolic acid), a colorless crystalline solid and aromatic compound * Phenols, a class of chemical compounds that include phenol * Phenolic content in wine * Phenol ...

s, sulphurated compounds,

sesquiterpene Sesquiterpenes are a class of terpenes that consist of three isoprene units and often have the molecular formula C15H24. Like monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes may be cyclic or contain rings, including many unique combinations. Biochemical modificat ...

s and probably short-chain hydrocarbon. Total polyphenols content was < 2% and the condensed tannins was <0.8% in a dry weight basis. Image:Bituminaria bituminosa (Garafía) 01 ies.jpg File:Bituminaria bituminosa 1.jpg Image:Bituminaria bituminosa habitus.jpg Image:Bituminaria bituminosa.jpg File:Bituminaria bituminosa 2.jpg Image:Bituminaria bituminosa (Barlovento) 01.jpg Image:Bituminaria bituminosa (Barlovento) 02.jpg Image:Bituminaria bituminosa 3.JPG Image:Bituminaria bituminosa 4.JPG Image:Bituminaria bituminosa a.JPG Image:B. bituminosa fruto-2.JPG Image:B. bituminosa frutos-1.JPG

Taxonomy

The Arabian pea was first legitimately described in 1753 by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

in his

Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial names and was the ...

, the work which is now internationally accepted as the starting point of modern botanical nomenclature, and he called it ''Psoralea bituminosa''.

Philipp Conrad Fabricius Philipp is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: "Philipp" has also been a shortened version of Philippson, a German language, German surname especially prevalent amongst German Jews and Dutch Jews. Surname * Adol ...

described the genus ''Bituminaria'' in 1759, that was suggested by

Lorenz Heister Lorenz Heister (Latin: ''Laurentius Heister'') (19 September 1683 – 18 April 1758) was a German anatomist, surgeon and botanist born in Frankfurt am Main. Biography From 1702 to 1706 Heister studied at the Universities of Giessen and Wetzl ...

earlier, but without a proper description. In 1787,

Friedrich Kasimir Medikus Friedrich Kasimir Medikus (or Friedrich Casimir Medicus; 6 January 1738 – 8 July 1808) was a German physician and botanist. He was born at Grumbach and became director of the University of Mannheim (Theodoro Palatinae Mannheim) and curator of t ...

described a woody form as ''Asphalthium frutescens'' and a herbaceous form as ''Asphalthium herbaceum''. Jules Pierre Fourreau considered that Linnaeus was the earliest and he made the

new combination ''Combinatio nova'', abbreviated ''comb. nov.'' (sometimes ''n. comb.''), is Latin for "new combination". It is used in taxonomic biology literature when a new name is introduced based on a pre-existing name. The term should not to be confused wi ...

''Asphalthium bituminosum'' in 1868. When Charles Howard Stirton revised some of the Papilionoideae of southern Africa in 1981, he reassigned many species that had been included in ''Psoralea'' to several new genera, including the Arabian pea. He considered ''Asphalthium'' a later synonym for ''Bituminaria'' and therefore created the new combination ''Bituminaria bituminosa''.

References

External links

''Bituminaria bituminosa'' on www.fao.org
Psoraleeae Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Faboideae-stub

Taxonomy

See also

References

External links