What is rotenone?
a type of toxin (1)
is an odorless, colorless, crystalline isoflavone used as a broad-spectrum insecticide, piscicide, and pesticide. (2)
Rotenone is classified by the World Health Organization as moderately hazardous. It is mildly toxic to humans and other mammals, but extremely toxic to insects and aquatic life, including fish. This higher toxicity in fish and insects is because the lipophilic rotenone is easily taken up through the gills or trachea, but not as easily through the skin or the gastrointestinal tract. Rotenone is toxic to erythrocytes in vitro. (2)
What contains rotenone?
a jicama plant, but not the jicama tuber flesh (1)
Some of the plants containing rotenone:
- Hoary pea or goat’s rue (Tephrosia virginiana) – North America (2)
- Jícama (Pachyrhizus erosus) – North America (2)
- Cubé plant or lancepod (Lonchocarpus utilis) – South America (2)
- The root extract is referred to as cubé resin (2)
- Barbasco (Lonchocarpus urucu) – South America (2)
- The root extract is referred to as cubé resin (2)
- Tuba plant (Derris elliptica) – southeast Asia and southwest Pacific islands (2)
- The root extract is referred to as derris or derris root (2)
- Jewel vine (Derris involuta) – southeast Asia and southwest Pacific islands (2)
- The root extract is referred to as derris or derris root (2)
- Common Mullein (Verbascum thapsus L.) (2)
- Cork-bush (Mundulea sericea) – southern Africa (2)
- Florida fishpoison tree (Piscidia piscipula) – southern Florida, Caribbean (2)
- Several species of Millettia and Tephrosia in South-east Asian regions (2)
What does rotenone do?
used in powdered form to treat scabies and head lice on humans, and parasitic mites on chickens, livestock, and pet animals (2)
In agriculture, it kills potato beetles, cucumber beetles, flea beetles, cabbage worms, raspberry beetles, and asparagus beetles, as well as most other arthropods. (2)
In 2000, injecting rotenone into rats was reported to cause the development of symptoms similar to those of Parkinson’s disease (PD). (2)
How does rotenone work?
it works by interfering with the electron transport chain within complex I in mitochondria, which places it in IRAC MoA class 21 (by itself in 21B) (2)
Resources
1. https://www.nutritionadvance.com/types-of-tubers/
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotenone
