The medicinal plants of Myanmar Author DeFilipps, Robert A. Deceased Author Krupnick, Gary A. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1357-4826 Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, PO Box 37012, MRC- 166, Washington, DC, 20013 - 7012, USA krupnick@si.edu text PhytoKeys 2018 2018-06-28 102 1 341 http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.102.24380 journal article http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.102.24380 1314-2003-102-1 AA226A35FFF8FFBC37621A40C2518C67 1306325 Calotropis gigantea (L.) Dryand. (= Calotropis gigantea (L.) R.Br. ex Schult.) Names. Myanmar : mayo . English : crown flower. Range. Tropical Asia, including Myanmar. Uses. Sap : Used in treating leprosy and as a purgative. Bark : Used as an anthelmintic. Bark and Latex : Used to treat skin diseases and as a vermifuge. Flower : Used as an antiasthmatic. Root : Root bark has been substituted for ipecac, especially to treat dysentery; also used in treating skin disease. Notes. Medicinal uses of this species in India are discussed in Jain and DeFilipps (1991) . In China, the bark of the species is used as a medicine for the treatment of neurodermatitis and syphilis, and the leaves are employed as a poultice ( Li et al. 1995 ). The latex contains caoutchouc, resins, water soluble matter, and a residue. It yields digitalis-like principles (uscharin, calotropin, and calotoxin), and a nitrogen and sulphur-containg compound, gigantin, which depresses the heart. Calcium oxalate, traces of glutathione, and a proteolytic enzyme similar to papain have also been found ( Perry 1980 ). References. Nordal (1963) , Perry (1980) .