Fish Poisoning Plants in Africa

Abstract

Fishing with the aid of plant toxins was formerly very common in tropical Africa. Today this easy method of fishing is still practised in remote areas. The method is simple: the poisonous ingredients are pounded and thrown into a pool or dammed‐up sections of a small river. After a short time the fish begin to rise to the surface and can then readily be taken by hand. The fish can be eaten without health problems. The main active compounds are saponins, rotenoids and diterpene esters. Such biologically active plants are of great interest to scientists of various disciplines. Some of these plants provide important insecticides, many play an important part in traditional medicine and in preparation or arrow poisons. 258 fish‐poisoning plants are presented, based on 25 years of field research by the author in tropical Africa and evaluations of herbarium notes. 10–20 per cent of the fishing poisons are probably still unknown. They are spread among 167 plant genera and 60 families. The evaluation shows a clear dominance of the Leguminosae (Caesalpiniaceae, Mimosaceae, Papilionaceae) in the hierarchy of the fish poisoning plants. It is also remarkable that a great proportion are in the Euphorbiaceae.

Effects of Sub-lethal Concentration of Aqueous Extracts of Thorn Apple (Datura stramonium) Leaves on Weight Changes and Haematology Parameters of Fingerlings Clarias gariepinus

“…Local fishermen in Nigeria have reportedly used specific biocides derived from plants for fishing for four decades (Reed et al 1967). Fisherfolks of varied African countries extensively use many plants and plant products for capturing fish (Neuwinger, 1994;Fafioye et al 2004). Many fish poisons derived from plants from different families are wont to catch fish everywhere in the world.…”

“…Many fish poisons derived from plants from different families are wont to catch fish everywhere in the world. These poisons, also called icthyo toxins or piscicides, occur in several related plant species like Adenia cissampeloides, Balanites aegyptiaca, D. elliptica, D. trifoliata, Kigelia Africana, Mimusops elengi, Mundulea sericea, Tetrapleura tetraptera, T. candida, T. purpurea, T. virginiana and T. vogelii (Guerrero and Guerrero, 1989;Neuwinger, 1994;Onusiriuka and Ufodike, 1994;Andrei et al 2002;Cheenpracha et al 2007;Negi and Kanwal, 2009).The active ingredients of those plants are released by mashing and grinding the acceptable plant or plant parts, which are then introduced to the aquatic environment. The active principles within the plant structure used (leaves, seeds, kernel and bark) have varying potencies and modes of action counting on whether it's applied directly and therefore the sorts of extracts, aqueous or alcohol used (Sambasivam et al 2003).…”

Histopathological Alterations In Organs of Nile Tilapia Fingerlings Exposed To Sub-Lethal Concentrations of Aqueous Crude Leaves Extract of Desert Date

“…Balanites aegyptiaca, commonly called desert date, soapberry tree, Egyptian balsam or thorn tree [3] has been reported to have pesticidal [4], anaesthetic [5] and ichthyotoxic or piscicidal [6,7] effects. Nkunya et al, [8] had earlier reported stem bark of B. aegyptiaca as a fish poison and thus been used to catch fish in lentic and lotic waters around the globe [9,7].…”

Toxicity of aqueous extract of white hoary pea, Tephrosia candida (Papilionoideae) on Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (Cichlidae) fingerlings

“…These poisons, also called icthyotoxins or piscicides, occur in several related plant species such as Adenia cissampeloides, Balanites aegyptiaca, Blighia sapida, Derris elliptica, D. trifoliata, Kigelia Africana, Mimusops elengi, Mundulea sericea, Tetrapleura tetraptera, T. candida, T. purpurea, T. virginiana and T. vogelii (Guerrero and Guerrero 1989;Neuwinger 1994;Onusiriuka and Ufodike 1994;Andrei et al 2002;Cheenpracha et al 2007;Negi and Kanwal 2009). The active ingredients of these plants are released by mashing and grinding the appropriate plant or plant parts, which are then introduced to the aquatic environment.…”