Molecular confirmation of two medicinal species of Jatropha L. (Euphorbiaceae) used by the Agusan Manobo in the Philippines

Abstract

The Agusan Manobo in the Philippines is known to use complex plant vernacular names. One of their interesting medicinal plants having local name similarity is called "tubatuba" in Bisayan and Minanubu dialects. The local name refers these plants to two different specimens; one is "tubatuba puti," and the other is "tubatuba tapol," which are classified by the tribe based on their distinct color shades of white and red, respectively. This study verifies the true identity of the two "tubatuba"-named specimens using molecular data and morphology. Molecular confirmation using BLASTn nucleotide database query revealed that the two confused samples are members of Euphorbiaceae and its verified generic affinity is Jatropha L. Phylogeny of 24 Jatropha specimens using ITS sequences revealed "tubatuba puti" as Jatropha curcas L. and "tubatuba tapol" as Jatropha gossypiifolia L. with strong Bootstrap support (BS = 100%). Morphological descriptions and field photographs of the two Jatropha species, as well as their conservation status based on the international and national red listings, are provided here.

Ethnobotanical Study and Conservation Status of Plants Used by the Tigwahanon-Manobo in Mt. Malimumu, San Fernando, Bukidnon, Philippines

“…The Manobo community possesses diverse plant resources for food, medicine, rituals, and other uses [10]. Some traditional plants used among the Manobo tribe were validated for their molecular identity, biochemical properties, and biological activities providing empirical evidence to their folk medicine [14][15][16][17].…”