Curculigo
| Curculigo | |
|---|---|
 
 | |
| Curculigo orchioides | |
| Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae | 
| Clade: | Tracheophytes | 
| Clade: | Angiosperms | 
| Clade: | Monocots | 
| Order: | Asparagales | 
| Family: | Hypoxidaceae | 
| Genus: | Gaertn. (1788)  | 
| Synonyms[1] | |
  | |
Curculigo[2] is a flowering plant genus in the family Hypoxidaceae, first described in 1788. It is widespread across tropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas.[3][4]
Curculin is a sweet protein that was discovered and isolated in 1990 from the fruit of Curculigo latifolia,[5] a plant from Malaysia. Like miraculin, curculin exhibits taste-modifying activity; however, unlike miraculin, it also exhibits a sweet taste by itself. After consumption of curculin, water and sour solutions taste sweet. The plant is referred to locally as lembah or lumbah; English: 'weevil-wort'.[6]
Species
Plants of the World Online[1] includes:
- Curculigo annamitica Gagnep. – Vietnam
 - Curculigo breviscapa S.C.Chen – China (Guangxi, Guangdong)
 - Curculigo capitulata (Lour.) Kuntze
 - Curculigo conoc Gagnep. – Vietnam
 - Curculigo crassifolia (Baker) Hook.f.
 - Curculigo disticha Gagnep. – Vietnam
 - Curculigo ensifolia R.Br. – Australia
 - Curculigo erecta Lauterb. – Philippines, Sumatra, New Guinea, Solomon Islands
 - Curculigo fabrei Hul
 - Curculigo fakimensis (Odyuo, D.K.Roy & Khamdi) Christenh. & Byng
 - Curculigo gracilis (Kurz) Wall. ex Hook.f.
 - Curculigo janarthanamii R.D. Gore & S.P.Gaikwad – India[7]
 - Curculigo latifolia Dryand. ex W.T.Aiton
 - Curculigo maharashtrensis M.R.Almeida & S.Yadav – Maharashtra
 - Curculigo maheensis (F.Friedmann) Christenh. & Byng
 - Curculigo oligantha (C.E.C.Fisch.) Bennet & Raizada
 - Curculigo orchioides Gaertn. – China, Japan, Indian Subcontinent, Papuasia, Micronesia
 - Curculigo pilosa (Schumach. & Thonn.) Engl. – tropical Africa, Madagascar
 - Curculigo prainiana (Deb) Bennet & Raizada
 - Curculigo racemosa Ridl. – Borneo
 - Curculigo rhizophylla (Baker) T.Durand & Schinz
 - Curculigo sabui S.P. Gaikwad & Gore – India[8]
 - Curculigo savantwadiensis M.R.Almeida & S.Yadav – Maharashtra
 - Curculigo scorzonerifolia (Lam.) Baker – southern Mexico, Central America, West Indies, northern South America
 - Curculigo seychellensis Bojer ex Baker – Seychelles
 - Curculigo sinensis S.C.Chen – China (Yunnan)
 - Curculigo tonkinensis Gagnep. – Vietnam
 - Curculigo trichocarpa (Wight) Bennet & Raizada
 
References
- ^ a b Curculigo Gaertn. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
 - ^ Yousif, Ragheed Hussam, et al. "Exploring the Molecular Interactions between Neoculin and the Human Sweet Taste Receptors through Computational Approaches." Sains Malaysiana 49.3 (2020): 517-525. APA
 - ^ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
 - ^ Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 271 仙茅属 xian mao shu Curculigo Gaertner, Fruct. Sem. Pl. 1: 63. 1788.
 - ^ Yamashita H, Theerasilp S, Aiuchi T, Nakaya K, Nakamura Y, Kurihara Y (September 1990). "Purification and complete amino acid sequence of a new type of sweet protein taste-modifying activity, curculin". J. Biol. Chem. 265 (26): 15770–5. doi:10.1016/S0021-9258(18)55464-8. PMID 2394746.
 - ^ Hean Chooi Ong (2004). Tumbuhan liar: khasiat ubatan & kegunaan lain. Utusan Publications. p. 24. ISBN 9676116300.
 - ^ Gore & S.P.Gaikwad (2018) Phytotaxa 357(1): 72.
 - ^ S.P.Gaikwad & Gore (2019) Nordic J. Bot. 37(7)-e02340: 2.
 
