Other Names : Japanese pagoda tree, Chinese scholar tree, pagoda tree, Sophora japonica
Special Precautions of Styphnolobium japonicum
- All parts of the plant except for the flowers are described as highly poisonous; the bark and seeds are mentioned, especially the peel of the fruit. The main active ingredients are 0.08% sophorabioside , rutin and others in the fruits, 2% sophoricoside in unripe fruits , and cytisine , toxalbumins and sophoramine in the seeds.
- Symptoms of poisoning: The fruit peel is said to be highly poisonous. Subcutaneous injection of the extract is fatal to frogs, lizards and white mice. The injection causes a brief increase in blood sugar and glucosuria in warm-blooded animals , followed by dyspnoea and a decrease in red blood cells. The seed meal, if consumed regularly, is said to cause facial edema and even death.