Derris taiwaniana is a climbing shrub. It has dark brown inflated legumes that are densely covered with rough pale yellow warts. The leguminous pods contain one to five dark brown reniform seeds. The leaves have 13 to 17 papery leaflets and the flowers are lilac-colored. Rachis are 30–50 cm (12–20 in), including petiole 7–9 cm (3–4 in). Leaflet blades are elliptic-oblong to lanceolate-oblong, base cuneate to rounded, apex acute. Legume dark brown, oblong or when 1-seeded ovoid, inflated, densely covered with pale yellow warts. Pseudoracemes with two to six branches beneath new stems, 15–30 cm (6–12 in), brown tomentose; rachis nodes with two to five flowers clustered on a 1–3 mm (0.039–0.118 in) spur.[6]
Traditional uses
Fish poison
Among the tribal natives of north-east India and Tsou people of Taiwan, the juice extract of the crushed root and seed are widely used as fish poison in traditional fishing; and hence the common name 'fish poison climber'.[7][8][9][10] The natives smash the plant parts against rocks, and let the juice extract run into the water. Fishes are easily stupefied and subsequently paralyzed. Then they are collected by hands or nets or baskets.
^ILDS (24 January 2013). "Millettia pachycarpa Benth". ILDIS World Database of Legumes. International Legume Database Information Service (ILDIS). Retrieved 2013-05-06.
^Haifan, Zhang (1996). "Observation on curative effect of Huteng Tang (Huzhang and Millettia Combination) in treating side effects caused by cancer chemotherapy". The Practical Journal of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine. 9 (3): 137.
^Dorsher P, Peng Z (2010). "Chinese medicinal herbs use in Managing cancer". In Cho WCS (ed.). Supportive Cancer Care with Chinese Medicine. Netherlands: Springer. pp. 55–75. doi:10.1007/978-90-481-3555-4_3. ISBN978-90-481-3554-7.
^ abYe H, Chen L, Li Y, Peng A, Fu A, Song H, Tang M, Luo H, Luo Y, Xu Y, Shi J, Wei Y (2008). "Preparative isolation and purification of three rotenoids and one isoflavone from the seeds of Millettia pachycarpa Benth by high-speed counter-current chromatography". Journal of Chromatography A. 1178 (1–2): 101–107. doi:10.1016/j.chroma.2007.11.060. PMID18082754.
^Singhal AK, Sharma RP, Thyagarajan G, Herz W, Govindan SV (1980). "New prenylated isoflavones and a prenylated dihydroflavonol from Millettia pachycarpa". Phytochemistry. 19 (5): 929–934. Bibcode:1980PChem..19..929S. doi:10.1016/0031-9422(80)85140-5.
^Ito C, Itoigawa M, Kojima N, Tokuda H, Hirata T, Nishino H, Furukawa H (2004). "Chemical constituents of Millettia taiwaniana: structure elucidation of five new isoflavonoids and their cancer chemopreventive activity". Journal of Natural Products. 67 (7): 1125–1301. doi:10.1021/np030554q. PMID15270565.