Yellow Oleander Flowers {Apocynaceae: Cascabela theveti}

The African shrub is a potent plant heart medicine and poison due to the presence of cerebrin, neriifolin, theveresin, and thevetin. While the leaves, roots, and bark are used medicinally, a single fruit can kill an adult and death by oleander is not a pleasant way to go. Care should be taken in all medical applications, in particular those used internally, as toxic doses are only a little higher than therapeutic ones.

Folk remedies include its topical application for toothaches, sores, tumors and internally as a diuretic and to treat fevers.  In Kenya the Luo people use water in which leaves have been crushed to treat colds.  A bark or leaf decoction is taken to loosen the bowels, as an emetic, and is said to be an effective cure for intermittent fevers. In Benin and Uganda an infusion of the roots is taken to treat snakebites. In Ghana the leaves in decoction are taken to treat jaundice, fever and as a purgative for intestinal worms. In Senegal water in which leaves and bark were macerated is taken to cure amenorrhoea. The seeds may be used as a purgative and the seed oil is applied externally in India to treat skin infections.  External: In Mali the latex is applied to soften corns and calluses. In Côte d’Ivoire and Benin the leaf sap is used as eye drops and nose drops to cure violent headaches; the leaf sap is also dropped in the nostrils to revive people that have fainted and to cure colds.  The seeds act as a contact poison; mashed with a soap solution they are used as an insecticide.