Gen info
• Ipomoea is the largest genus in the family Convolvulaceae, with over 600 species.  The genus occurs through the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, comprising annual and perennial herbaceous plants, lianas, shrubs, and small trees; most of the species are twining climbing plants.
• Morning glory is a common name shared by hundreds of species of flowering plants in the Convolvulaceae family: Argyreia nervosa (woolly morning glory), Ipomoea pes-caprae (beach morning glory), Ipomoea purpurea (common morning glory) to name a few.
• Adding to the confusion of common names is the attribution of hallucinogenic and psychedelic properties to Morning Glory. Conflicting results confirm and contradict the presence of LSD in morning glory seed. Studies have found LSA (lysergic acid amide), a relative and precursor to LSD in the seeds of Argyreia nervosa. Some authorities report Ipomoea purpurea seeds lack psychedelic properties; some studies say otherwise.
• Etymology: The genus name Ipomoea derives from Greek 'ips, ipos' meaning 'woodworm', and 'homoios' meaning 'resembling or similar to', referring to the twining habit. The specific epithet purpurea means purple.

Botany
Ipomoea purpurea is a slender, twining vine. Leave are green, heart-shaped or three-lobed. Young stems are pubescent. Flowers are bell-shaped up to 5 centimeters across, in various colors – deep purple, blue, pink, carmine or white. Capsules often contain six hairless seeds. New flowers bloom daily and the flowers last for a single morning and dies in the afternoon, on a cloudy day, lasting until night.

Distribution
- Introduced.
- Widely distributed in the Philippines.
- Commonly planted as an ornamental.
- Native to Mexico and Central America.

Constituents
• Seeds reported to contain small quantities of the hallucinogen LSD. (1) (also see: 13)
• Study isolated four acylated pelargonidin glycosides from the red-purple flowers of I. purpurea, all based on pelargonidin 3-sophoroside-5-glucosde, acylated with caffeic acid and/or glycosylcaffeic acids. (see study below) (3)
• A glycoresin, ipopurpuroside, has been isolated, consisting of glucose, rhamnose and 6-deoxy-D-glucose glycosidically linked to ricinoleic acid. Other studies have isolated glycoresins marubajalapins I-XV from the jalapin fraction of aerial parts (leaves and stems). Flowers have yielded cyanidins and pelargonidins. (5)
• Mineral composition analysis (g kg DM) yielded 2.69 ± 0.0300, Ca 9.08 ± 0.0112, K 9.39 ± 0.0001, Mg 0.63 ± 0.0007, Cu 14.2 ± 0.0004, Fe 0.29 ± 0.0018, Zn 2.99 ± 0.0026, P 0.75 ± 0.0009. Protein content (% DM) 20.12 ± 0.200, total phenolic content (mg of GAE/g of extract) 24.02 ± 0.24. (9)
• Phytochemical screening of aqueous and purified pigment extracts yielded flavonoids, carbohydrates, and glycosides. Alkaloids were found only in the aqueous extract. (see study below) (14)

Toxic treatments
• Seeds of many species of morning glory contain naturally occurring tryptamine, lysergic acid amide (LSA), which is chemically similar to LSD and with similar effects. Seeds are used for their psychedelic or hallucinogenic effects.
• Besides hallucinogenic effects, patients may exhibit dilated pupils, increased heart rate, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea,  numbness of the limbs, and muscle spasms. (17)
• Commercial morning glory seeds are commonly treated with toxic methylmercury, which serves as preservative and cumulative neurotoxic poison that may discourage recreational use. (18)

Properties
• Considered anthelmintic, diuretic, laxative, hallucinogenic.
• Seeds considered psychoactive.
• Studies have suggested antibacterial, anticancer properties.

Parts utilized
Leaves, seeds.

Uses
Folkloric
• No reported folkloric use in the Philippines.
• Seeds reportedly used for hallucinogenic effects.
• Elsewhere, seeds used in the treatment of edema, oliguria, ascariasis and constipation.
• Seed used in the treatment of various mental disorders.
• In China, seeds used for its laxative effect.
• The Vanraji tribes of Kumaun Himalaya, India, poultice of ground whole plant is applied to venereal infections like syphilis. (11)
- In Maharashtra, whole plant used as laxative, hallucinogen, purgative, and for treatment of syphilis.
• In Africa, used for purgative effect.
Others
• Tribal rituals: Seeds reportedly used in African-Brazilian tribal rituals.

Studies
• Acylated Pelargonidin Glycosides / Pigments: Study isolated four acylated pelargonidin glycosides from the red-purple flowers of Ipomoea purpurea. There were analogous pigments of the violet-blue Ipomoea anthocyanins composed of acylated cyanidin glycosides, instead of pelargonidin. (3)
• Case Reports Recreational Use Effects / D-Lysergamide / Seeds: Study reports four case reports by different authors of effects induced by seeds of Ipomoea purpurea. The effects were dose related, ranging from 2 to 25 g. Effects ranged from varying emotional states, visual distortions and hallucinations, and gastrointestinal side effects. (6)
• Ipopurpuroside / Glycoside: Study isolated a new glycoside, ipopurpuroside from I. purpurea. The glycoside consists of glucose, rhamnose, and 6-deoxy-D-glucose. (8)
• Absence of Lysergic Acid: Alkaloids of lysergic acid, having a hallucinogenic effect, were not detected in Ipomoea purpura and Convolvulus tricolor. (13)
• Antibacterial / Aqueous and Anthocyanin Pigment Extracts: Study evaluated the antibacterial activity of aqueous and purified pigment extracts of Ipomoea purpurea against reference strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Both extracts showed clear activity against the tested strains with a MIC up to 25 mg/ml. (see constituents above) (14)
• Anticancer / Leaves: Study evaluated the in vitro anticancer property and molecular mechanism of aqueous and organic extracts of Ipomoea purpurea leaves in three human cancer cell lines viz., A-549 (lung cancer), HegG-2 (liver cancer), MDA-MB-231 (breast cancer) and MCF-10A (breast normal cell line). MTT assay data showed the methanol and chloroform extracts of leaves had antiproliferative effect on lung and breast cancer cells with IC50s of 53.62 and 124.5 µg/mL, respectively. The methanol extract of leaves induced S-phase cell cycle arrest and intrinsic pathway of apoptosis in A-549 lung cancer cells. (15)

Availability
- Wild-crafted.
- Seeds, extracts in the cybermarket.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Ipomoea purpurea - (L.)Roth. / Common Morning Glory / Plants For A Future
(2)
Morning Glory (Ipomoea hederacea, Ipomoea purpurea, Ipomoea sidaefolia, Ipomoea tricolor, Ipomoea violacea) / DrugsEncyclopedia
(3)
Acylated pelargonidin glycosides in red-purple flowers of Ipomoea purpurea / Norio Saito et al / Phytochemistry, Vol 43, Issue 6, Dec 1996, pp 1365-1370 / doi:10.1016/S0031-9422(96)00501-8
(4)
Ipomoea purpurea (L.) Roth is an accepted name / The Plant List
(5)
Review of the genus Ipomoea: traditional uses, chemistry and biological activities / Marilena Meira*; Eliezer Pereira da Silva; Jorge M. David; Juceni P. David / Rev. bras. farmacogn. vol.22 no.3 Curitiba May /June 2012 / http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-695X2012005000025
(6)
Recreational Use of D-Lysergamide from the Seeds of Argyreia Nervosa, Ipomoea Tricolor, Ipomoea Violacea, and Ipomoea Purpurea in Poland / Grzegorz R. Juszczak, Ph.D & Artur H. Swiergiel, Ph.D. / Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 45 (1), 79–93, 2013 / DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2013.763570
(7)
Ipomoea purpurea (L.) Roth / KEW: Plants of the World Online
(8)
Ipopurpuroside, a new glycoside from Ipomoea purpurea / A. Nikolin, B. Nikolin, M. Janković /
Phytochemistry, Volume 17, Issue 3, 1978, Pages 451-452
(9)
Proximate composition, mineral content, and antioxidant properties of 14 Mexican weeds used as fodder / DORA GUTIÉRREZ,* SANDRA MENDOZA, VALENTINA SERRANO, MOUSTAPHA BAH, RICARDO PELZ, PATRICIA BALDERAS and FIDEL LEÓN / Weed Biology and Management 8, 291–296 (2008)
(10)
Ipomoea purpureaz / Common names / EPPO Global Database
(11)
Indigenous uses of me dicinal plants by the Vanraji tribes of Kumaun Himalaya, India / Deepika Bhatt, Ravi Kumar, G C Joshi and L M Tewari / Journal of Medicinal Plant Research, Vol 7(37), Oct 2013: pp 2747-2754 / DOI: 10.5897/JMPR12.1272
(12)
Dynamics of mobile element activity in chalcone synthase loci in the common morning glory (Ipomoea purpurea). / Durbin ML, Denton AL, Cleqq MT / Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2001 Apr 24;98(9):5084-9
(13)
Qualitative and quantitative examination of lysergic acid derivatives in Ipomoea species. / Hahn, E. /
Gyogyszereszet, 34(7), 349-358, 1990
(14)
The Antibacterial Activity of Ipomoea Purpurea and Anthocyanine Pigment Extracts against Gram Positive and Negative Bacteria / Neeran Jassim Al-Salhi, Fatima Saiwan, Zeenah Weheed Atwan / Basrah Journa of Veterinary Medicine, 2009; 8(2): pp 181-189 / DOI: 10.33762/bvetr.2009.56978
(15)
Anticancer Activity of Ipomoea purpurea Leaves Extracts in Monolayer and Three-Dimensional Cell Culture / F Beheshti, A A Shabani, M R Akbari Eidgahi, P Kookhaei, M Vazirian, M Safavi / Evid Based Complement Alternat Med., 2021: 6666567 / DOI: 10.1155/2021/6666567 / PMID: 34211573
(16)
Ethno-medicinal uses of some species of genus Ipomoea L. from Maharashtra state / Londhe DK, Neel RS, Bhuktar AS / International Journal of Applied Research, 2017; 3(10): pp 82-84 / pISSN: 2394-7500 / eISSN: 2394-5869
(17)
Toxicology Q&A Answer: Morning Glory / Dawn Antoline-Wang / ACEP Now
(18)
Ipomoea purpurea / Wikipedia
(19)
Ipomoea / Wikipedia

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