Rectal Administration of Plant or Extracts: toxic [MEDLINE]
Inhalation of Smoke from Burning Plant: toxic
Topical Application: no reports of toxicity
Uses of Nerium Oleander Plant
Historical Uses of Nerium Oleander
Use by Arab Physicians (During 8th Century): used as potential anti-cancer treatment
Use in Mesopotamia (During 15th Century): used for potential healing properties
Use in Babylonia: used in mixture with licorice for the treatment of hangover
Use in Greece: Pliny the Elder wrote about the appearance and properties of the Nerium Oleander plant
Use as Cardiac Medication (During the 1930’s)
Investigation by the Turkish Physician, Huseyin Z. Ozel, MD (During the 1960’s)
He recognized the folk tradition of using Nerium oleander to treat leukemia
He developed and patented a Nerium oleander extract in the US and Europe as Anvirzel
Use as Insecticide
Use as Rodenticide
Use as Remedy for Indigestion/Fever/Ringworm/Malaria/Leprosy/Venereal Disease
Use as Abortifacient
Promoted Clinical Uses of Nerium Oleander
Asthma
Cancer
Corns
Epilepsy
Heart Disease
Menstrual Pain
Muscle Cramps
Paralysis
Skin Disease
Clinical Trials of Anvirzel
Lack of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Approval: despite some supportive basic science data, Anvirzel has not demonstrated any benefit in trials and therefore, has not been approved by the FDA for any clinical indication
FDA Warning to Anvirzel Manufacturer in March, 2000: FDA warned Anvirzel’s manufacturer to stop promoting the product due to presence of misleading information on their website (which was derived from preliminary and inconclusive data)
Pharmacology
Oleandrin (best studied component): cardiac glycoside -> inhibition of the Na-K ATPase pump
Oleander tea: herbal draught of death. Ann Emerg Med. 1985 Apr;14(4):350-3 [MEDLINE]
Possible yellow oleander toxicity in a neonate. Indian Pediatr. 1986;23:393
Oleandrin distribution in a fatality from rectal and oral Nerium oleander extract administration. J Anal Toxicol. 1987 Sep-Oct;11(5):219-21 [MEDLINE]
Oleander poisoning: treatment with digoxin-specific Fab antibody fragments. Ann Emerg Med. 1988 Jul;17(7):732-5 [MEDLINE]
Digoxin-specific Fab fragments in the treatment of oleander toxicity in a canine model. Ann Emerg Med. 1991;20:1073-1077 [MEDLINE]
Oleander toxicity: examination of human and animal toxic exposures. Toxicology. 1996;109:1-13 [MEDLINE]
Blumenthal M, ed. The Complete German Commission E Monographs: Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines. Austin, TX: American Botanical Council; 1998
Cytotoxic effect of nerium oleander extract (Anvirzel) on bladder cancer cells. In: Program and abstracts of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting; May 15-19, 1999; Atlanta, Georgia. Abstract 1328
Knight, A. P. (1999). “Guide to Poisonous Plants: Oleander”. Colorado State University [LINK] (Accessed 6/5/14)
Cardiac glycosides stimulate Ca2+ increases and apoptosis in androgen-independent, metastatic human prostate adenocarcinoma cells. Cancer Res. 2000;60:3807-3812
Professional’s Handbook of Complementary & Alternative Medicines. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2004
INCHEM (2005). Nerium oleander L. (PIM 366). International Programme on Chemical Safety: INCHEM [LINK] (Accessed 6/5/14)
US National Institutes of Health. Clinical trial announcement: a phase I/II multicenter, off-label, dose escalation study of Xenavex in patients with advanced (stage IIIB or IV) non-small cell lung cancer; for whom previous therapy has failed. Clinical Trials Web site. Accessed at www.clinicaltrials.gov on October 18, 2005. Content no longer available
Phase 1 trial of Anvirzel in patients with refractory solid tumors. Inves New Drugs. 2006;24:423-427
Cytotoxic effects of leaf, stem and root extracts of Nerium oleander on leukemia cell lines and role of the p-glycoprotein in this effect. J Exp Ther Oncol. 2006;6:31-38
Oleander (nerium oleander, thevetia peruviana). Aetna InteliHealth Web site. Accessed at www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/8513/31402/351437.html on June 6, 2008
A fatal case of oleandrin poisoning. Forensic Sci Int. 2008 Aug 6;179(2-3):e31-6. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2008.05.002. Epub 2008 Jul 7 [MEDLINE]
American Cancer Society (http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/herbsvitaminsandminerals/oleander-leaf) (Accessed 6/3/14)