About Anabasis aphylla L.
Anabasis aphylla L. is a species of flowering plant in the Amaranthaceae family. It is native to the area surrounding the Caspian Sea, Central Asia, and the Chinese provinces of Xinjiang and western Gansu. It is a many-branched shrub that typically grows in alluvial fans and dune swales. It is sometimes planted to trap blowing soil and stabilize sand dunes. This species is toxic, and the alkaloid anabasine takes its name from Anabasis aphylla. Anabasine was first isolated from this plant by Orechoff and Menschikoff in 1931. The compound was widely used as an insecticide across the former Soviet Union until 1970. Two additional alkaloids, anabaseine and anabasamine, have also been found in this plant.
