Cissampelos is a genus of flowering plants in the family Menispermaceae. Various species of this genus have a history of use in various traditions of herbal medicine. Moreover, many of these plants were used as curare applied as arrow poison during hunting. Cissampelos pareira is used in Chinese herbology, where it is called xí shēng téng (锡生藤) or yà hū nú (亞乎奴). The species is also known as abuta and is also called laghu patha in Ayurvedic medicine. The Maasai people of Kenya use as a forage for their cattle.