For centuries, indigenous peoples have used plants in the聽Fabaceae聽family of legumes to poison fish so that they can be caught easily. These and other plants contain rotenone, a nonselective insecticide and pisciside. Organic farmers use rotenone as a pesticide because it occurs naturally, but it biodegrades rapidly in warm weather. It is being phased out for all uses except for fish management.
In 1895, E. Geoffroy isolated a material from聽Robinia nicou听(苍辞飞听Lonchocarpus nicou) and named it nicouline. Several years later, Nagayoshi Nagai isolated a crystalline compound from聽Derris elliptica聽and called it rotenone after the Japanese name of the plant.听.听.
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