 Botany
Sapinit is a spreading, low, spiny shrub, rarely exceeding a meter in height. Leaves are pinnate with 5 to 7 leaflets. Leaflets are smooth or hairy, with lobed margins, oblong-ovate or broadly lanceolate, and 2 to 7 centimeters in lenght. Flowers are borne upon slender, prickly, hairy, 3 to 5 centimeter-long stalks and arise from the uppermost leaf axils. Calyx is hairy. Petals are white, broadly oblong, and constricted toward the base. Berries are red, conically elongated, and 1.5 to 2 centimeters across.
Distribution
- In thickets and forests at medium and higher altitudes ascending in some places to 1,900 meters, throughout the Philippines.
- Also occurs in tropical to South Africa to Japan and Australia.
Properties
Leaves and fruit considered astringent.
Leaves and roots are considered anodyne, astringent, and depurative.
Considered anodyne, astringent, depurative and febrifuge.
Parts used
Leaves and fruit.
Uses
Edibility
- Fruit is juicy, but rather insipid; eaten raw or cooked.
- Leaves are somewhat astringent; eaten raw or cooked.
- A recent botanical object of technological interest. It is being processed into jam and wine, and incorporated into a vinagrette for salad dressing.
Folkloric
- In the Philippines decoction of roots given as expectorant.
- Syrup of fruit used as demulcent.
- Green fruit is astringent; decoction used as a gargle for angina.
- Decoction of leafy stems used for fevers.
Others
- Dye: A purple to blue dye is obtained from the fruit.
Studies
• Phytochemicals / Anti-Inflammatory / Anti-Tumor / LPO Inhibition: Study of ethyl acetate extract of the fruit yielded 8 compounds of the 19-a-hydroxyursane type. Compounds 3 and 6 exhibited growth inhibition specific to colon tumor cells. Compounds 1, 2 and 3 showed selective COX-1 enzyme inhibitory activity. Four compounds showed lipid peroxidation inhibition.
• Natural Preservative: Study evaluated Rubus rosaefolius extract for its efficiency as a natural preservative in base formulations. It was studied for its antimicrobial protection in emulsion and gel formulations. Results demonstrated R. rosaefolius extract reduced the bacterial inocula at the studied concentration in both formulations. The study of new natural substances with preservative properties provide a potential for application in pharmaceutical and cosmetic products while decreasing the concentration of synthetic preservatives.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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