 Botany
Tarabtab is a woody vine, growing from 1.5 to 3 meters in height. Young branches are hairy. Spines are short, sharp, and recurved. Leaves are oblong-ovate to elliptic-ovate, 2 to 8 centimeters long, with a shallow notch at the tip. Flowers are grouped 5 to 15 in axillary and terminal, sessile or short-peduncled umbels, with the slender pedicels 1 to 1.5 centimeters long. Sepals are green and concave. Petals are oblong, white, and 7 to 8 millimeters long. Fruit is rounded, 8 t 10 millimeters in diameter, nearly black when mature, and one-seeded.
Distribution
- In thickets at low altitudes from the Babuyan Islands and northern Luzon to Mindana and the Sulu Archipelago.
- Also occurs in India to Malaya and Australia.
Constituents
- Phytochemical screening yielded reducing sugars, flavonoids, steroids, tannins, glycosides, alkaloids, gums, resins, amino acids, proteins and anthraquinones.
Properties
Febrifugal, alterative, tonic.
Parts used
Bark, stem, leaves.
Uses
Folkloric
Used as febrifuge, alterative, and tonic.
Used for skin diseases.
In India, fresh bark, stem, and leaves used to treat eczema, dandruff and to reduce body heat.
Studies
• Toxicity Study / Phytochemicals: Plant is rich in various biologically active compounds and a potential source of crude drugs and showed no toxicity in the experimental model.
• Anti-Diabetic: Study of C. sepiaria leaves in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats showed hypoglycemic levels at various dose levels.
• Hepatoprotective: Study of ethanolic extract of leaves of C. sepiaria in CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in Wister rats showed significant hepatoprotective effects.
• Anti-Inflammatory / Analgesic: Study of petroleum ether, methanol, and water extracts of roots of Cs all showed significant anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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