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Botany
Smooth tree, 7-16 meters
high. The leaves are leathery, elliptic to oblong-ovate, 11-25 cm long,
blunt-tipped and rounded or heart-shaped at the base. Stipules are green,
ovate to elliptic, 1-3 cm long. Flowers heads are solitary, terminal,
4-5 cm diameter. Flowers are white.
Distribution
In secondary forests at
low and medium altitudes.
Parts utilized
Bark
Uses
Folkloric
Leaves applied to boils
and tumors.
Bark decoction for diarrhea and toothaches.
Elsewhere, bark used as ingredient in birth control concoctions.
• Aboriginal people of North Queensland crush the fruits in water
to use as baby food; also used for coughs, colds, stomach pains and
diarrhea.
Others
Fruits palatable to bats and birds.
Studies
• Antimalarial : Antimalarial
Constituents from Nauclea orientalis (L.): Phytochemicals
isolated two novel tetrahydro-B-carboline monoterpene alkaloid glucosides:
naucleaorine and epimethoxynaucleaorine. Study showed moderate in vitro
activities against Plasmodium falcifarum.
• Phytochemicals: New Indole
Alkaloids from the Bark of Nauclea orientalis:
Four new alkaloids, nauclealines A and B and naucleosides A and B, together
with six known compounds were isolated from the bark of Nauclea orientalis.
• Antiproliferative
/ Alkaloids: Study yielded nine indole alkaloids from
ammoniacal extracts of Nauclea orientalis. The compounds were found
to exhibit in vitro anti-prolilferative activity against human bladder
carcinoma T-24 cell line and epidermal growth-factor-dependent mouse
epidermal keratinocytes.
• Anthelmintic: Various extracts of Nauclea orientalis leaves were evaluated for anthelmintic activity on adult Indian earthworm (Pheretima posthuma). The extracts exhibited dose-dependent action with inhibition of spontaneous motility and death of earthworms.
• Cytotoxic Indole Alkaloids: Study yielded a pair of new isomeric indole alkaloids, naucleaoral A and B from the roots. Naucleaoral A showed significant cytotoxicity against HeLa cells, while compound B showed very modest cytotoxicity against both HeLa and KV cell lines.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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