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Botany
· A deciduous
tree reaching a height of 15 m, the branches and the branchlets
stout and armed with short, few to many sharp prickles.
· Leaves: leaflets broadly ovate and 8 to 18 cm long,
with pointed tip and broad base.
· Flowers: calyx about 4 cm long and minutely Toothed
at the tip, the mouth being very oblique. Petals brightly red
and shorter than the calyx, the standard being 7 to 9 cm long
and the wings and keels subequal. Stamens 10, upper filaments
free nearly to the base or more or less connate with others.
Ovary many-ovuled, style incurved. Racemes terminal, hairy, dense
and up to 2.5 cm long. Papilionaceous flowers large and numerous.
· Fruits: pods, 10 to 25 cm long, 1.5 to 2 cm in diameter
and distinctly constricted between the seeds.
Distribution
Shoreline; and
frequently planted inland throughout the Philippines.
Part utilized
Bark and leaves.
Remove spines from bark after collection, rinse, sun-dry.
Characteristics
and Pharmacological Effects
• Antirheumatic.
Beneficial for the circulation and nerves. Prepared drug tastes bitter,
neutral in effect.
• The bark is bitter, acrid, thermogenic, anti-inflammatory, sedative,
carminative, digestive, anthelminthic, rejuvenating, laxative, diuretic
and expectorant.
• The leaves are bitter, diuretic, laxative, emmenagogue, stomachic
and anthelmintic.
Uses
Folkloric
• Rheumatic lumbar
and leg pain - take 9 to 15 gms dried bark in decoction or in the form
of alcohol (wine) infusion.
• Infantile convulsion, ascariasis: Take 2.5 to 3 gms pulverized
leaves in the form of snuff.
• In India and China,
the bark and leaves are used in many traditional medicinal concoctions.
Paribhadra, an Indian preparation, destroys parasites and relieves joint
pains. Honeyed leaf juice is used for tapeworm and roundworm diseases.
The juice also helps stimulate lactation and menstruation. A poultice
of leaves is used for rheumatic joints.
Studies
• Antibacterial:
Antibacterial activity of isoflavonoids isolated from Erythrina variegata
against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus:
16 isoflavonoids isolated from Erythrina variegata was screened for
antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staph aureus. Of
the active compounds, erycristagallin and orientanol B showed the highest
anti-MRSA activity.
•
Antibacterial / Dental Caries Prevention:
Study isolated t compounds from EV with antibacterial
property against cariogenic oral bacteria. Among them was erycristagallin,
a potential phytochemical agent for the prevention of dental caries
by inhibiting the growth of cariogenic bacteria.
• Anti-osteoporotic
Effect: Study
showed that E. variegata could suppress the high rate of bone turnover
induced by estrogen deficiency and improve the biomechanical properties
of bone in the lab rats.
• Erythrina - chemical and pharmacological
evaluation II: Alkaloids of erythrina variegata L: The study
showed characteristic pharmacological effects: neuromuscular blocking,
smooth muscle relaxant, CNS depressant, anticonvulsant effects supporting
the indigenous use of the plants.
• Trypsin
/ Proteinase Inhibitors: Study
indicate that E. variegata proteinase inhibitors possess different potency
toward serine proteinases in blood coagualation and fibrinolytic systems.
• Antimicrobial
/ Cytoxicity: Study
isolated five compounds from the methanol extract of stem bark of EV:
epilupeol, 6-hydroxygenistein, 3ß, 28-dihydroxyolean-12-ene, epilupeol,
stigmasterol. Diiferent partitionates showed mild to moderate antimicrobial
activity and varying degrees of cytotoxicity.
Availability
Wild-crafted. |
