|
 Botany
· Large, spiny woody vine which is pungent in all its
parts and provided with sharp, recurved prickles.
· Leaves: 3-foliate, leaflets sessile, ovate-elliptic,
obovate or obovate-oblong; 3 to 8 cm long, 5 to 25 mm wide, and
rounded at the base, pointed at the apex.
· Flowers: small, greenish-white, 5 mm across and borne
on terminal cymes or from the upper leaf axils.
· Fruits: small, nearly spherical, less than 1 cm in diameter,
borne in fairly large clusters, 3 to 5 grooved and with as many
cells and orange-red when ripe. Seeds solitary in each cell.
Distribution
In thickets at
low and medium altitudes, ascending to 1,700 m. Luzon (Benguet,
Mtn. Province, Rizal, Laguna, Nueva Vizcaya), Palawan.
Constituents
Volatile oil, 0.08%
- toddalolactone, citronella, linalool.
Stem bark - aculeatin; aculeatin hydrate; colorless substance,
m.p.239.
Parts
utiliezed and preparation
· Entire plant.
· May be collected the whole year round.
· Rinse, cut into sections, sun-dry.
Characteristics
and Pharmacological Effects
Bitter-tasting, minty, warming-natured. Activates blood, dissipates
contusions, antiphlogistic, analgesic.
Uses
Folkloric
· Rheumatic arthritis, sprains, contusions, intercostal neuralgia.
· Cough, malaria.
· Dysentery, gastralgia.
· Poisonous snakebites.
· Furuncle infections: use pounded fresh leaves as poultice.
· Dosage: 6 to 9 gms dried material in decoction. Pounded fresh
leaves or bark may be used as poultices over afflicted areas.
· In East Africa, used most often
for stomach problems. Also used for malaria, cough, chest pains, food
poisoning and sore throat.
Studies
• Antiplasmodial: A
new antiplasmodial coumarin was isolated from Toddalia asiatica roots – 5,7-dimethoxy-8-(3'-hydroxy-3'methyl-1'butene)-coumarin.The finding supports the traditional use of the plant for treatment
of malaria.
• Antiviral: Identification
of antiviral activity of Toddalia asiatica against influenza type A
virus: The study result suggests T. asiatica extract can be a
candidate for anti-H1Ni virus agent for treatment of influenza.
• Antimicrobial:
(1) Antimicrobial activity of the hexane and methanol extracts of collected
ethnomedicinal plants: Methanol and hexane extracts
of Toddalia asiatica showed antimicrobial activity. The essential oils
from the leaves were most active against E. coli, K. pneumonia, P. aeruginosa
and S. aureus. (2) In a study of 18 ethnomedicinal plants for antimicrobial activity, T asiatica was one of the six that showed most activity against nine bacterial strains: B subtilis, S aureus, S epidermis, E faecalis, E coli, K pneumonia, P aeruginosa, Ervinia sp,, P vulgaris.
• Antibacterial / Chemical Composition:
A. marmelos, T. asiatica and Z. budrunga were hydrolyzed
for its essential oils. The essential oils exhibited antibacterial activity
against S. aureus, B. subtilis, E. coli, P. aeruginosa. Todalia asiatica
showed strongest activity against E. coli and P. aeruginosa. Results
suggest a potential for large scale production and development of a
medicinal essential oil industry.
• Analgesic / Anti-Inflammatory: Study showed anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of the crude alklaloids of T asiactica. Furthermore, there was no long-term effects to the liver.
• Phytochemical: Study of T asiatica twigs isolated two new geranyloxycoumarins.
• Tumor Selective Cytotoxicity: Study isolated three benzo[c]phenanthridine derivative: DHN (dihydronitidine) NTD (nitidine), and DMN (demthylnitidine). NTD and DHN selectively reduced the growth of murine and human lung adenocarcinoma in vitro.
• Larvicidal / Smoke Repellency Effect Against Dengue Vector, A Aegypti: The LC50 of T asiatica was 47.893, 50.992, 54.461 and 61.278 on first to fourth instars. Smoked exposed gravid females hatched a lower percentage of eggs compared to unexposed females.
Availability
Wild-crafted. |
