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Family Mimosaceae
Ipil-ipil
Santa Elena
Leucaena glauca
Linn.
LEAD TREE

Other scientific names Common names  
Mimosa glauca Linn.  Agho (P. Bis.) Komkompitis (Ilk.)
Acacia glauca Wiild.. Aghog (P. Bis.) Loyloi (S. L. Bis.)
Leucaena glauca Linn.   Ipel (Tag.) Santa Elena (Span.)
Leucaena leucocephala Lam.   Ipil-ipil (Tag.) San Pedro (P. Bis.)
  Kabahero (C. Bis.) Lead tree (Engl.)
  Kariskis (Ilk.)  

Botany:
Small plant up to 15 m high; leaves alternate, twice compound, 15-25 cm, base of petiole enlarged; leaflets 9 to 18 pairs, 7 to 12 mm long, linear-oblong, unequilateral; flowering stalks axillary, 3.5 to 5 cm long. Flowers are whitist, in dense globule heads 2 to 3 cm in diameter. Fruit is an oblong or linear pod, strap-shaped, falttened, 12 to 18 cm long, 1 to 2 cm wide, papery, green turning brown and splits open along two edges when mature, several fruits develop from each flower head; seeds obovate, 5 to 8 mm long, 3 to 5 mm wide, shiny, brown.

Distribution:
Common plant widely distributed in the Philippines. Propagated by seeds or stem cuttings.

Parts utilized
Dried seeds

Constituents
• Fat, 8.68%; crude fiber, 22.59%; nitrogen-free material other than fiber, 9.78%; nitrogen, 6.42%; sucrose; water, 14.8%; ash, 4.2%.
• Seed contains the toxic amino acid mimosine.

Uses
Folkloric
Intestinal parasitism: ascaris and trichinosis.
Adults: 1 teasppon of powdered dried seeds, alone or mixed with condensed milk and followed by half a glass of water, taken as a single dose 2 hours after a meal; repeated after one week as needed.
Children: 7-8 years old: 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon; 9-12 years old: 1/2 to 2/3 teaspoon.
Adverse effects: Abdominal pain, diarrhea.


Studies

Seed Gum / Tablet Binder:
(1) R&D on seed gum for a pharmaceutical substitute for the imported guar gum used as a binder in tablet formulation. In 1996, ipil-ipil was found to be an excellent liquid excipient as a suspending and thickening agent. (2) The seed galactomannan of L leucocephala, with properties similar to guar gum was evaluated as a pharmaceutical binder and compared with standard pharmaceutical binders regarding properties of compressibility, micromeritic and mechanical properties.
Inhibition of Growth of Hair by Mimosine:
(1) Loss of hair been reported in animals following ingesting of seeds and foliage and in women after consumption of LG seeds. The toxic principle is leucenol, an amino-acid (identical to the mimosine of Mimosa pudica) found primarily in the seeds of ipil-ipil, and in lesser amounts in foliage and stems.(2) Study by Andre Gerard van Veen studied the properties of the seed's amino acid mimosine, a pyridoxine derivative, associated with hair follicle toxicity in the anagen phase of growth. He noted that the outbreaks of alopecia occurred only when the plant consumed was prepared in clay pots. In iron pots, no alopecia occurred, explained by the formation of mimosine-iron complexes that reduced the absorption of mimosine.
Study of enhancement of sensitivity of hepatoma and lung cancer cells to chemotherapeutc drugs by mimosine from seeds of Leucaena Glauca Benth.
Anti-Cancer / Mimosine: (1) Mimosine, a plant specific amino acid extracted from the seeds of Lg, inhibited the proliferation of human hepatoma and lung cancer cells by suppression of cyclin D1, activating cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor and inducing apoptosis of cancer cells. (2) Mimosine showed an additive cytocidal effect in combination with chemotherapeutic drug cisplastin in vivo.
Anti-Cancer / Antiproliferative: Study extract polysaccharides from the seeds of L leucocephala, sulfated to a sulfated glycosylated form. Results showed the sulfated glycosylated form possessed significant anti-proliferative activity against different cell lines. It induced HepG2 cell death by necrosis, but not apoptosis.Study concludes the chimical modification of leucaena gum induced its cancer chemopreventive and anti-proliferative activities.
Bioactivity Study / Central Nervous System Depressant: Study of chloroform soluble and ethyl acetate soluble alkaloidal extracts from the seeds of Leucaena leucocephala showed central nervous system depressant activity evidenced by a decrease in respiratory rate and depth and a decrease in motor activity.
.Disintegrant Action: L leucocephala seed gum was evaluated for disintegrant action in lactoase-based tablets containing ibuprofen, a relatively insoluble drug. Study showed the seed gum sweels rapidly when brought in contact with water, generating enough pressure to cause disintegration action.
Anthelmintic Effect: Study of seed extracts showed the most active fraction to contain polar polyphenols, providing scientific justificationn for the use of the aqueous extract in traditional practice and application in anthelmintic therapy in veterinary practice.
Polyprenols: Study
isolated from the whole plant of L leucocephala: ficapreol-11 (polyprenol), squalene and lupeol, isolated fro the first time from the species, plus 9 other known compounds.

Availability
Wild-crafted.



Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Inhibition of Growth of Hair by Mimosine / R G Crounse, J D Maxwell and H Blank / Nature 194, 694 - 695 (19 May 1962); doi:10.1038/194694b0
(2)
Andre Gerard van Veen / Mimosine-iron complexes /
(3)
Study of enhancement of sensitivity of hepatoma and lung cancer cells to chemotherapeutc drugs by mimosine from seeds of Leucaena Benth
(4)
Study of the anti-cancer effect of mimosine in vivo / Wen-Chun Hung / Year of 1999 / Number¡G CCMP88-RD-043 / Wen-Chun Hung / School of Technology for Medical Sciences Kaohsiung Medical College
(5)
Mimosine, a toxin produced by the tree-legume leucaena provides a nodulation competition advantage to mimosine-degrading rhizobium strains / M Soedarjop and D Borthakur / Soil Biology and Biochemistry Volume 30, Issue 12, 1 October 1998, Pages 1605-161 / doi:10.1016/S0038-0717(97)00180-6
(6)
Bioactivity studies on the alkaloid extracts from seeds of Leucaena leucocephala / Irene Villasenor et al / Phytotherapy Research, Vol 11 Issue 8, Pages 615 - 617 / DOI
10.1002/(SICI)1099-1573(199712)11:8<615::AID-PTR170>3.0.CO;2-P
(7)
Preliminary evaluation of Leucaena leucocephala seed gum as a tablet binder./ Deodhar UP et al /
Summary Drug Development and Industrial Pharmacy, 1998, Vol. 24, No. 6, Pages 577-582 / DOI 10.3109/03639049809085662
(8)
Studies on disintegrant action of Leucaena leucocephala seed gum in ibuprofen tablet and its mechanism / P R P Verma and Balkishen Razdan / Dept of Pharm Sciences • Birla Inst of Tech, Mesra, Ranchi
(9)
Comparative Nematocidal Activity of Chromatographic Fractions of Leucaena leucocephala. Seed Against Gastrointestinal Sheep Nematodes / I O Ademola et al / Summary Pharmaceutical Biology • 2005, Vol. 43, No. 7, Pages 599-604
(10)
Reproductive indices of Merino rams fed sun-cured Leucaena leucocephala forage / I V Nsahlai et al / South African Journal of Animal Science 2000, 30 (Supplement 1)

(11)
Polyprenol from the Whole Plants of Leucaena leucocephala / Chung-Yi Chen and Yau-Der Wang / Journal of Environmental Protection, 2010, 1, 70-72 / doi:10.4236/jep.2010.11009
(12)
Antiproliferative and cancer-chemopreventive properties of sulfated glycosylated extract derived from Leucaena leucocephala / amira M Gamal-Eldeen et al / Indian J Pharm Sci 2007;69:805-11 / DOI: 10.4103/0250-474X.39438
(13)
Toxic action of mimosine—I. Inhibition of mitosis and DNA synthesis of H.Ep-2 cell by mimosine and 3,4-dihydroxypyridine / doi:10.1016/0041-0101(71)90076-6 / Toxicon, Vol 9, Issue 3, July 1971, Pages 241-247



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