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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. |
