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Botany
Mamalis is a tree occasionally reaching heights of 20 meters, although it is usually much smaller. Whole tree is smooth except
for its inflorescence. Leaves are narrowly elliptic, 6 to 15 centimeters long,
and less than 2 centimeters wide, and gradually narrowed at both ends. Flowers
are white, fragrant, about 6 millimeters long, crowded in pannicles 5 to 8
centimeters in length. Fruit is small, globular, pale yellow to orange, somewhat rounded when fresh, 6 to 8 millimeters in diameter.
Seeds are about 8, flattened, covered with a glossy red, oily and sticky mucus, with an odor reminiscent of petroleum.
Distribution
- In secondary forests at low and medium altitudes, ascending to 1,400 meters, from northern Luzon to Palawan and Mindanao.
- Also occurs in China, Taiwan, and Indonesia.
Constituents
• Fruit yields a volatile oil,
1%; dihydroterpene.
• Leaves yield calciums oxalate and amygdalin.
• Stems yield amygdalin and fats.
• Study yielded two eudesmane-type sesquiterpene glycosides and
the known triterpene betulin. Source
• Fruits and oil: Fruits are quite small. One tree yields about 16 kilos of fruit which after grinding yields on distillation 21 cubic centimeters of pleasant smelling oil. The oil properties suggests the oil consists principally of the same hydroterpene found in the oil of the petroleum nut.
Properties
• Antibacterial, antipyretic.
Parts used and preparation
Leaves, bark, fruit juice.
Uses
Folkloric
- Decoction of bark used for fever and cough.
- Powdered bark in small doses used as antipyretic.
- Powdered bark also used as febrfuge; in large doses, a general antidote.
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Also used for bronchitis.
- Decoction of leaves used as aromatic bath after childbirth or
prolonged illness.
- Fruit juice and decoction used for cleansing wounds.
Others
- Wood: Used for jewelry beads; firewood.
Studies
• Mutagenic and Antimutagenic Activities: Of 138 Philippine medicinal plant preparations studied,
only 12, including P. pentandrum, exhibited detectable genotoxicity in any system.
• Sesquiterpene Glycosides: Study of chloroform extract yielded two novel eudesmane-type sesquiterpene glycosides and a known triterpene betulin.
Availability
Wild-crafted. |
