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Botany
A tree, smooth
and growing to 10 m high. Bark is pale and transversely cracked.
Wood is light and soft. Leaves are simple, elliptic-oblong, about
20 cm wide. Flowers are numerous, 4-parted, pinkish yellow, on
dense and pedunculate short-stalked umbels.
Distribution
Found in Cagayan,
Luzon; Mindoro and Palawan; Lanao, Mindanao; in forests at low
altitudes.
Constituents
and chemical properties
Fixed oil, 33%; an alkaloid;
bitter principle; glycoside; samaderin.
Bark is toxic with a bitter principle similar to quassin.
Parts used and preparation
Seeds, bark, and wood.
Uses
Folkloric
Fever: Take decoction
of bark and wood as needed; or mixed with coconut oil.
Rheumatism: Roast seed, pound, and apply over affected area.
Skin eruptions: Bruise leaves and apply over affected area.
Juice from pounded bark also used for skin diseases.
Oil extracted from fruit kernels used for rheumatism.
Seeds worn around the neck for asthma prevention.
Infusion of wood taken as a tonic.
Infusion of leaves used as insectiside, especially against white ants.
In the Congo and Madagascar, used for malaria.
Studies
• Antiinflammatory / Antimalarial: Indonesian medicinal plants; XVII. Characterization of quassinoids from
the stems of Quassia indica: Study
yielded four new quassinoids, a ndew quassinoid glycoside, with five
known quassinoids. Some showed activity againsst Plasmodium falcifarum
(samadeines X), in vitro cytotoxicity, and anti-inflammatory activity.
•Antiplasmodial: In vitro antiplasmodial
activity of 18 plants used in Congo Brazzaville traditional medicine.
• Quassinoids: Biologically Active Quassinoids and Their Chemistry: Potential
Leads for Drug Design – Quassinoids possess a wide spectrum of biological
activities. Reports have been made of its antimalarial, antiinflammatory
and antiviral properties and two studies have been published on quassinoids
antitumor activity, but thus far the compounds have been found to be
too toxic for clinical use.
Availability
Wild-crafted. |
