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Family Simaroubaceae
Manunggal
Quassia indica Gaertn.
BITTER WOOD

Other scientific names  Common names   
Locandia pendula  Daraput (Bis.)  Palagarium (Bis.) 
Manungala pendula  Linatog-anat (Bis.)  Palagium (Bis.) 
Niota tetrapetala  Linton-gamai (Bis.)  Palo santo (Span.) 
Samadera indica  Mabingdato (Bis.)  Ponoan (Bis.)
Samadera tetrapetala Poir.  Malunggal (Tag.)  Bitter wood (Engl.)
Samandura indica Gaertn. Mongal (Tag.)   

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 pedunculated short-stalked umbels. Fruit is oval, about 6 cm long and 2.5 cm wide, consisting of one carpet, flattened and keeled.

Distribution
Found in Cagayan, Luzon; Mindoro and Palawan; Lanao, Mindanao; in forests at low altitudes.

Constituents
Fixed oil, 33%; with triolein 87.7 %, triplamitin, 8.41 %, tristearin 3.89%, an alkaloid, a bitter principle and a glycoside, samaderin.
The wood contains a bitter principle similar to quassin.


Properties
Bark is toxic with a bitter principle, as do the seeds.
Bark and wood considered febrifuge, tonic, stomachic and emmenagogue.
Roots and fruits considered stomachic.


Parts used and preparation
Seeds, bark, and wood.

Uses
Folkloric
Fever: A mixture of the powdered bark or wood scrapings in warm water or 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.
Seeds used as emetic and purgative.
Infusion of wood taken as a tonic, as a substitute for Quassia.
Infusion of leaves used as insecticide, 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.
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.
Quassinoids / Antifeedant: Study of the seeds and bark of Samadera indica yielded four quassinoids: indaquassin C, samaderins C, B and A. Indaquassin C was the most effective antifeedant. Samaderin C increased pupal duration and induced pupal mortality.
Mosquitocidal: Varied fractions and extracts, including Samadera indica leaf extracts significantly decreased the fecundity of mosquitoes and the hatchability of their eggs of C quinquefasciatus, A stephensi and Aedes aegypti.

Availability
Wild-crafted. 


Last Update July 2010

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Indonesian medicinal plants; XVII. Characterization of quassinoids from the stems of Quassia indica
(2)
In vitro antiplasmodial activity of 18 plants used in Congo Brazzaville traditional medicine / S F Mbatchi, B Mbatchi, J Y Banzouzi et al /
Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Vol 104, Issues 1-2, 8 Mar 2006, Pages 168-174/ doi:10.1016/j.jep.2005.08.068
(3)
Biologically Active Quassinoids and Their Chemistry: Potential Leads for Drug Design
(4)
Effects of plant extracts on fecundity and fertility of mosquitoes / J Muthukrishnan and E Pushpalatha / Journal of Applied Entomology, Volume 125 Issue 1-2, Pages 31 - 35 / Publ OnLine July 2008 / DOI 10.1111/j.1439-0418.2001.00503.


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