 Botany
Matang-ulang is a climbing, smooth shrub, reaching a height of 4 meters or more. Leaves are oblong, 8 to 16 centimeters long, margins entire or faintly and distantly toothed, and pointed at both ends. Flowers are borne in clusters in the axils of the leaves. Sepals are very small; petals are five and about 3.5 millimeters long. Fruit is ovoid or rounded, red, fleshy, about 1 centimeter in diameter, containing one seed.
Distribution
- In thickets and forests at low altitudes, often near the sea, in Zambales, Bataan, Batangas, Quezon, and Camarines Provinces in Luzon; and in Mindoro, Palawan, Biliran, Romblon, Leyte, Panay, Bucas Grande, Mindanao, and the Sulu Archipelago.
- Also occurs in India, through Malaya to tropical Australia.
Constituents
- Study isolated sixteen compounds, including seven triterpenes ( lupeol, lupendiol, 30-hydorxylupenone, 3, 22-dioxo-29-normoretane, ursolid acid, beta-sitosterol, beta-daucosterol); four flavanoids (quercetin, quercet-in-3', 4'-dimethylether, Isorhamnetin, kaempferol-4'-methylether); three phenolic acids (gallic acid, ethyl gallate, egallic acid); two fatty series (hentriacontanol, hentriacontan-12-ol).
- Root bark yields diketones, fatty matter, rubber, dulcitol, mangiferin, phlobatannin, and glycosidal tannins.
Properties
- Considered invigorating to the circulation.
- Roots considered astringent and abortifacient.
Parts used
Roots.
Uses
Folkloric
- Decoction of roots used for amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea.
- Considered abortifacient.
- In India, hot water extraction of the whole plant has been used orally as anti-diabetic; dried parts of the plant including the rootbark, also used for the same.
- In traditional South and Southeast Asian herb medicine, used as antidiabetic agent.
Studies
• Anti-Diabetic / Herbal Formuation: (1) An herbal formulation of Salacia chinensis with an extract from Hippophae rhamnoides or Coccinia indica studied for the prevention of endothelial dysfunction and microvascular complications. In a study on streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, Salacia chinensis showed better glucose lowering effect than S. oblonga. (2) Antidiabetic function attribured to a-glucosidase inhibitory activity.
• Chemical Constituents: Studies yielded 16 compounds, including 7 triterpenes, four flavanoids, three phenolic acids.
• Anti-Hyperglycemic / Antioxidant / a-Glucosidase Inhibition / Salcinol: Study showed the methanolic extract from the stems of Salacia chinensis showed potent anti-hyperglycemic effects in oral sucrose or maltose-loaded rats, inhibitory effects on intestinal a-glucosidase, rat lens aldose reductase and radical scavenging activities. Study also isolated the a-glucosidase inhibitor, salacinol.
• Mangiferin Constituents / Anti-Mutagenic: Mangiferin was found to be non-mutagenic to five S. typhimurium tester strains. The ethanol extract showed a significant dose-dependent anti-mutagenic activity. Results suggest that triterpenoids might contain antioxidants which protect against mutagens.
• Triterpenes / Radical Scavenging Activity: Study of stems isolated two new friedelane-type triterpenes, salasones D and E, a new norfriedelane-type triterpene, salaquinone B, and a new polyacylated eudesmane-type sesquiterpenes. Some norfriedelane-type triterpene, lignan, and catechin constituents showed radical scavenging activity.
• Triterpenoid / Diabetes Treatment: A novel hopoglycemically active triterpenoid compound was isolated from S. prinoides, useful for treating insulin-dependent type 1 and non-insulin diabetes type 2 diabetes.
• Toxicity Study / Reproductive Effect: Studies of SC extract showed no toxic effects on reproductive outcome, any parameters of reproductive function or survival, growth, sensory reflex or function development in Sprague-Dawley rats, even at a remarkably high dose level.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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