Scientific Name
Alyxia reinwardtii Blume
Synonyms
Alyxia aromatica Reinw. ex A.DC., Alyxia calcicola Markgr., Alyxia cinerea Bakh.f., Alyxia flavescens Pierre ex Pit., Alyxia forbesii King & Gamble, Alyxia jasminae Tsiang & P.T.Li, Alyxia kerrii Mabb., Alyxia kurzii Burkill, Alyxia lucida Wall., Alyxia lucida var. meiantha Stapf, Alyxia nitens Kerr, Alyxia odorata Wall. ex G.Don, Alyxia oleifera var. tenuifolia Ridl., Alyxia pisiformis Pierre ex Pit., Alyxia pumila Hook.f., Alyxia quinata Miq., Alyxia reinwardtii var. cinerea (Bakh.f.) Markgr., Alyxia reinwardtii var. insularis Markgr., Alyxia reinwardtii var. latifolia (Blume) Bakh.f., Alyxia reinwardtii var. meiantha (Stapf) Markgr., Alyxia reinwardtii var. obovaluta Markgr., Alyxia reinwardtii var. pumila (Hook.f.) Markgr., Alyxia stellata var. latifolia Blume, Alyxia winckelii Bakh.f., Gynopogon brevifolius Kurz, Gynopogon flavescens Pierre [Invalid], Gynopogon pisiformis Pierre [Invalid], Gynopogon pumilus (Hook.F.) K. Schum., Gynopogon reinwardtii (Blume) Koord., Pulassarium breviflorum (Kurz) Kuntze, Pulassarium flavescens Pierre [Invalid], Pulassarium odoratum (Wall. ex G.Don) Kuntze, Pulassarium pisiforme Pierre [Invalid], Pulassarium pumilum (Hook.f.) Kuntze, Pulassarium quinatum (Miq.) Kuntze. [1]
Vernacular Name
| Malaysia | Mempelasari, pulasari, akar bagan [2][3] |
| English | Alyxia cinnamon [3], forbes alyxia [4] |
| China | Chang hua lian zhu teng [4] |
| Indonesia | Adas pulasari, akar mempelas hari, areuy palasari, areuy pulasari, balasari, calapari, calpari, das plasera, empelas hari, mempelas hari, palasari, pulasari, pulosari, purasane, talatari [4] |
| Thailand | Chalut, luut, nut [3], cha-loot [4] |
| Vietnam | Ng[oo]n d[aa]y v[as]t [4] |
| Germany | Alyxia-Zimtrinde [3]. |
Geographical Distributions
Alyxia reinwardtii has been found throughout Peninsula Malaysia, Indonesia and Madagascar. [2][3][5]
Botanical Description
A. reinwardtii is a member of the Apocynaceae family. It is a climbing shrub freely branching with younger branches quadrangular and pubescent. They are covered with smooth, shining, brown, or mahagony-coloured bark. [6]
The leaves are opposite and in young branches are quatern, obovate, acute, sometimes obtuse, coriaceous, shining above and smooth. They measure 7.5-10 cm long. [6]
The flowers are small, yellowish white, fragrant, pubescent, and in corymbs appearing axillary. The bracts are linear, villous. The calyx is villous, deeply divided into five linear teeth. The lobe of the limb is oblong, about as long as the tube, which is a little pubescent within. The ovary is villous with capillary and long style. The stigma is sub-capitate. [6]
The drupes are two on each calyx, oval, subacute, of a pale ferruginous colour, obscurely eight furrowed and single seeded. [6]
Cultivation
No documentation.
Chemical Constituent
No documentation.
Plant Part Used
Bark. [3]
Traditional Use
The bark of A. reinwardtii is also known as white cinnamon and is used as spice and to impart fragrance to stored clothing. It has carminative properties and is used in the treatment of dyspepsia and flatulence. [2][5][7][8]
Preclinical Data
Pharmacology
Antimalarial activity
The methanol leaf extract of A. reinwardtii exhibited mild antimalarial activity against Plasmodium berghei ANKA strain. [9]
Xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity
The ethanol extract of A. reinwardtii exhibited significant inhibitory activity on xanthine oxidase with IC50 of 230.1 8 µg/mL. [10]
Clinical Data
No documentation.
Poisonous Management
No documentation.
Line Drawing
References
- The Plant List. Ver1.1. Alyxia reinwardtii Blume. [homepage on the Internet]. c2013 [updated 2012 Mar 23; cited 2016 Apr 14]. Available from: http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-7402
- Hanelt P, Buttner R. Mansfeld’s encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 2001; p. 1744.
- Seidemann J. World spice plants: Economic usage, botany, taxonomy. Berlin: Springer Verlag, 2005; p. 32.
- Quattrocchi U. CRC World dictionary of medicinal and poisonous plants: Common names, scientific names, eponyms, synonyms and etymology. Volume I A-B. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, 2012; p. 225.
- Burkill IH. A Dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. Volume 1. London: Published on behalf of the Governments of the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States by the Crown Agents for the Colonies, 1935; p. 122.
- Roxburgh W, Wallich N. Flora Indica: or descriptions of Indian plants. Volume 2. Serampore: Mission Press, 1824; p. 541.
- Redaksi Agromedia, Sugiarto A. 273 Ramuan tradisional untuk mengatasi aneka penyakit. Jakarta: Agromedia Pustaka, 2008; p. 18.
- Priyadi H, Takao G, Rahmawati I, Supriyanto B, Nursal WI, Rahman I. Five hundred plant species in Gunung Halimun Salak National Park, West Java. Bogor Barat, Indonesia: Center for International Forestry Research, 2010; p. 126-127.
- Basir R, Chan KL, Yam MF, et al. Antimalarial activity of selected Malaysian medicinal plants. Phytopharmacology. 2012;3(1):82-92.
- Vikneswaran M, Chan Kl. Xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity of some Malaysian plants. Malays J Sci. 1970;24(1).
- Sangat-Roemantyo HM. & Middleton DJ. Alyxia reinwardtii Blume. In: van Valkenburg, J.L.C.H. and Bunyapraphatsara, N. (Editors): Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 12(2): Medicinal and poisonous plants 2. PROSEA Foundation.2001. Bogor, Indonesia.
