INTRODUCTION:

Elephant Apple is an evergreen large shrub or small to medium-sized tree growing to 15 m tall. It is native to southeastern Asia, from India and Sri Lanka east to southwestern China and Vietnam, and south through Thailand to Malaysia and Indonesia.

It grows in Valleys and streamsides^[1]. Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,524 meters (0 to 8,281 feet)^[2].

Taxonomy:

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Plantae

Subkingdom: Viridaeplantae

Phylum: Tracheophyta

Subphylum: Euphyllophytina

Infraphylum: Radiatopses

Class: Magnoliopsida

Subclass: Dilleniidae

Superorder: Dillenianae

Order: Dilleniales

Family: Dilleniaceae

Subfamily: Dillenioideae

Tribe: Dillenieae

Genus: Dillenia

Specific epithet: indica

Botanical name: - Dillenia indica

Vernacular Names^[3]:

English: Elephant Apple, Indian catmon, Hondapara Tree, Ma-tad

Assame: Chalita, Qutenga

Bengali: Chalta

Gujarati: Karambel

Kannada: Betta kanijala

Marathi: Mota karmal

Malayalam: Chalita, Punna

Manipuri: Heigri

Oriya: Qu, Uvu

Sanskrit: Korbhatta

Tamil and Telugu: Uva.

Hindi: Chalta, Karambel

Nepali: Paanca phal, Panca kule, Ram phal, Thulo tatri

Botanical Description^[3]:

An evergreen tree, 6-l5 m tall, with red, smooth, thick bark, and tomentose spreading branches.

Leaves:

Leaves usually near the end of branches, fascicled, blade l5-30 cm long, 5-l0 cm broad, glabrous above, pubescent on the nerves below, broadly elliptic – oblong -lanceolate, acuminate, regularly serrate, secondary veins 30-40 paired ending in the serratures, not forking at the margins; petiole channelled, sheathing and densely tomentose at the base, 2-4 cm.

Flowers:

Flowers solitary, terminal, bisexual, drooping, l5-20 cm. across, appearing with leaves, pedicel 7-8 cm, clavate, smooth. Sepals 4 cm long, 2 cm broad, orbicular, concave, fleshy, thick but with membranous margins, yellowish green. Petals 8-l0 cm long, 5-8 cm broad, spreading, obovate or oblong, white. Stamens numerous, inner long, bending over the outer erect and short ones forming a large yellow globe in the centre crowned by the white spreading rays of stigma, anthers versatile, 0.5-l cm long. Carpels l6-20, ovary fleshy, pale green, sub-reniform, stigmas linear, lanceolate, recurved.

Fruit:

Fruit indehiscent, permanently covered by greenish, yellow or orange calyx, mucilaginous, 5-l2 cm. across.

Seeds:

Seeds numerous, small, thickened, hairy along the edges, reniform.

Traditional Claims^[4]:

Juice of the fruits is taken to cure dysentery problem. The fruit pulp is used in Indian Cuisine in curries, jam, and jellies.

Root - in food poisoning

Root-bark - along with leaf paste applied externally in sprains

Young bark and Leaf - astringent

Fruit-juice - mixed with sugar and water serves as a cooling beverage in fever and as a cough syrup

Ripe fruit-juice - removes flatulence, increases quantity of semen, galactogogue, combats weakness, external application helps supuration of boil and checks loss of hair.

Phytoconstituents:

Different phyto constituents (figure 1) have been isolated from different parts of Dillenia indica which has been enlisted below:

Leaves:

Cycloartenone, n- hentriacontanol, Betulinic Acid and β – Sitosterol^[5]

Fruits:

Various Polysaccharrides such as Arabinose, Galactose, Galacturonic acid together with traces of Mannose were reported^[6].

Bark:

Betulin, Betulinic acid, Lupeol, β – Sitosterol, Kaempferol glycoside and Quercetin were reported¹. New Pentacyclic Triterpene Lactone 3 β – hydroxy lupan - 13 β, 28 – olide and Myricetin were isolated Stem bark. Some Flavonol glycosides such as 3’,5’ – dihydroxy – 4’, 3 – dimethoxy flavone – 7 – O – β – D – glucopyranoside, 4, 5, 7, 3’, 4’ – pentahydroxy flavone – 3 – O – β – D – glucopyranoside, 5, 7 – dihydroxy – 4’ – methoxy flavone – 3 – O – β – D – glucopyranoside and 1, 8 dihydroxy – 2 – methylanthraquinone – 3 – O – β – D- glucopyranoside were also isolated from Stembark^[7].Figure1

3β-hydroxy lupan-13β, 28-olide

β-sitosterol

Kaempferide 3-glucoride

Quercetin

Pharmacological Activities:

Although lot of pharmacological investigations have been carried out in the said plant, but a lot more can still be exploited and utilized. A summary of the findings of these studies is presented below.

Antioxidant Activity:

Antioxidant activity was determined by Phosphomolybdenum Method, β- carotene linoleate method and DPPH method. The total phenolic content was determined by Folin Ciocalteu Method showed highest phenolic conatent in the order of Methanolic, Ethyl Acetate and Water extracts. The results of free radical scavenging were also in accordance with the total phenolics present in the extracts^[8].

Antibacterial Activity:

Crude extracts from Dillenia indica’s kernel in n-hexane and chloroform obtained 7fractions called A-G. These 7 fractions were screened for antibacterial activity against E.coli. All fractions, except Fraction F possess antibacterial activity against E.coli. While Fraction D and Fraction G proved more active in inhibiting the growth of E.coli compared to the other, even with the antibiotic Chloramphenicol^[9].

Anti Leukemic Activity:

The methanolic extract of Dillenia indica L. fruits showed significant anti-leukemic activity in human leukemic cell lines U937, HL60 and K562. Fractionation of the methanolic extract, on the basis of polarity, in which the ethyl acetate fraction showed the highest anti-leukemic activity. A major compound, betulinic acid, was isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction by silica gel column chromatography and was identified and characterized. Betulinic acid could explain the anti-leukemic activity of the methanolic extract and the ethyl acetate fraction^[10].

Hepatoprotective Activity:

n-hexane extract of Dillenia indica seed showed significant hepatoprotective activity in wistar albino rats by decreasing the activity of serum enzymes, bilirubin, urea, creatinine and lipid peroxidation and assessed that seed extract possess potent hepatoprotective antioxidant properties and no toxic effects^[11].

Anti-Diarrheal Activity:

Aqueous and Methanolic extract of leaves of Dillenia indica (200 and 400 mg/kg, p.o.) have significant antidiarrheal activity comparable to that produced by loperamide, used as standard drug in mice^[12].

Antimicrobial Activity:

Bark extract of Dillenia indica were tested against four gram positive and seven gram negative and three pathogenic fungi. N-hexane and Dichloromethane fraction showed remarkable activities against all organisms whereas methanolic crude extract showed highest activity against fungus^[13].

Anti Inflammatory Activity:

Methanolic extract of Dillenia leaves were tested for Anti-inflammatory activity by Carrageenan induced edema and Acetic acid Capillary permeability methods. Methanolic extract showed significant activity in paw edema test and Acetic acid induced capillary permeability at 200 and 400mg/kg body weight^[14].

CONCLUSION:

Dillenia indica has been ethnomedicinally used as a therapeutic agent for a variety of diseases, as we have illustrated in this article. Moreover, numerous research works have proven its uses beyond the ethnomedicinal ones in experimental animals. Carbohydrates and flavonoids which were isolated from this plant may be responsible for its pharmacological activities. The road ahead is to establish specific bioactive molecules, which might be responsible for these actions. Therefore the cultivation, collection, and further pharmacological exploration of Dillenia indica are essential

REFERENCES:

1. "Dillenia". in Flora of China Vol. 12 Page 332. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org

2. Mean = 367.870 meters (1, 206.923 feet), Standard Deviation = 699.410 based on 15 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre

3. Available from: URL: http://zipcodezoo.com/Plants/D/Dillenia_indica/

4. Tiwari KC et al., Indian J of Traditional KnowledgeVol 9, No.4, Oct 2010, pp-760 – 764.

5. Ram P. Rastogi and B.N. Mehrotra, Compendium of Indian Medicinal Plants, CDRI, Lucknow, Vol. III, 1980-84, pp. 250

6. Ram P. Rastogi and B.N. Mehrotra, Compendium of Indian Medicinal Plants, CDRI, Lucknow, Vol. I, 1960-69, pp. 163

7. Ram P. Rastogi and B.N. Mehrotra, Compendium of Indian Medicinal Plants, CDRI, Lucknow, Vol. II, 1970-79, pp. 270

8. Ab dille Md.H et al., Antioxidant activity of the extracts from Dillenia indica fruits, Food Chemistry, 2005, Vol. 90, issue 4, pp: 891 – 896.

9. Rita Arbianti, Tania Surya Utami, Ifa Puspasari, Antibacterial activity analysis of Dillenia indica’s kernel extract for Escherichia coli: A Preliminary Study, QIR, the 10^th International Conference on Quality in Research, Engineering Centre University of Indonesia, Depok

10. Kumar D et al., Anti-leukemic activity of Dillenia indica L. fruit extract and Quantification of Betulinic acid by HPLC, Phytomedicine, 2010, 17(6): 431 – 5.

11. Himakar Reddy K et al., Studies on Hepatoprotective effect of hexane extract of Dillenia indica against CCL4 induced toxicity and its safety evaluation in wistar albino rats, Research Journal of Pharmaceutical, Biological and Chemical Sciences 2010, Vol1, Issue 3, 441-450.

12. Yeshwante S B et al., Anti-Diarrheal Activity of Methanolic and Aqueous Extracts of Dillenia indica L, Research Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacodynamics, 2009, Vol 1, Issue 3, pp:140-142.

13. M. Badrul Alam, M. Sarowar Hossain, M. Ekramul Haque, Evaluation of antimicrobial and toxicity of different fractions of Dillenia indica linn. Bark extract, Journal of Global Pharma Technology, Available from: URL: www.jgpt.co.in, 37 – 42.

14. Yeshwante S, Juvekar A, Nagmoti D et al, Anti-inflammatory activity of methanolic extracts of Dillenia indica L. leaves (2009), Available from: URL: http://en.scientificcommons.org/47839634

Received on 08.03.2011 Modified on 19.03.2011

Research J. Pharm. and Tech. 4(7): July 2011; Page 1037-1039