Barringtonia acutangula
| Barringtonia acutangula | |
|---|---|
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| A Barringtonia acutangula tree on the Hoan Kiem Lake | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Lecythidaceae |
| Genus: | Barringtonia |
| Species: | B. acutangula |
| Binomial name | |
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Barringtonia acutangula (L.) Gaertn. |
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| Synonyms | |
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Barringtonia acutangula is a species of Barringtonia native to coastal wetlands in southern Asia and northern Australasia, from Afghanistan east to the Philippines and Queensland. Common names include freshwater mangrove, itchytree and mango-pine.
This plant is a big tree that grows to about 8–15 m high. Its leaves are thick, smooth and oval in shape, about 8–12 cm long and 4–5 cm wide, with reddish petioles about 0.5–1.0 cm long. The plant has drooping raceme of up to 50 cm long, with numerous large, white flowers. Its fruit is oval-shaped and about 3 cm long, with 1 seed inside.
The young leaves of this plant are consumed as food, such as in Vietnam where they are eaten fresh with other vegetables, meat and shrimp.
Research on this plant has reported a number of medicinal uses, including antitumor (seed extract), antibiotic, inhibition of growth of Helicobacter pylori, antinociceptive activity and antifungal activity.
Its bark contains potent opioid painkillers [1]
Also 3,3'-dimethoxy ellagic acid, dihydromyticetin, gallic acid, bartogenic acid and stigmasterol, triterpenoids, olean-18-en-3beta-O-E-coumaroyl ester and olean-18-en-3beta-O-Z-coumaroyl ester 12, 20(29)-lupadien-3-o
Oleanane-type isomeric triterpenoids:- racemosol A (1) [22alpha-acetoxy-3beta,15alpha,16alpha,21beta-tetrahydroxy-28-(2-methylbutyryl)olean-12-ene] and isoracemosol A (2) [21beta-acetoxy-3beta,15alpha,16alpha,28-tetrahydroxy-22alpha-(2-methylbutyryl)olean-12-ene].
Saponins,: barringtoside A, 3-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl(1-->3)-[beta-D-galactopyranosyl(1-->2)]-beta-D- glucuronopyranosyl barringtogenol C; barringtoside B, 3-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl(1-->3)-]beta-D-galactopyranosyl(1-->2)]-beta-D- glucuronopyranosyl-21-O-tigloyl-28-O-isobutyryl barringtogenol C; barringtoside C, 3-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl(1-->3)-[beta-D-galactopyranosyl(1-->2 )]-beta-D - glucuronopyranosyl barringtogenol C.
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Wikipedia