| Botany
Small- to medium-sized deciduous tree
growing to a height of 15 m. Leaves are alternate, narrow-elliptic,
acuminate, wedge-shaped at the base, up to 12 cm long, glossy and dark
green above and pale underneath, the margins slightly toothed. Flowers
are staminate, in long catkins; the pistillate flowers are in short
catkins, becoming woody cones with 5-lobed scales.
Distribution
Indigenous to Korea.
Grows in Baguio and other parts of the Mountain Province.
Propagated by seed or grafting.
Constituents
and properties
(1) Hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects
of Alnus japonica extracts on acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity in
rats.
(2) Two diarylheptanoids, oregonin and hirsutanone were isolated by
bioassay-guided fractionation of the methanol extracts of the leaves
of Alnus japonica Steud and their structures were elucidated from their
spectroscopic data. Compounds exhibited significant low-density lipoprotein
(LDL)-antioxidant activities.
Parts used
Stem bark, leaves.
Uses
Folkloric
No reported folkloric medicinal use in the Philippines.
Popular folk medicine in Korea, used for cancer, gastric disorders, hepatitis and fatty liver.
Various species of alder, including this species, seem to contain antitumour
compounds.
Other
uses
Dye is obtained fromm the bark.
Wood - close grained; used for turnery, charcoal.
Studies
• Hepatoprotective / Antioxidant: Alnus japonica showed antioxidant activity and hepatoprotective effects against acetaminophen-induced cytotoxicity in cultured hepatocytes in vitro.
• Cytotoxic / Diarylheptanoids: Study isolated 10 compounds from the bark of Alnus japonica. The diarylheptanoids showed potent cytotoxic activities against murine B16 melanoma cells and human SNU-C1 gastric cancer cell line.
• Anti-Influenza / Diarylheptanoids: Study isolated
two rare acylated diarylheptanoids from the bark of A japonica – oregonoyl A and oregonoyl B, with nine known compounds. Platyphyllone, was strongly active, and platyphyllonol-5-xylopyranoside was
moderately active on antiviral testing, comparede with positive control, zanamivir.
• Anti-Atherosclerosis / Diarylheptanoids: Study isolated reported the inhibitory effects of two diarylheptanoids from the methanolic extracts of Alnus japonica leaves on the expression of adhesion molecules in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Results suggest the compounds may be useful in prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis.
• Antioxidant: Study isolated naturally occurring bioactive compounds from AJ that showed significant radical-scavenging antioxidant activity in a concentration-dependent manner.
• Antioxidant / Anti-LDL Oxidation / Anti-Inflammatory: Study isolated 5-O-methylhirsutanonol (5-MH) from the leaves of A japonica which exhibited antioxidant activities on Cu2+ and AAPH-mediated LDL oxidation and well as macrophage-mediated LDL oxidation. 5-MH also suppressed the expression of inflammation-associated genes, such as tumor necrosis factor alpha, COX-2 and IL-1ß.
• Hirsutenone / Atopic Dermatitis: Study isolated hirsutenone from the bark of Alnus japonica. Results showed hirsutenone may specifically inhibit calcium-activated processes in both T cells and mast cells and presents a potential for a new topical drug for atopic dermatitis, probably through a calcineurin inhibitor-mimicking mechanism.
Availability
Wildcrafted.
Cultivated.
|
