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Botany
Dapdap is a deciduous
tree reaching a height of 15 meters, the branches and the branchlets
stout and armed with short, few to many sharp prickles. Leaflets are broadly ovate and 8 to 18 centimeters long,
with pointed tip and broad base. Racemes are terminal, hairy, dense, and up to 2.5 centimeters long. Flowers are papillonaceous, large and numerous. Calyx is about 4 centimeters long and minutely 5-toothed
at the tip, the mouth being very oblique. Petals are bright red
and shorter than the calyx, the standard being 7 to 9 centimeters long
and the wings and keels subequal. Stamens are 10, upper filaments
free nearly to the base or more or less connate with others.
Ovary many-ovuled, style incurved. Racemes terminal, hairy, dense
and up to 2.5 cm long. Fruits are pods, 10 to 25 centimeters long, 1.5 to 2 centimeters in diameter,
and distinctly constricted between the seeds.
 Distribution
- Along the seashore and frequently planted inland hroughout the Philippines.
- Occurs in India to Polynesia.
Constituents
• Seeds yield an alkaloid, a fatty oil, and a saponaceous glucoside.
• The alkaloid has properties identical to hypaphorine.
• Leaves and bark yield an a poisonous alkaloid, erythrinine, which acts on the nervous system with effects similar to the alkaloid cytisine.
• Bark, leaves and seeds yield saponin.
• Hydrocyanic acide is found in the leaves, stems, roots, and fruit.
• Phytochemical screening yielded eight spiromaine alkaloids and 3 carboxylated indole-3-alkylamines.
• Dried bark yields erythraline, hypaphorine, amino acids, organic acides, erythrinin, erybidin and saponins.
Properties
• Prepared drug tastes bitter,
neutral in effect.
• The bark is bitter, acrid, thermogenic, anti-inflammatory, sedative,
carminative, digestive, anthelminthic, rejuvenating, laxative, diuretic
and expectorant.
• The leaves are bitter, diuretic, laxative, emmenagogue, stomachic
and anthelmintic.
• Erythrina has a narcotic and depressant action on the central nervous system.
Part utilized
Bark and leaves.
Remove spines from bark after collection, rinse, sun-dry.
Uses
Folkloric
• In the Philippines, a sweetened decoction of bark and leaves used as expectorant. Bark also used to facilitate the maturation of boils.
• Leaves and roots used as febrifuge.
• Decoction of leaves used for coughs and asthma.
• Dried bark decoction or infusion in alcohol used for lumbar
and leg pain.
• In the Malay Peninsular, bark used for curing toothaches, rounded and pusjhed into the cavity or hollow tooth.
• In the Moluccas, bark chewed for dysentery.
• Pulverized leaves in the form of snuff used for Infantile convulsion and ascariasis.
• Wood rasped in water used for hematuria.
• Bark considered as antibilious and febrifuge.
• In the Peninsula and Indo-China, leaves used for poulticing sores.
• Seeds used internalluy and externally for cancer; externally for abscesses.
• In China, bark used as febrifuge and expectorant.
• In India and China,
the bark and leaves are used in many traditional medicinal concoctions.
Paribhadra, an Indian preparation, destroys parasites and relieves joint
pains. Honeyed leaf juice is used for tapeworm and roundworm diseases.
The juice also helps stimulate lactation and menstruation. A poultice
of leaves is used for rheumatic joints.
Studies
• Antibacterial:
Antibacterial activity of isoflavonoids isolated from Erythrina variegata
against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus:
16 isoflavonoids isolated from Erythrina variegata was screened for
antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staph aureus. Of
the active compounds, erycristagallin and orientanol B showed the highest
anti-MRSA activity.
•
Antibacterial / Erycristagallin / Dental Caries Prevention:
Study isolated compounds from EV with antibacterial
property against cariogenic oral bacteria. Among them was erycristagallin,
a potential phytochemical agent for the prevention of dental caries
by inhibiting the growth of cariogenic bacteria.
• Anti-osteoporotic
Effect: Study
showed that E. variegata could suppress the high rate of bone turnover
induced by estrogen deficiency and improve the biomechanical properties
of bone in the lab rats.
• Alkaloids / Nervous System Effects: The study
isolated eight spiroamine alkaloids and three carboxylated indole-3-alkylamines and showed characteristic pharmacological effects: (1) neuromuscular blocking,
(2) smooth muscle relaxant, (3) CNS depressant, (4) hypocholeretic, and (5) anticonvulsant effects supporting
the indigenous use of the plants.
• Trypsin
/ Proteinase Inhibitors: Study
indicate that E. variegata proteinase inhibitors possess different potency
toward serine proteinases in blood coagualation and fibrinolytic systems.
• Antimicrobial
/ Cytoxicity: Study
isolated five compounds from the methanol extract of stem bark of EV:
epilupeol, 6-hydroxygenistein, 3ß, 28-dihydroxyolean-12-ene, epilupeol,
stigmasterol. Diiferent partitionates showed mild to moderate antimicrobial
activity and varying degrees of cytotoxicity.
• Antioxidant
/ Smooth Muscle Inhibitory Activity: Three new and 14 known compounds were isolated from E variegata. The smooth muscle studies on crude extract and their fractions showed inhibitory response, possibly with involvement of both muscarinic and adrenergic receptors. Significant antioxidant activity and a CNS depressive effect were also noted.
• Lectin
/ Cytoxicity: Study
isolated a human erythrocyte specific lectin from the seeds of E. variegata. The purified lectin was a glycoprotein which induced transformation of peripheral blood lymphocytes in cultures.
• Anti-Cancer: Study
of methanol extract of the root bark of EV in Swiss albino mice showed a protective effect against Dalton's Ascitic Lymphoma (DAL) with evidence of a significant increase in life span, decrease in cancer cell number and tumour weight and normalization of hematologic parameters.
• Antioxidant / Hypolipidemic: Study
showed the protective effect of seeds of EV on high fat induced hyperlipidemia with lowering of total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, and VLDL. The effect may be attributed to decrease cholesterol synthesis, increase cholesterol excretion and expression of LDL receptor and catabolism. The antioxidant effect may play a role in retarding or preventing cardiovascular complications secondary to hyperlipidemia.
• Hypoglycemic Effect: Study
concluded that E. variegata demonstrated promising hypoglycemic action in stretozotocin-induced diabetic rats.
• Antibacterial / Mupirocin Synergism: Study
isolated an isoflavone, bidwillon B which inhibited the growth of 12 MRSA strains at minimum inhibitory concentrations. Combined with mupirocin, synergistic effects were observed for 11 strains of MRSA. Both compounds act on MRSA via different mechanisms. Bidwillon B presents as a potent phytotherapeutic and/or combination agent with mupirocin in the elimination of nasal and skin carriage of MRSA.
Availability
Wild-crafted. |
