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 Botany
Dawag is a rather large, spiny woody vine which is pungent in all its
parts and provided with sharp, recurved prickles. Leaves are 3-foliate. Leaflets are stalkless, sessile, ovate-elliptic,
obovate or obovate-oblong; 3 to 8 centimeters long, 5 to 25 millimeters wide, and
rounded at the base, pointed at the apex. Flowers are small, greenish-white, 5 millimeters across, and borne
on terminal cymes or from the upper leaf axils. Fruit is small, nearly spherical, less than 1 centimeter in diameter,
borne in fairly large clusters, 3- to 5- grooved, and with as many
cells, and orange-red when ripe. Seeds solitary in each cell.
Distribution
- In thickets at
low and medium altitudes, ascending to 1,700 meters only in Benguet, Bontoc, Rizal, Laguna, and Nueva Viscaya Provinces in Luzon; and in Palawan.
- Also reported in India to southern China and Malaya.
Constituents
- Volatile oil, 0.08%
- toddalolactone, citronella, linalool.
- Stem bark - aculeatin; aculeatin hydrate; colorless substance,
m.p.239.
- Yields 0.08% oil by steam distillation, largely linalool. Oil has an odor suggesting a mixture of camphor and lemon grass.
Properties
- Bitter-tasting, minty, warming-natured.
-
Activates blood, dissipates
contusions.
- Considered
antiphlogistic, analgesic.
- Root bark considered antimalarial, antiperiodic, antipyretic, tonic and carminative.
- Volatile oil from the leaves have a pleasant odor resembling verbena of basilicum.
Parts
utlized
· Entire plant.
· May be collected the whole year round.
· Rinse, cut into sections, sun-dry.
Uses
Folkloric
· In the Philippines, decoction of root used as antidiarrhetic and dynamogenic during convalescence from fevers.
· Infusion of root bark used as bitter stomachic, tonic and febrifuge.
· Leave chewed for stomach disorders.
· Used for rheumatic arthritis, sprains, contusions, intercostal neuralgia, cough, malaria, dysentery and gastralgia.
· Used for poisonous snakebites, nausea, bronchitis, wounds, contaminated ulcers, epilepsy, gonorrhea and general debility.
· Root bark used as antimalarial, antiperiodic and antipyretic. Fresh root bark, as infusion or fluid extract, used as stimulating tonic and carminative.
· For furuncles, pounded fresh leaves applied as poultice.
· Dosage: 6 to 9 gms dried material in decoction. Pounded fresh
leaves or bark may be used as poultices over afflicted areas.
· In East Africa, used most often
for stomach problems. Also used for malaria, cough, chest pains, food
poisoning and sore throat.
Others
· Oil used in making low-grade perfume.
Studies
• Antiplasmodial: A
new antiplasmodial coumarin was isolated from Toddalia asiatica roots – 5,7-dimethoxy-8-(3'-hydroxy-3'methyl-1'butene)-coumarin.The finding supports the traditional use of the plant for treatment
of malaria.
• Antiviral: Identification
of antiviral activity of Toddalia asiatica against influenza type A
virus: The study result suggests T. asiatica extract can be a
candidate for anti-H1Ni virus agent for treatment of influenza.
• Antimicrobial:
(1) Antimicrobial activity of the hexane and methanol extracts of collected
ethnomedicinal plants: Methanol and hexane extracts
of Toddalia asiatica showed antimicrobial activity. The essential oils
from the leaves were most active against E. coli, K. pneumonia, P. aeruginosa
and S. aureus. (2) In a study of 18 ethnomedicinal plants for antimicrobial activity, T asiatica was one of the six that showed most activity against nine bacterial strains: B subtilis, S aureus, S epidermis, E faecalis, E coli, K pneumonia, P aeruginosa, Ervinia sp,, P vulgaris.
• Antibacterial / Chemical Composition:
A. marmelos, T. asiatica and Z. budrunga were hydrolyzed
for its essential oils. The essential oils exhibited antibacterial activity
against S. aureus, B. subtilis, E. coli, P. aeruginosa. Todalia asiatica
showed strongest activity against E. coli and P. aeruginosa. Results
suggest a potential for large scale production and development of a
medicinal essential oil industry.
• Analgesic / Anti-Inflammatory: Study showed anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of the crude alklaloids of T asiactica. Furthermore, there was no long-term effects to the liver.
• Phytochemical: Study of T asiatica twigs isolated two new geranyloxycoumarins.
• Tumor Selective Cytotoxicity: Study isolated three benzo[c]phenanthridine derivative: DHN (dihydronitidine) NTD (nitidine), and DMN (demthylnitidine). NTD and DHN selectively reduced the growth of murine and human lung adenocarcinoma in vitro.
• Larvicidal / Smoke Repellency Effect Against Dengue Vector, A Aegypti: The LC50 of T asiatica was 47.893, 50.992, 54.461 and 61.278 on first to fourth instars. Smoked exposed gravid females hatched a lower percentage of eggs compared to unexposed females.
• Antioxidant: Alcoholic and aqueous extracts of Toddalia asiatica exhibited significant in vitro and in vivo antioxidant activity.
• Larvicidal: Hexane extract of fruits of T. asiatica showed highest larvicidal activity against fourth instars larvae of Dengue vector, Aedes aegypti and Filarial vector, Culex quinquefasciatus. Results show TA as a promising larvicide against both targeted mosquitoes.
Availability
Wild-crafted. |
