Botany
Dita is a smooth tree growing 6 to 20 meters high. Branches are lenticellate. Bark is dark greyish, somewhat rough, yielding an abundant, bitter, and milky sap. Leaves are in whorls,4 to 7in a whorl, leathery, narrowly obovate to spatulate, 10 to 20 centimeters long, 3 to 4.5 centimeters wide, pointed at the base, rounded at the apex, glossy green on the upper surface, white or grayish on the underside. Laternal nerves are very numerous, parallel, and terminating in a intramarginal vein. Flowers are crowded, numerous, somewhat hairy, greenish-white, about 1 centimeter long, hairy in the throat, borne in compact, hairy cymes about 10 centimeters long. Fruits is made up of two slender follicles which are pendulous and cylindric follicles, 20 to 40 centimeters long, 4-5 millimeters in diameter. Seeds are 3 to 4 millimeters long, with brown ciliate hairs on the ends.

Distribution
- Found from Cagayan in northern Luzon to Palawan and Mindanao, in most or all islands and provinces, in primary and secondary forests at low and medium altitudes.
- Also reported from India to southern China, Malaysia, Laos, and tropical Australia.

Constituents
• Contains alkaloids, tannins, glycosides, triterpenoids, flavonoids and phenolic acid.
• Bark yield the alkaloids echitenine, ditamine; crystalline and toxic echitamine; ditaine; and an uncrystallizable and bitter principle.
• Study isolated from the mother-liquors of echitamine hydrochloride, a crystalline alkaloid, echitamidine.
• A petroleum ether extrac yielded echikautschin, echicerin, and echiretin.
• The bark contains indole alkaloids, including reserpine, echitamine, alstonine, tetrahydroalstonine, alstonidine, yohimbine and others.
• Antihypertensive effect due to reserpine and echitamine.
• A study revealed three new indole alkaloids: nareline ethyl ether, 5-epi-nareline ethyl ether and scholarine-N(4)oxide.

Properties
• Reported as antimicrobial, antiamoebic, antidiarrheal, antihypertensive, antimalarial, febrifuge, stimulant, hepatoprotective, immunomodulatory, anti-cancer, antiasthmatic, antioxidant, analgesic, antiinflammatory, anti-fertility, anti-diabetic, cardiotonic.
• Bitter bark and latex considered tonic and antiseptic.
• Ditamine or ditanin considered to possess antiperiodic properties equal to the best sulphate of quinine without the latter's disagreeable side effects

Parts used
Bark, leaves.

Uses
Folkloric
- In the Philippines, the bark is regarded as a remedy for fevers, chronic diarrhea, dysentery.
- Earlier Spanish records report the dita bark alkaloid was used in hospitals as a quinine substitute.
- Tonic wine was prepared by macerating 25 grams on the bark in a bottle of muscatel or sherry.
- Milky latex from the bark placed on cloth and applied as poultice to developing boils.
- Milky juice is applied to ulcers and rheumatic pains.
- Milky juice, mixed with oil, used as drops for earaches.
- Juice of leaves, mixed with fresh ginger root or zedoary, is given to women after confinement.
- Tender leaves, roasted and pulverized, are made into a poultice for unhealthy ulcers and foul discharges.
- Chronic diarrhea, fever: 1% decoction of bark as tea.
- Malaria: 5% decoction of bark as tea.
- Tincture of the bark occasionally used as galactagogue.
- Decoction of the bark used as tonic, febrifuge, emmenagogue, anticholeric and vulnerary.
- In eastern Malaysia, decoction of leaves used for beriberi.
- Decoction of leaves given for liver congestion.
- In Java, bark used as stomachic and is used as ingredient into mixtures used for coughs and vermifuges.
- Bark used as antidote for Antiaris poisoning.
- Late applied to hollow tooth for toothache.
- Powder of Alstonia cortex used for patients with paroxysmal attacks and those positive for malarial parasites in the finger's blood. (A clinical investigation in Queensland showed contrary results, that the drug has little or no demonstrable action in malaria induced in monkeys or naturally occurring in humans.)
- In India, dita bark is used as astringent, tonic, anthelmintic, alterative, antiperiodic and remedy for diarrhea and dysentery.
- In Ayurveda, infusion of bark soaked overnight used in diabetes.
- Poultice of young leaves used for ulcers.
Others
- Wood: Used for coffins and as plywood core.

Studies
• a-Glucosidase inhibitors / Diabetes: Study showed potent a-glucosidase inhibitory activity in the extract of dried leaves. It suggests further examination of A. scholaris as a medicinal supplement for the treatment and prevention of diabetes.
• Radioprotective: (1) The study showed that A. scholaris extract protected against radiation-induced hematological and biochemical changes in mice. (2) A study was done on an Alstonia scholaris bark extract to evaluate its radioprotective effect on cytogenetic alterations in the form of chromosomal aberrations and micronuclei induction in the bone marrow. Results showed pretreatment provides a radioprotective effect
• Anti-Cancer: (1) Effect of Alstonia scholaris in Enhancing the Anticancer Activity of Berberine in the Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma-Bearing Mice: The study on the chemomodulatory activity of ASE showed it was effective in the early stages with decreased efficiency in the later tumor developmental stages. (2) Study showed the efficacy of AS in inhibiting mutagenic changes induced by benzo(a)pyrene incuded forestomach carcinoma in female mice. (3) An anticancer study of various doses of an alkaloid fraction was done in cultured human neoplastic cell lines (HeLa, HepG2, HL60, KB and MCF-7) and in Ehrlic ascites carcinoma bearing mice. Results showed a time dependent increase in antineoplastic activity. There was also a dose-dependent decline in viable cells.
• Anti-diarrheal: Study showed the aqueous and alcoholic bark extracts of AS significantly reduced the diarrhea in mice.
• Anti-malarial: A study of extract of bark of AS was found to be devoid of antimalarial activity in mice infected with P berghei. However, a dose-dependent improvement of conditions aqnd delated mortality was found in animals receiving the methanol extract.
• Immunostimulatory: A study of bark extracts of AS cellular immune response and ihibited a delayed type hypersensitivity reaction.
• Anti-diabetic / Hypoglycemic: Study showed hypoglycemic effects attributed to insulin triggering mechanisms and direct insulin-like actions.
• Antioxidant / Free Radical Scavenging: (1) Study of ethanolic extract showed AS possess antioxidant properties with significant free radical scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging and significant ferric thiocyanate reducing activities. (2) Of 17 Indian medicinal plants, A scholaris showed the most potent NO scavenging activity.
• Comparative Antibacterial Study on Bark: Comparative study was done on the phytochemical and antibacterial activities of the bark of A. scholaris and A. macrophylla. Different solvent extracts showed alkaloids, saponins, phenolics, and tannins in both species. The chloroform extract of A. macrophylla showed broader spectrum of antibacterial activity than A. scholaris.
• Antitussive / Anti-Asthmatic / Expectorant / Picrinine: Study of alkaloid fractions of Alstonia scholaris leaf showed antitussive, anti-asthmatic and expectorant activities. The main antitussive and antiasthmatic effect were attributed to picrinine.
• Anti-Inflammatory / Analgesic: Study of alkaloid fraction of Alstonia scholaris leaf yielded three main alkaloids - picrinine, vallesamine and scholaricine which may produce anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects peripherally based on in vivo assays. In in vitro testing, the alkaloids exhibited inhibition of infammatory mediators (COX1, COX2 aNDS 5-LOX.
• Antidiarrheal / Spasmolytic: In a castor oil-induced diarrhea model, a drude extract of Alstonia scholaris exhibited antidiarrheal and spasmolytic effects, mediated possibly through the presence of calcium channel blocking constituents, a mechanism that provides mechanistic basis for its medicinal use in diarrhea and colic.
• Antidiabetic / Antihyperlipidemic: A study of an aqueous extract of AS bark in STZ-induced diaetic rats showed significant amelioration in fasting glucose, serum triglycerides, liver glycogen, glycosylated hemoglobin and body weight in diabetic rats.
• Antimycobacterial / Antihyperlipidemic: Study was done to evaluate the susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to butanolic extracts of bark and flowers of Alstonia scholaris. Results showed moderate bactericidal activity against clinical strains of sensitive and drug resistant M. tuberculosis. An invitro bioassay showed complete inhibition of the the fast grower MTB. Results show a clear indication of a potent anti-tubercle effect.
• In Vitro Cytotoxicity / Roots: Least studied of the plant parts, an in vitro study investigated the cytotoxic properties of the roots of the plant. Results showed time dependent effect. The cell viability was found to decrease with the increase in concentration of the isopropanol extract.
• Anti-Aging / Anti-Skin Irritation: A. scholaris decreased retinol-induced skin irritation, increased the ability of the retinoids to inhibit matrix metalloproteinase-1, which is strongly associated with anti-aging effects. Results suggest a potential compound that may increase the anti-aging function of retinoids while reducing its ability to cause skin irritation.

Availability
Wild-crafted.