Botany
Santol is a tree growing up to
20 meters high, with softly hairy young branches and leaves. Leaves are groups of 3 leaflets, elliptic to oblong-ovate, 10 to 25 centimeter long, with pointed
tips and round bases. Flowers are numerous, somewhat fascicled, about 1 centimeter long, in greenish or yellowish clusters.
Fruits are rounded and somewhat flattened, 4 to 6 centimeters, yellowish-orange when ripe with a thick pericarp. Seeds are large, surrounded by a translucent or pale, sweet tasting edible pulp.
Distribution
- Throughout settled areas in the Philippines, planted or semi-cultivated, and abundant in secondary
forests.
- Introduced into the Philippines, now thoroughly established.
- Native to Malaysia, Cambodia and Southern Laos.
-
Reported in Indonesia, India and the Andaman Islands.
Insert
Santo fruit buds and
flowers.
Constituents
- Bark contains traces of a bitter principle, a toxic alkaloid.
- Seed contains an amorphous bitter principle.
- Bark also contains a bitter substance, sandoricum acid, similar to
acids found in Chisocheton, dysoxylum, heynea and carapa.
- Thai study yielded two new limonoids from the leaves: sandoripin A and
sandoripin B.
- Study on leaves have yielded trijugin-type limonoids, sandrapins A, B, C, D and E and sandoripin A and B.
- Studies have yielded more than 10 terpenoids.
- Seeds have yielded andirobin-type limonoids - sandoricin and 6-hydroxysandoricin.
- Fruit hulls have yielded bryononic acid and bryonolic acid terpenoids, meso-inositol and dimethyl mucate polyalcohol.
- Stem bark studies have yielded triterpenoids such as, katonic acid, indicic acid, koetjapic acid, 3-oxo-12-oleanen-29-oic acid, alloaromadendrene, caryophyllene oxide, spathulenol], bryononic acid, secobryononic acid, secoisobryononic acid, 20-epikoetjapic acid, 3-epikatonic acid and sandorinic acid A, B and C.
Properties
Roots is aromatic,
carminative, antispasmodic, astringent, stomachic, and tonic.
Fruit considered astringent.
Parts
used
Roots, bark, and
leaves.
Uses
Nutrition
High in carbohydrates,
fair in iron, but low in calcium.
Fair source of vitamin B.
Santol makes a delicious preserve - peeled, quartered, and cooked in syrup.
Folkloric
- Fresh leaves applied to the skin are sudorific.
- Used by the Ifugaos for diarrhea.
-
Decoction or infusion
of leaves used for baths to reduce fever.
- Also, used for diarrhea and as a tonic after childbirth.
- Bark poultice used for ringworm.
- Bitter roots, bruised with vinegar and water, is a carminative; used
for diarrhea and dysentery.
- Pounded barks applied to ringworm.
- Leaves used for skin infections and rashes.
- Roots used as tonic.
- Roots used in Malayan medicine as preventive after childbirth and as a general tonic.
- In Malaysia, aqueous extract of the bark is consumed as a tonic after childbirth.
- In Indonesia, bark decoction used to treat leucorrhea and colic.
 Studies
• Ichthyotoxic and
Anticarcinogenic Effects: Two ichthyotoxic triterpenoids
were isolated with non-toxic katonic acid which showed remarkable inhibitory
effect on Epstein-Barr virus early antigen activation. The triterpenoid
koetjapic acid showed promising chemopreventive possibility.
• Anti-cancer: Study
isolated a new ring-A secotriterpene, koetjapic acid, and five known compounds. Two compounds
exhibited significant cytotoxic activity against cultured human cancer
cells.
• Anti-inflammatory:
Stem extract study yielded 3-oxo-12-oleanen-29-oic aicd and katonic
acid which showed anti-inflammatory activity equivalent to indomethacin.
• DNA Polymerase B Inhibition:
Study isolated three compounds. Compounds 1 and 2 with derived derivatives 11, 12, and 13 showed activity against DNA polymerase B.
• Termite Repellent:
Although the research product was not quick in killing termites. it was as good as the commercial product in repelling them. It also showed to be enviromentally friendly, organic, lacking unpleasant odors and containing no dangerous chemicals.
• Antiangiogenic / Koetjapic Acid:
Study isolated koetjapic acid, a seco-A-ring oleanene triterpene. Results suggest the non-cytotoxic compound, KA, may be a potent antiangiogenic agent; its activity attributed to the inhibition of endothelial cells migration and differentiation as well as VEGF suppression.
• Breast Cancer / Cytotoxic / Apoptotic:
A n-hexane extract showed dose-dependent cytotoxic and apoptotic activities on all breast cancer cell lines. Study provides evidence for the presence of an effective anticancer agent in the stem bark of S. koetjape.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
Cultivated for its fruit.
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