Gen info
-- Aglaia is a genus of 121 recognized species of woody dioecious trees belonging to the Mahogany family (Meliaceae), occurring in the subtropical and tropical forests of Southeast Asia, northern Australia and the Pacific. (3)
- Some species have been placed in the genus Lansium.
- In the Philippines, about 60 Aglaia species have been reported.
- Aglaia silvestris is a species of plant in the family Lamiaceae. The plant initiated the naming of Rocaglamide derivatives silvestrol and episilvestrol, which, in fact, were derived from the fruits and twigs of Aglaia foveolata. (2)
- Etymology: The specific epithet silvestris derives from Latin, meaning 'growing in the desert'.

Botany
• Tree up to 30 m (–50 m), with a broad rounded crown. Outer bark pale greyish-brown or reddish-brown, longitudinally split at wide intervals, with longitudinal rows of lenticels; inner bark reddish-brown, or dark orange-brown; sapwood paler than inner bark; heartwood pale yellowish-brown, almost white; latex white. Leaves imparipinnate, 19–65 cm long, 14– 35 cm wide; petiole 10–20 cm, petiole, rachis and petiolules densely covered with scales like those on twigs. Inflorescence up to 30 cm long and 20 cm wide; peduncle up to 15 cm, peduncle, rachis, branches and pedicels clothed like the twigs. Flowers up to 3.5 mm long and 2.5 mm wide; pedicel up to 2 mm long, pedicel and calyx densely covered with scales like those on the twigs. Petals 5 (or 6). Staminal tube longer than the corolla, obovoid, with a minute pore 0.2–0.3 mm across which is entire at the margin; anthers 5, 1 /3 to 1/2 the length of the tube, ovoid, inserted near the base and included in the tube. Fruits up to 2 cm long and wide, usually obreniform in outline, flattened, wrinkled when dry, brown, red, orange or yellow, densely covered with scales like those on the twigs, indehiscent, sometimes subglobose (New Guinea); the fruitstalks up to 1 cm.  (Flora Malesiana)

Distribution
- Native to the Philippines.
- Also native to Andaman Is., Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Cambodia, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Solomon Is., Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam. (1)
- Common in primary and secondary evergreen to semi-deciduous forest, up to 2100 m altiitude.

Constituents
- Study of root extract isolated an unusual dimeric triterpene structure with two dammarane units linked with an enaminic-NH-group. (8)
- Study of root bark extract isolated a triterpenoid acid (1) with molecular formula C 30 H 50 O 4 and its methyl ester (2). C NMR data showed the acid was a closely related stereoisomer of the 3,4-seco-dammarane type triterpenes shoreic acid (4) and eichlerianic acid (6). (11)

Properties
Studies have suggest anticancer, apoptotic, anti-acetycholinesterase properties/

Parts used
Leaves, fruit, twigs.

Uses
Edibility
- Fruit is edible; eaten raw, with a sweet flavor.
Folkloric
- No reported folkloric medicinal use in the Philippines.
- In Bengkulu, Indonesia, squeezed leaves externally applied to wounds; used as tonic. (9)
Others
- Wood: Heartwood is pale yellowish-brown to almost white. Sapwood is pale reddish-brown. Wood is light and fragrant. Used for making spear shafts, axe handles, house boards. Buttresses used in house building. (4)

Studies
• Anticancer / Silvestrol and Episilvestrol / Fruits and Twigs: Study of fruits and twigs isolated two cytotoxic rocaglate derivatives, silvestrol (1) and episilvestrol (2), along with 11 known compounds by bioassay-guided fractionation monitored with a human oral epidermoid carcinoma (KB) cell line. Compounds 1 and 2 showed potent in vitro cytotoxic activity. Silvestrol (1) was further evaluated in vivo in the hollow fiber test and in the murine P-388 leukemia model. (6)
• Anticancer via Apoptosis in LNCaP Cells / Silvestrol: Silvestrol is a novel rocaglade derivate from A. silvestris that exhibited potent invitro cytotoxic activity comparable to paclitaxel. Study focused on the mechanism by which silvestrol induces apoptosis in LNCaP cells. Silvestrol blocked cell cycle progression at the S and G2/M transitions and induced apoptosis. It disrupted the mitochondrial trans-membrane potential and induced cytochrome c release into the cytoplasam. Silvestrol treatment resulted in PARP cleavage. Study indicated silvestrol is a potent cytotoxic agent both in vitro and in vivo that induces apoptosis through a mechanism involving the mitochondrial/apoptosome pathway. (10)
• Anti-Acetylcholinesterase: Study evaluated an active ingredient from 'Chan Chamot' plant to prevent Alzheimer's disease (AD) using the bark extract and separating and purifying the substances in the coumarin group. Study found that the coumarin in 'Chan Chamot' plant could inhibit the enzyme acetyl-cholinesterase to a certain degree. (7)

Availability
Wild-crafted.
Seeds in the cybermarket.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Aglaia silvestris / KEW: Plants of the World Online
(2)
Aglaia silvestris / Wikipedia
(3)
Aglaia / Wikipedia
(4)
Aglaia silvestris / Ken Fern: Tropical Plants Database / Useful Tropical Plants
(5)
Aglaia silvestris / AsianPlantNet
(6)
Silvestrol and episilvestrol, potential anticancer rocaglate derivatives from Aglaia silvestris / Bang Yeon Hwang, Bao-Ning Su, Heebyung Chai et al /  J Org Chem., 2004; 69(10): pp 3350-3358 /
DOI: 10.1021/jo040120f.
(7)
Curing Incurable Alzheimer’s Disease with Medicinal Plants / Narong Chomchalow / AU J.T., 2013; 16(4): pp 215-220
(8)
Silvaglenamin—a novel dimeric triterpene alkaloid from Aglaia silvestris / Otmar Hofer, Silvia Pointinger, Lothar Brecker, Karoline Peter, Harald Greger / Tetrahedron Letters, 2009; 50(4): pp 467-468 /
DOI: 10.1016/j.tetlet.2008.11.048
(9)
The diversity and traditional knowledge of wild edible fruits in Bengkulu, Indonesia / Adi Bejo Suwardi, Syamsuardi, Erizal Mukhtar, Nurainas / Ethnobotany Research and Applications, 2023; 25:15: pp 1-17 /
DOI: 10.32859/era.25.15.1-17
(10)
Silvestrol, a novel rocaglate derivative from Aglaia silvestris with potential anticancer activity, induces apoptosis through the mitochondrial/apoptosome pathway in LNCaP cells / Soyoung Kim, Bang Yeon Hwang, Bao-Ning Su et al / Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics 4: Mechanisms of Action, 2004; 64(7S): 132
(11)
Isoeichlerianic acid from Aglaia silvestris and revision of the stereochemistry of foveolin B / Harald Greger / Tetrahedron Letters, 2008

DOI: It is not uncommon for links on studies/sources to change. Copying and pasting the information on the search window or using the DOI (if available) will often redirect to the new link page. (Citing and Using a (DOI) Digital Object Identifier)