Aglaia odorata

Aglaia odorata

Other Names : Chinese perfume plant, Chinese Perfume Tree, 樹蘭或者是米仔蘭, Mi zi lan, Fleur de riz chinoise
Aglaia odarata is a small tree that retains its green leaves throughout the year, and it can reach a height of 2 to 5 meters. Many parts of Aglaia odorata tree, such as roots, leaves, flowers and branches, can be used as medicine.

Health Benefits and uses of Aglaia odorata

Many parts of Aglaia odorata tree, such as roots, leaves, flowers and branches, can be used as medicine. Branches and leaves in oral administration: decocting, 6-12g; application: appropriate amount, or applied in smashed form or prepared ointment for external application. Flowers oral administration: decocting, 3-9g; or infused with boiled water. The Indonesian made use of a decoction of the leaves.

• The roots are boiled with water to make a drink to increase an appetite, In the Philippines, the roots and leaves can be used as a tonic.
• The dried flowers are used to cure mouth ulcers and reduce fever.
• In China, the branches are used boiled dried branches and dried leaves with water to reduce pain from rheumatic joints, injuries from falls, superficial infections and toxic swelling.
• Antimicrobial activities of the oil against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.
• In Indonesia, the flowers are used to relieve flatulence and dysphagia.
• The flowers are also used to treat coughs, vertigo and to ease child birth pains.
• The dried flowers and buds are used to make a scented tea.
• Decoction of the leaves is a remedy for diarrhoea and excessive menstruation flow. It is believed to be a tonic in such cases.
• The tender leaves are used as a vegetable in China.
• Branches and leaves have been used to relieve pain in rheumatic joints, injuries from falls, superficial infections, toxic swelling.
• Flower are used to treat distress of chest and diaphragm, onset of achalasia cardiae, common cold and cough.
• the Filipinos suggest an infusion suffice to treat cases of hypermenorrhoea.
• Antiprotozoal activity : Crithidia shares a variety of biochemical mechanisms with the genera Leishmania and Trypasoma and has been used to assess anti-protozoal activity. It was found that extracts of the leaves of A. odorata was able to inhibit Crithidia providing evidence that it may have similar activity against Leishmania and Trypasoma.In the screening of seven extracts of plants including A. odorata for anti-amoebic activity, Tasanor et al. found that all seven extracts has significant anti-amoebic activity.
• Antiviral activity : A. odorata extracts were found to have the following effects of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1): inhibition of plaque formation of HSV-1; effective against thymidine kinase-deficient HSV-1 and phosphonoacetate-resistant HSV-1 strains; limit development of skin lesion.
• Antifungal activity : A number of bifurans isolated from A. odorata were found to be active against three plant pathogens i.e. Pyricularia grisea, Fusarium avenaceum and Alternaria citri. Of these the most active was found to be rocaglaol.
• Cytotoxic activity : A. odorata contains a number of compounds with cytotoxic activity. The following has been found to show this activity: odorine and 5’-epi-odorine were found to inhibit the growth of vinblastine-resistant KB cells by enhancing the anticancer activity of vinblastine. Rocaglaol, pyrimidinone and aglaiastatin inhibits protein synthesis and cell growth. Odorine and odorinol exhibited potent anti-cancer effects in two-stage carcinogenesis i.e. inhibits both the initiation and promotion stages of two-stage skin carcinogenesis in mice. (1R,3E,7E,10S,11S,12R)-dolabella-3,7-dien-10,18-diol and (1R,3R,7E,11S,12R)-dolabella-4(16),7,18-trien-3-ol showed weak cytotoxicity against the human myeloid leukemia HL-60, hepatocellular carcinoma SMMC-7721, and lung cancer A-549 cells.
• A 2007 study by the German Cancer Research Center, in Heidelberg, Germany, found that a number of Chinese herbal extracts showed promise in treatment, both in inhibiting tumor growth and protecting against toxicity of chemotherapy. The extract of Aglaia odorata, or Mi zi lan, sometimes called the Chinese Perfume Plant, produced the extract Rocaglamide, used in Chinese hospitals, was found to induce tumor cell apoptosis in various leukemia cell lines via MAPK activation, affecting bcl2 expression and various caspase mechanisms, with no toxicity on normal cells or lymphocytes.
• Further 2014 study of Rocaglamide, a Chinese herbal extract from Aglaia odorata, or Mi zi lan, by the German Cancer Research Center, in Heidelberg, Germany, found that this herbal extract significantly reduced normal cell death, or apoptosis, in normal healthy cells exposed to toxic chemotherapy, with induced DNA damage, showing that these herbal chemicals are modulatory, a compared to synthetic drugs. This was achieved by blocking upregulation of the protein p53 to help the body protect normal cells in the spleen, and proves that Rocaglamide, long used for this purpose in Chinese hospitals, is indeed a valuable adjunct medicine in cancer treatment.

References

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• Shui-ying Hu. Food Plants of China Chinese University of Hong Kong. Hong Kong; 2005. p. 507.
• Cai XH, Luo XD, Zhou J, Hao XJ. Compound representatives of a new type of triterpenoid from Aglaia odorata. Org Lett. 2005 Jul 7; 7(14):2877-9.
• Zhang J, Yao E, Wang J, Xu R. Extraction and identification of volatile constituents in the flowers of Aglaia odorata Lour. Se Pu. 2007 May; 25(3):422-4.
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• Engelmeier D, Hadacek F, Pacher T, Vajrodaya S, Greger H. Cyclopenta[b]benzofurans from Aglaia species with pronounced antifungal activity against rice blast fungus (Pyricularia grisea). J Agric Food Chem. 2000 Apr; 48(4):1 400-4.
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• Cai XH, Wang YY, Zhao PJ, Li Y, Luo XD. Dolabellane diterpenoids from Aglaia odorata. Phytochemistry. 2010 Jun; 71(8-9): 1020-4. Epub 2010 Mar 24.
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• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17565740
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24434508