Cannonball Tree
Other Names : Couroupita guianensis, Ayahuma, Nagalinga pushpam
Couroupita guianensis is a tree belonging to the family Lechythidaceae commonly known as Nagalinga pushpam in tamil. It is distributed in the tropical regions of northern South America and Southern Caribbean.
Health Benefits and Uses of Cannonball Tree
The tree has enormous medicinal values since most of the parts like leaves; flower, fruits and stem are used as medicine to cure various diseases. During the last few decades it has been observed that there are numerous reports on anti-inflammatory activity, antiulcer activity, anticancer activity, anti oxidant activity, antihelminthic activity of this plant. It is enriched with a number of compounds such as oils, ketosteroids, glycosides, courouptine, indirubin, isatin and phenolic substances.
- It is used to treat hypertension, tumours, pain, inflammatory processes, cold, stomach ache, skin diseases, malaria, wounds and toothache.
- anti-inflammatory : Couroupita guianensis fractions have anti-inflammatory effect, partly due to a reduction on cell migration and a inhibition on cytokines and inflammatory mediators production.
- Pain : Infusions or teas obtained from its leaves, flowers, and barks are used in South America for the treatment of several disorders such as pain and inflammatory processes. Results obtained demonstrated that Couroupita guianensis crude ethanol extract (CEE) and its fractions have antinociceptive activity that is mediated, at least in part, by opioid and cholinergic systems and nitric oxide pathway.
- Cancer : Isatin showed antioxidant activity and was cytotoxic to the HL60 cells due to induction of apoptosis. The isatin can be further evaluated to be used as a prophylactic agent to prevent the free radical-induced cancer and as a chemotherapeutic agent to kill the cancer cells.
- skin-care : hydroalcoholic leaf extracts of C. guianensis have promising skin care protection against oxidative stress.
- Antimicrobial : Fruit extract showed good antimicrobial and antibiofilm properties.
- Diabetes : Recent researches on this plant extract showed anti diabetic activity also. A small preliminary test was performed to confirm its anti diabetic activity.
