Diospyros melanoxylon

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Coromandel Ebony
Bark of Diospyros melanoxylon.jpg
Bark of the Coromandel Ebony.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ebenaceae
Genus: Diospyros
Species: D. melanoxylon
Binomial name
Diospyros melanoxylon
Roxb.[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Diospyros dubia Wall. ex A.DC.
  • Diospyros exsculpta Bedd.
  • Diospyros exsculpta Dalzell & Gibson
  • Diospyros montana B.Heyne ex A.DC.
  • Diospyros roylei Wall. ex A.DC.
  • Diospyros rubiginosa Roth
  • Diospyros tupru Buch.-Ham.
  • Diospyros wightiana Wall. nom. inval.

Coromandel Ebony or East Indian Ebony (Diospyros melanoxylon) is a species of flowering tree in the family Ebenaceae that is native to India and Sri Lanka and that has a hard, dry bark. Its common name derives from Coromandel, the coast of southeastern India. Locally it is known as temburini or by its Hindi name tendu. In Odisha and Jharkhand it is known as kendu. The leaves can be wrapped around tobacco to create the Indian beedi,[3] which has outsold conventional cigarettes in India.[4]

Common Names[edit]

  • (Oriya) : Kendu
  • (Bengali) : kend, kendu
  • (Hindi) : abnus, kendu, tendu, timburni
  • (Nepali) : abnush, tendu
  • (Sanskrit) : dirghapatraka
  • (Tamil) : karai, karundumbi, tumbi, tumbili, தும்பி, தும்பிலி
  • (Telugu) : tuniki, beedi aaku
  • (Trade name) : ebony
Tendu Patta (Leaf) Collection

Pharmacology[edit]

The leaf of the tree contains valuable flavones.[5] The pentacyclic triterpines found in the leaves possess antimicrobial properties,[6] while the bark shows antihyperglycemic activity.[7] The bark of four Diospyros species found in India has been determined to have significant antiplasmodial effects against Plasmodium falciparum, which causes malaria in humans.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Diospyros melanoxylon Roxb.". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2006-10-27. Retrieved 2009-04-09. 
  2. ^ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". 
  3. ^ Lal, Pranay (25 May 2009). "Bidi – A short history" (PDF). Current Science (Bangalore, India: Current Science Association) 96 (10): 1335–1337. Retrieved 5 May June 2013.  Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  4. ^ "...bidis command 48 percent of the market while chewing tobacco commands 38 percent and cigarettes 14 percent...", "The Tax Treatment of Bidis", tobaccofreeunion.org
  5. ^ NEW FLAVONOIDS FROM THE LEAVES OF DIOSPYROS MELANOXYLON,Uppuluri V. Mallavadhani and Anita Mahapatra
  6. ^ Antimicrobial Activity of Some Pentacyclic Triterpenes and Their Synthesized 3-O-Lipophilic Chains,Uppuluri Venkata MALLAVADHANI,*,a Anita MAHAPATRA,a Kaiser JAMIL,b and Peddi Srinivasa REDDYb , Biol. Pharm. Bull. 27(10) 1576—1579 (2004) Vol. 27, No. 10
  7. ^ Antihyperglycemic effect of Diospyros melanoxylon (Roxb.) bark against Alloxan-induced diabetic rats Jadhav J. K*.Masirkar V. J., Deshmukh V. N.International Journal of PharmTech Research CODEN( USA): IJPRIF ISSN : 0974-4304 ,Vol.1, No.2, pp 196-200 , April–June 2009
  8. ^ Investigation of Indian Diospyros Species for Antiplasmodial Properties,V. S. Satyanarayana Kantamreddi and Colin W. Wright. eCAM 2008;5(2)187–190