Gen info
- Dimocarpus is a genus of trees or shrubs in the flowering plant family Sapindadeae. It includes 7 species.
- Etymology: The species epithet fumatus derives from Latin, meaning "smoke-like or brownish."

Botany
• D. fumatus is a mid-canopy tropical forest tree, growing up to 35 m tall and 0.6 m dbh. Stipules are absent; leaves are alternate, compound, with leaflets pinnately-veined and usually glabrous, sometimes with toothed margins. Flowers are about 4 mm in diameter, white-yellowish, in panicles. Fruits are drupes which are 20–25 mm long, green-yellowish and slightly warty. (2)

• Shrubs or trees up to 15 m high; bark dark to grayish brown. Leaves (2–)3- or 4- jugate. Leaflets elliptic to obovate, 8–24 by 4–10 cm, thin-coriaceous, greenish when dry; base cuneate to rounded; apex tapering to abruptly acuminate; glands beneath in axils of nerves and in axils of veins near margin or along the margin in shallow crenations; glabrous above, subglabrous underneath. Inflorescences up to 45 cm long. Flowers white to yellow, fragrant, ca 5 mm in diam. Sepals basally connate, 2–3 by 1.5–2.5 mm. Petals o (or 1, much reduced). Stamens: filaments 1.5–2.5 mm long; anthers 0.6–0.8 mm long. Fruits light brown, lobes 2–3.5(–4) cm in diam., short-spiny; wall up to 2 mm thick. Seeds blackish brown, shiny, up to 2.7 cm in diam. (Flora of Thailand) (3)

Distribution
- Native to the Philippines.
- Also native to Borneo, Cambodia, China South-Central, China Southeast, Jawa, Laos, Malaya, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam. (1)
- Found in primary forests, on flat lowlands, hill slopes or hill tops, along river banks, up to 1,200 m altitude.

Constituents
- Fractionation of ethanolic extract of D. fumatus stem bark yielded compounds belonging to different classes. Two major components identified were a benzoquinone, sargaquinone, and a chromene, sargaol. Other components identified were one sphingolipid, soyacerebroside I, two glycosides of sitosterol, and fatty acids. Two new glycosides of long-chain fatty alcohols have been identified as 1-O-[α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→3)-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→6)-β-d-glucopyranosyl]hexadecanol and 1-O-[[α-l-arabinopyranosyl-(1→3)]-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→3)-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→6)-β-d-glucopyranosyl] hexadecanol, and a mixture of three new diacylglycerylglucosides. (see study below) (4)

Properties
- Studies have suggested cytotoxicity and hemolytic properties.

Parts used
Oil.

Uses
Edibility
- Fruits are edible; sweet.
Folkloric
- No reported folkloric medicinal use in the Philippines.
Others
- Fish poison: Plant contains saponins that can be used as fish poison.
- Detergent: The saponin content can also be used as detergent for washing clothes.

Studies
• Cytotoxicity against KB Cells / Stem Bark: An ethanolic extract of stem bark of D. fumatus showed in vitro cytotoxic activity against KB (human nasopharynx carcinoma) cells. (see constituents above) (4)
• Hemolytic Activity / Saponins: The hemolytic activity of saponins is a known phenomenon for many years. Study evaluated structure-activity relationships from various triterpene saponins distinguishing hemolytic activity between mono- and bi-desmosidic saponins. To verify the criteria, five species were studied viz., Dimocarpus fumatus, Smelophyllum capense, Filicium decipiens, Hippobromus pauciflorus, and Harpullia cupanioides. Structure of eleven new saponins were elucidated from four species. Dimocarpus fumatus also yielded other metabolites including isoprenylchromenes and three new glycosides of long chain fatty acids. (5)

Availability
Wild-crafted.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Dimocarpus fumatus (Blume) Leenh. / KEW: Plants of the World Online
(2)
Dimocarpus fumatus / Wikipedia
(3)
Dimocarpus fumatus (Blume) Leenh. / WFO: The World Flora Online
(4)
Cytotoxic polyisoprenes and glycosides of long-chain fatty alcohols from Dimocarpus fumatus / Laurence Voutquenne, Catherine Lavaud, Georges Massiot, Thierry Sevenet, Hamid A Hadi / Phytochemistry, 1999; 50(1): pp 63-69
(5)
Saponins and hemolytic activity. Saponins and glycosides from five species of Sapindaceae / Voutquenne L / Annales Pharmaceutiques Francaises, 2001; 59(6): pp 407-414 / PMID: 11924513

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)