Botany
Igiu is a tree reaching a height of 10 to 20 meters. Leaves are crowded at the ends of the branches, 20 to 60 centimeters long, pinnate with 10 or more pairs of leaflets. Lower leaflets are usually ovate, less than 10 centimeters long; the median and upper ones are oblong, 20 centimeters or more in length. Flowers are pale yellowish, hairy, about 1 centimeter long, 5-parted, borne in axillary drooping panicles which are about 40 centimeters long. Fruit is yellow, hairy, depressed-globose, about 1.5 to 2 centimeters in diameter, containing red seeds.

Distribution
- In thickets and forests at low altitudes from Cagayan to Sorsogon in Luzon, and in Mindoro, Palawan, Masbate, Leyte, Negros, Mindanao, and Basilan.
- Also occurs in Java to New Guinea.

Constituents
- Juice of fresh bark is bitter.
- Leaf extract yielded (1), ß-sitosterol (2), polyprenols (3) and triglycerides (4). The cytotoxic activity of the extract may be attributed to the synergistic effects of the compounds. (see study below) (5)
- Bark yielded a new limonoid, gaudichaudysolin A. (6)

Properties
- Juice of fresh bark is bitter.
- Bark considered febrifuge, antitussive, emmenagogue, and emetic.
- Leaves considered abortifacient, emmenagogue, and parturient. (7)

Parts used
Bark, sap, leaves.

Uses
Folkloric
- Decoction of bitter fresh bark is given for coughs.
- Powdered bark, with water, used as febrifuge; with wine, used as emmenagogue.
- Powdered bark also used as emetic.
- In Java, juice of bark used as emetic; also, externally, as an astringent.
- In Vanuatu, the juice expressed from 10 leaves with some water, used to facilitate childbirth. As abortifacient, strong decoction made up from 12 sun-dried leaves.
- In Papua New Guinea, the leaves and bark are used for treating rigid limbs, facial distortion in children, lumps under the skin, skin irritations, and sexually transmitted diseases. Also used for fish poisoning and convulsions. Decoction of chopped leaves used as cure for aches and pains; also for lung hemorrhage. (4)
- Juice of leaves, mixed with water, used to facilitate childbirth. Twelve dried leaves used to make a strong tea to promote an abortion. (7)
Others
- Infusion of bark used as piscicidal and insecticidal. (7)

Studies
• Dysoxylins / Antiviral: Study yielded 4 new compounds, dysoxylins A-D and were found to exhibit potent antiviral activity against respiratory syncitial virus (RSV) in cytopathic effect inhibition and plaque reduction assays. (1)
• Spasmolytic Activity: In an ethnobotanical survey of reproductive behavior in Vanuatu, five plant species, including D gaudichaudianum, were selected. Preliminary screening was done to identify possible estrogenic activity as well as effects on isolated rat uteri. D gaudichaudianum presented most interest with its spasmolytic activity. (2)
• Chemical Constituents / Cytotoxicity / Leaves: Crude dichloromethane leaf extract of Dysoxylum gaudichaudianum was tested for cytotoxicity against breast cancer (MCF-7) and colon cancer (HT-29) cells. The extract showed high cytotoxic activities for both cancer cell lines. Purification of the dichlormethane leaf extract yielded squalene (1), ß-sitosterol (2), polyprenols (3) and triglycerides (4). The cytotoxic activity of the extract may be attributed to the synergistic effects of the compounds. (5)
• Gaudichaudysolin A / Bark: A new limonoid, gaudichaudysolin A, was isolated from the bark of Dysoxylum gaudichaudianum. (6)

Availability
Wild-crafted.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Dysoxylins A−D, Tetranortriterpenoids with Potent Anti-RSV Activity from Dysoxylum gaudichaudianum / Jian Lu Chen, Michael R Kernan, Shivanand D et al / J. Nat. Prod., 2007, 70 (2), pp 312–315
DOI: 10.1021/np060398y
(2)
Maternity and medicinal plants in Vanuatu I. The cycle of reproduction / G Bourdy and A Walter / Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 37 (1992) 179-196
(3)
Maternity and medicinal plants in Vanuatu II. Pharmacological screening of five selected species / G Bourdy, C Francois, C Andary and M Boucard / Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Volume 52, Issue 3, 5 July 1996, Pages 139-143 / doi:10.1016/0378-8741(96)01404-3
(4)
Anti-Respiratory Syncytial Virus Agents from Phytomedicine / Damian Chukwu Odimegwu, Thomas Grunwald and Charles Okechukwu Esimone
(5)
Chemical constituents and cytotoxicity of the leaves of Dysoxylum gaudichaudianum (A. Juss.) Miq. / Consolacion Y. Ragasa , Vincent Antonio S. Ng, Mariquit M. De Los Reyes, Emelina H. Mandia, Glenn G. Oyong, and Chien-Chang Shen / Der Pharma Chemica, 2014, 6(5):182-187
(6)
Gaudichaudysolin A, a New Limonoid from the Bark of Dysoxylum gaudichaudianum / Yuta Nagakura, Reiko Yamanaka, Yusuke Hirasawa, Takahiro Hosoya, Abdul Rahman, Idha Kusumawati, Noor Cholies Zaini, and Hiroshi Morita* / Heterocycles / Special issue, Vol 80, No. 2, 2010, pp.1471-1477 / DOI: 10.3987/COM-09-S(S)106
(7)
Dysoxylum gaudichaudianum / Useful Tropical Plants