 Gen info
- Combretum is the largest and most widespread genus of the Combretaceae family. The genus comprises about 270 species of trees and shrubs species distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions, mainly in Africa and Asia. Combretum, the bushwillows or combretums, make up the type genus of the family Combretaceae. (2)
Botany
• Lianas large, to 30 m tall. Branchlets together with petioles usually glabrous, scaly. Leaves opposite; petiole 10–25 mm; leaf blade broadly elliptic or ovate-elliptic, 7–20 × 5– 10(–13) cm, both surfaces glabrous, sparsely or not scaly, not white verruculose, base obtuse-rounded, apex obtuse or attenuate; lateral veins in 6–8 pairs, axils with small, rounded pits abaxially. Inflorescences axillary, compound, broadly cylindric, densely flowered spikes 6–10 cm, sometimes grouped at branchlet apex and forming a panicle; axes densely minutely tomentose; bracts weakly persistent at anthesis, filiform-linear, very small. Flowers very fragrant. Calyx tube in middle part funnelform or narrowly so, distally salverform, 12–15 mm, abaxially densely minutely tomentose and yellow minutely scaly, adaxially with a ring of dense, coarse hairs not or only slightly exserted; lobes 4, reflexed, deltoid to somewhat narrowly triangular, 2–3 mm, apex acuminate. Petals 4, greenish white to yellowish green or yellow, 1–1.5 mm, clawed; limb oblong-obovate, apex retuse. Stamens 8, exserted, 5–7 mm. Fruit yellowish to brownish, glossy, ± obovoid, 4-winged, 2.5–4.5 × 2.2–4 cm, sparsely minutely tomentose when young, glabrous when mature, not scaly. (Flora of China)
Distribution
- Native to the Philippines.
- In low elevation thickets and forests.
- Also native to Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, China South-Central, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Myanmar, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam. (1)
 Constituents
- Hydrodistillation and GC-MS analysis of leaf oil of Combretum latifolium identified six compounds accounting for 81.6%. Major compounds were palmitic acid (37.05%), hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (11.54%), isophytol (13.4%), neophytadiene (7.71%), and n-nonacosane (4.68%). (see study below) (8)
- Preliminary phytochemical screening yielded alkaloids, carbohydrate, steroids
, tannin, flavanoids, phenol, coumarins, and resins, with absence of saponins, triterpenoids, aminoacids, carboxylic acid, and quinone. (9)
- Standardization parameters of leaves yielded moisture content (8.97), total ash (5.83), acid insoluble ash (0.10), water soluble ash (3.19), alcohol soluble extractive value (7.79), water soluble extractive (27.06). Nutritional content analysis yielded total fat 2.9%, total fiber 1.18%, total carbohydrates 95.20%, and total poteins ).70%. (9)
Properties
- Studies have suggest antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, properties.
 Parts used
- Leaves, stems, fruits.
Uses
Edibility
- Leaves are edible.
Folkloric
- Leaf juice used for treatment or dysentery and goiter.
- In India, tender leaves are used to increase immunity in children and cure common ailments of children. Also used for worm infestation. (9)
- In Indo-China, astringent fruits considered tonic.
Others
- Insecticide: Stem, leaves, and bark used as insecticide.
Studies
• Antimicrobial Endophytic Actinomycetes: Endophytic actinomycetes were isolated from Combretum latifolium and identified by culture morphology and molecular analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences. A total of 117 isolates representing 9 different genera of endophytic actinomycetes were obtained. Streptomyces genera (35%) was the most frequently isolated strains, followed by Nocordiopsis (17%) and Micromonospora (13%). Disc diffusion assay of ethyl acetate fraction of selected isolates exhibited broad spectrum antimicrobial activity against test human pathogens. All Streptomyces spp. strains displayed significant antimicrobial activity. Strains CLA-66 and CLA-88 of Nocordipsis spp. inhibited both bacterial and fungal pathogens. The endophytic actinomycetes from the hose may be a potential niche for antimicrobial compounds for industrial and pharmaceutical applications. (3)
•
Toxicity Study / Leaves: Study evaluated the acute toxicity of tender leaves of Combretum latifolium on Wistar albino rats using doses of 50 mg - 2000 mg/kbw. Results showed no mortality nor any clinical signs in general behavior. The 2000 mg/kg oral dose is equivalent to 22.4g total dose for a human weighing 70 kg. (4)
• Antifungal / Leaves: Study evaluated ten plants traditionally used for skin infections for antifungal activity against Candida albicans, Trichophyton rubrum, Microsporum gypseum, M. canis, and Aspergillus fumigatus. In vitro antifungal activity assay revealed significant inhibitory activity by aqueous extract of Combretum latifolium leaves against all test fungi except for C. albicans. Phytochemical analysis of active fraction revealed the presence of tannins, saponins, and phenolic compounds. (5)
• Antimicrobial Endophytic Fungi / CLB32 / Leaf: Study isolated an antimicrobial endophytic fungal strain CLB32 from the leaf pf C. latifolium. CLB32 was identified as Gliomastix polychroma (KR704576). An ethyl acetate fraction of strain CLB32 was evaluat3d for antimicrobial activity by disc diffusion study. Secondary metabolites effectively inhibited methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aures (18.33 mm), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (14.66 mm) and Candida albicans (14.00 mm). Results suggest CLB32 is a natural producer of natural antimicrobial drugs, with potential to combat multidrug-resistant infections, and provides baseline information for industrial applications. (6)
• Dyeing of Cotton Yarn / Stems: Flavonoid constituents from aqueous extract of stems showed potential use as dyestuffs for cotton dyeing. Cotton yarn pretreated with chitosan solution, followed by dyeing with C. latifolium extract, provided better depth of shade and better fastness to light and washing than untreated cotton yarn. (7)
• Antibacterial / Volatile Oils of Leaves: Hydrodistillation and GC-MS analysis of leaf oil of Combretum latifolium identified six compounds accounting for 81.6%. Major compounds were palmitic acid, hexa- hydrofarnesyl acetone, isophytol, neophytadiene, and n-nonacosane. Antibacterial activity of volatile oils by agar disc diffusion method showed zones of inhibition against Gram(+) Staphylococcus aureus (8.50 mm) and Gram(-) Escherichia coli (9.33 mm). (see constituents above) (8)
• Acute Toxicity Study / Leaves: Acute toxicity study of tender leaves of C. latifolium on Wistar albino rats using doses of 50 mg- 2000 mg/kbw showed no mortality nor clinical signs in general behavior, suggesting safety in experimental animals. The 2000 mgkg oral dose is equivalent to 22.4 g total dose for a human being weighing 70 kg. (10)
• Antioxidant / Stems: Study evaluated 90 Vietnamese medicinal plant extracts for antioxidant activity by DPPH assay at various concentrations from 10-100 µg/mL. Eight extracts including stems of C. latifolium, showed strong inhibitory activity with > 50% inhibition at 10 µg/mL. (11)
Availability
Wild-crafted. |
