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Medicinal Plant: Tekla
| By goGreen | September 12, 2011 |  |
Botany
An erect, large, deciduous tree growing up to 20 meters or more. Branchlets are 4-angled. Leaves are large, elliptic or obovate, 20 to 30 cm long, pointed at both ends, usually wedge-shaped at the base, with entire margins, the upper surface rough and without hairs and the lower surface densely covered with grey or yellowish hairs. Flowers are numerous, short-stalked, and arranged in large, terminal, much-branched panicles 30 to 80 cm long. Calyx is snall, broad, bell-shaped, and covered with stellate hairs, with subequal and spreading lobes. The whole calyx is ultimately enlarged, up to 2.5 cm long and forming a membranous, bladelike covering to the fruit. Corolla is white, smooth, less than 1 cm across, with subequal and spreading lobes. Fruit is somewhat rounded, about 1.3 cm diameter, somewhat 4 lobed, the soft pericarp densely clothed with felted, stellate hairs.
Distribution
Planted in various parts of the Philippines, especially parts of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago.
Constituents The heartwood contains a resin, tectoquinone. Exhibits cracks and cavities lined with white cystalline deposit consisting of hydrocalcic orthophosphate with 11.4 % ammonio-magnesium phosphate. Contains a higher percentage of carbon and hydrogen, and together with its calcium, phosphate and silica content, may account for the hardness of the wood. Leaves contain 6% tannin, dry weight.
Properties
Flowers and seeds considered diuretic. In Ayurveda, considered cooling, laxative, sedative, expectorant, anthelmintic.
Uses
Folkloric Decoction of fresh or dried leaves used for menstrual disorders and hemorrhages in general. Decoction of leaves, fresh or dried, used for hemoptysis. Decoction also used as a gargle for sore throat. Hindus used the plaster of powdered wood for bilious headaches and for dispersion of inflammatory swellings. Used for dyspepsia and burning of the stomach caused by bile overflow. Also, as vermifuge. The charred wood in poppy juice, reduced to a paste, is used for eyelid swelling. Bark used as astringent. Paste of powdered wood applied for acute dermatitis; esp, that due to contact with caustic oleoresin of Anacardium occidentale. Oil of nuts applied to the scalp for hair growth; also, for soothing skin itching. In Ayurveda, considered sedative to gravid uterus; used in the treatment of piles, leucoderma and dysentery. Others Known for its excellent wood. Used for ship-building, furniture-making, outdoor furniture, boat decks and other fine woodworks.
Contact dermatitis
- Reports of contact dermatitis from handling of sawdust of the tree lumber.
- Epidemiological study of occupational contact eczema in a furniture factory descrbes teak as a fairly potent sensitizer and contains primary irritants. Half of the employees heavily exposed to teak dusk suffered from eczema and/or severe itiching; 8% with slight exposure manifested skin symptoms.
Studies
- Antifungal: The antifungal activity may be attributed to various phytochemical constituents in the crude extract. Study yielded active compounds – deoxylapachol and tectoquinine that indicated fungal wall stress.
- Anti-Diabetes / Decrease Insulin Resistance / Antioxidant: Study showed TG sigificantly reduced plasma glucose and serum triglyceride levels and also stimulated glucose uptake in skeletal muscle. The levels of antioxidant enzymes GSH, SOD and catalase were also significantly increased. Results suggest type 2 DM benefits from its ability to decrease insulin resistance.
- Antibacterial: Study on the synergistic activity of tetracycline with the methanol extract of Tectona grandis show the potentiality of plant in the treatment of various infectious diseases caused by bacteria.
- Anti-Inflammatory / Analgesic: Study of the methanolic extract of the frontal leaves of Tectona grandis showed dose-dependent analgesic activity and significant anti-inflammatory activity using carrageenan-induced paw edema.
- Allelopathic Potential / Phytotoxicity: In a study of four forest species, the most active was T. grandis. Phytochemical study yielded a new compound, abeograndinoic acid, with 21 known terpenoids, including 4 sesquiterpenoids, 8 diterpenes and 9 triterpenes. The compounds with the highest phytotoxic activity were the diterpenes 9 and 12.
- Antibacterial / Cytotoxic / Antioxidant: Study showed good of crude extracts from leaf, bark and wood showed good activity against S. aureus and K. pneumonia. Also, study showed high toxicity against HEK293 and CEF cells. Ethyl acetate extract showed maximum activity against DPPH and ABTS.
- Antifumgal: Study provides new scientific information about T grandis, Shilajit and V. wallachi – their antifungal activity attributed to various phytochemical constituents in the crude extract.
Availability Wild-crafted. Source: Philippine Medicinal Plant
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