PTEROCARPUS SANTALINUS L.F.

 

 

Vernacular Name               : ERRA CHANDANAM, RAKTA CHANDANAM, RED SANDERS.

 

Family                                 : FABACEAE (PAPILLIONACEAE)

 

Conservation Status          : ENDANGERED

 

  • Large deciduous tree

  • Bark deeply cleft into rectangular plates, wood dark-red.

  • Leaves 3-foliolate

  • Leaflets ovate, rounded at both ends, slightly emarginated, appressed.

  • Grey hairy below.

  • Flowers yellow in axillary and terminal racemes.

  • Standard ovate.

  • Pod suborbicular, style brought near to the basal corner, narrowly winged, 1-seeded.

  • Blooms once in a year during dry season from late March to late May

Chemical Compounds Identified

  • The red wood yields a natural dye santalin.

  • Ether, alkalis, and three other crystalline principles Santal, Pterocarpin, and Homopterocarpin, small quantity of tannin, probably kino-tannic acid, has also been found in the wood.

  • Heart wood is known to possess isoflavone glucosidessavinin, calocedrin, triterpene, isoflavone glucosides1-3 , lignan viz., savinin and calocedrin4 & triterpene   

Economic importance

  • The plant is renowned for its characteristic timber of exquisite colour, beauty and superlative technical qualities and ranks among finest luxury in Japan.5

  • The red wood yields a natural dye santalin, which is used in colouring pharmaceutical preparations and foodstuffs.

  • The timber is highly prized for house posts.

  • Used for for agriculture implements for poles, shafts and bent rims of carts and for picture frames, boxes and other joining purposes.

  • Small pieces carved into dolls and images.

  • Also used in the manufacture of musical instruments namely Shamisen.

  • Ether, alkalis, and three other crystalline principles Santal, Pterocarpin, and Homopterocarpin, small quantity of tannin, probably kino-tannic acid, has also been found in the wood.

Medicinal importance

  • A decoction of the fruit is used as an astringent tonic in chronic dysentry. An infusion of the wood is used in the control of diabetes.6-8

  • The wood of P. santalinus is considered astringent, tonic and diaphoretic.

  • A paste of the wood is used to give cooling effect, applied externally for inflammations and head-ache.

  • It is useful in bilious affections and skin diseases.

  • The wood is bitter in taste with a flavour, anhelmintic,aphrodisiac, alexiteric useful in vomiting, thirst, eye diseases, cures diseases of the blood ‘vata’ and ‘kapha’ , mental aberrations and ulcers.

  • The wood is in treating headache, skin diseases, fever, boils, scorpion sting and to improve sight.9

  • The wood and fruit is used in treating diaphoretics, bilious infections and chronic dysentry.6

  • Heart wood is known to possess isoflavone glucosidessavinin, calocedrin and triterpene.

  • The lignan isolated from the heartwood is known to inhibit tumor necrosis factor–alpha production and T-cell proliferation.1, 3,4,10

  • The heart wood contains isoflavone glucosides1-3 and two anti-tumour lignans, viz., savinin and calocedrin.4

  • A triterpene is reported from the callus of stem cuttings.10

  • Ethanol extract of stem bark at 0.25 g/kg body weight was reported to possess anti-hyperglycaemic activity.11

  • The stem bark extract was shown to contain maximum activity against Enterobacter aerogenes, Alcaligenes faecalis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus.12

  • The leaf extract showed maximum activity against Escherichia coli, Alcaligenes faecalis, Enterobacter aerogenes and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.12  

  • The ethanol extract of Pterocarpus santalinus L.f. (Fabaceae) at dose of 50-250 mg/kg showed gastroprotective effect in reserpine-induced, pyloric-ligated experimental rats.13
     

References

  1. Krishnaveni, K.S. and Srinivasa Rao, J.V., Asian Nat. Prod. Res., 2000, 2, 219.

  2. Krishnaveni, K.S. and Srinivasa Rao, J.V., Phytochem., 2000, 53, 605.

  3. Krishnaveni, K.S. and Srinivasa Rao, J.V., Chem. Pharm. Bull., 2000, 48, 1373.

  4. Cho, J.Y., Park, J.,Kim, P.S.,Yoo, E.S., Baik, K.U.,Park, M.H., Biol. Pharm. Bull., 2001, 24, 167.

  5. Krishnaveni, K.S. and Srinivasa Rao, J.V., Asian Nat. Prod. Res., 2000, 2, 219.

  6. Anonymous.,In; The Wealth of India. Raw materials, CSIR Publications, New Delhi, 1969,167.

  7. Thammanna, Narayana Rao K 1990. Medicinal plants of Tirumala, Tirumala Tirupati Devastanams, Tirupati, pp. 131.

  8. Kirthikar KR, Basu, B.D. Indian Medicinal Plants, Published by Basu, Information Ministry, India.

  9. Chopra, R.N., Nayar, S.L. and Chopra, I.C., In; Glossory of Indian Madicinal Plants, CSIR Publications, New Delhi, 1956, 206.

  10. Krishnaveni, K.S. and Srinivasa Rao, J.V., Fitoterapia., 2000, 71, 10.

  11. Kameswara Rao, B., Giri, R., Kesavulu, M.M. and Apparao, C., J. Ethnopharmacol., 2001, 74, 69.

  12. B. K. Manjunatha. Antibacterial Activity of Pterocarpus santalinus. Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 115-116, 2006.

  13. Narayan S, Devi RS, Ganapathi V, Srinivasulu C, Devi S. Effect of Pterocarpus santalinus, Extract on the Gastric Pathology Elicited by a Hypertensive Drug in Wistar Rats.Pharmaceutical Biology 2007:45:468 – 474.
     

Home