''Phellodendron amurense'' is a species of tree in the family

Rutaceae The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in Bo ...

, commonly called the Amur cork tree. It is a major source of '' huáng bò'' ( or 黄檗), one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...

. The

Ainu people The Ainu are an Indigenous peoples, indigenous ethnic group who reside in northern Japan and southeastern Russia, including Hokkaido and the Tōhoku region of Honshu, as well as the land surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, such as Sakhalin, the Ku ...

used its fruit, called "shikerebe-ni" (in Ainu, ''sikerpe''), as a painkiller. It is known as ''hwangbyeok'' in Korean and (キハダ) ''kihada'' in Japanese. It is native to eastern Asia: northern China, northeast China, Korea, Ussuri,

Amur The Amur River () or Heilong River ( zh, s=黑龙江) is a perennial river in Northeast Asia, forming the natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China (historically the Outer Manchuria, Outer and Inner Manchuria). The Amur ...

, and Japan, the Amur cork tree is considered invasive in many parts of North America. The State of Massachusetts lists it as a noxious weed.Bruce Marlin
''Phellodendron amurense''
/ref>

Medicinal use

It has been used as a Chinese traditional medicine for the treatment of meningitis, bacillary dysentery, pneumonia, tuberculosis, tumours, jaundice and liver cirrhosis. Used orally to treat abdominal pain, diarrhea, gastroenteritis and urinary tract infections. ''Phellodendron amurense'' may protect cartilage against

osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from breakdown of articular cartilage, joint cartilage and underlying bone. A form of arthritis, it is believed to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the world, affect ...

progression. It may prove to be a potentially important

chemopreventive Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard regimen. Chemotherapy may be given with a cu ...

agent for lung cancer. ''Phellodendron amurense'' is able to inhibit prostatic contractility suggesting that it may be useful in the treatment of urological disorders caused by prostatic urethral obstruction such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Nexrutine (bark extract from ''Phellodendron amurense'') may have potential to prevent prostate tumor development. Compounds in the leaves (

quercetin Quercetin is a plant flavonol from the flavonoid group of polyphenols. It is found in many fruits, vegetables, leaves, seeds, and grains; capers, red onions, and kale are common foods containing appreciable amounts of it. It has a bitter flavor ...

, quercetin-3-''O''-beta-D-glucoside, quercetin-3-''O''-beta-D-galactoside and

kaempferol Kaempferol (3,4′,5,7-tetrahydroxyflavone) is a natural flavonol, a type of flavonoid, found in a variety of plants and plant-derived foods including kale, beans, tea, spinach, and broccoli. It is also found in propolis extracts. Kaempferol i ...

-3-''O''-beta-D-glucoside) demonstrated significant

free radical A daughter category of ''Ageing'', this category deals only with the biological aspects of ageing. Ageing Biogerontology Biological processes Causes of death Cellular processes Gerontology Life extension Metabolic disorders Metabolism ...

scavenging activity comparable to

vitamin E Vitamin E is a group of eight compounds related in molecular structure that includes four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. The tocopherols function as fat-soluble antioxidants which may help protect cell membranes from reactive oxygen speci ...

. The tree has both antibiotic and antimicrobial properties due to the alkaloids contained within the plant material. The major chemical constituents of its bark are the isoquinoline alkaloids, palmatine, jatrorrhizine, phellodendorine with berberine found within the leaves. The indole alkaloid has also been found in the roots of the young dioecious trees. Dye extracted from the bark was used historically across East Asia to color paper for sutras and other documents, including the

Diamond Sutra The ''Diamond Sutra'' (Sanskrit: ) is a Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhism, Buddhist sutra from the genre of ('perfection of wisdom') sutras. Translated into a variety of languages over a broad geographic range, the ''Diamond Sūtra'' is one of th ...

. The yellow dye protected against insect damage.

Oil

Amur cork tree fruit oil is a pressed oil extracted from the fruit of ''Phellodendron amurense''. The bark of the tree is an important herbal medicine in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The oil has insecticidal properties similar to

pyrethrum ''Pyrethrum'' was a genus of several Old World plants now classified in either '' Chrysanthemum'' or '' Tanacetum'' which are cultivated as ornamentals for their showy flower heads. Pyrethrum continues to be used as a common name for plants form ...

. The oil contains a variety of biologically active substances, including

flavonoid Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...

s (

diosmin Diosmin (diosmetin 7-O-rutinoside), a flavone glycoside of diosmetin, is manufactured from citrus fruit peels as a phlebotonic non-prescription dietary supplement used to aid treatment of hemorrhoids or chronic venous diseases, mainly of the ...

alkaloid Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large varie ...

s (

berberine Berberine is a Quaternary ammonium cation, quaternary ammonium salt from the protoberberine group of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids, occurring naturally as a secondary metabolite in some plants including species of ''Berberis'', from which its name ...

, jatrorrhizine, palmatine),

saponin Saponins (Latin ''sapon'', 'soap' + ''-in'', 'one of') are bitter-tasting, usually toxic plant-derived secondary metabolites. They are organic chemicals that become foamy when agitated in water and have high molecular weight. They are present ...

s, and

coumarin Coumarin () or 2''H''-chromen-2-one is an aromatic organic chemical compound with formula . Its molecule can be described as a benzene molecule with two adjacent hydrogen atoms replaced by an unsaturated lactone ring , forming a second six-me ...

s. Medicinal applications of the oil include treatment of

pancreatitis Pancreatitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large organ behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes and a number of hormone A hormone (from the Ancient Greek, Greek participle , "se ...

, reduction of

cholesterol Cholesterol is the principal sterol of all higher animals, distributed in body Tissue (biology), tissues, especially the brain and spinal cord, and in Animal fat, animal fats and oils. Cholesterol is biosynthesis, biosynthesized by all anima ...

and

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood is com ...

and the treatment of various skin diseases.

Chemistry

Essential oils: * Fruit oil contains

myrcene Myrcene, or β-myrcene, is a terpene, monoterpene. A colorless oil, it occurs widely in essential oils. It is produced mainly semi-synthetically from ''Myrcia'', from which it gets its name. It is an intermediate in the production of several frag ...

(62.3–70.3%) and β-caryophyllene (6.8–10.5%) * Leaf oil contains β-elemol (18.5%) and (''Z'')-β-ocimene (12.6%) * Flower oil contains (''Z'')-β-ocimene (9.5%), β-elemol (9.4%), myrcene (7.8%) and nonacosane (7.7%) Amurensin, a ''tert''-amyl alcohol

derivative In mathematics, the derivative is a fundamental tool that quantifies the sensitivity to change of a function's output with respect to its input. The derivative of a function of a single variable at a chosen input value, when it exists, is t ...

of kaempferol 7-''O''-glucoside, can be found in ''P. amurense''.

Gallery

Phellodendron amurense (12).JPG, Leaf Phellodendron amurense (15).JPG, Tree Phellodendron amurense (18).JPG, Bark Phellodendron amurense seeds, by Omar Hoftun.jpg, Seeds

References

External links

Phellodendron amurense

PLANTS Profile for Phellodendron amurense (Amur corktree) , USDA PLANTS

Cortex Phellodendron
{{Taxonbar, from=Q481711 Flora of Northeast Asia Plants used in traditional Chinese medicine Zanthoxyloideae

Medicinal use

Oil

Chemistry

Gallery

See also

References

External links