:''Should not be confused with syzygium anisatum, a tree native to eastern Australian rainforests, used as a culinary herb.'' ''Clausena anisata'' ( Willd.) Hook.f. ex

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

is a deciduous shrub or small tree, belonging to the

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

Citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

family, and widespread in the

Afrotropical realm The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopi ...

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

, but absent from the drier regions. It is also found in tropical and South-East Asia, growing in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and extending as far as

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

in north-eastern Australia and some Pacific islands. It is cultivated in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. As with other plants useful to mankind its large range of medicinal properties has led to a global distribution and its growth wherever the climate is suitable. It grows in higher-rainfall regions in savanna, thickets, riverine forest, disturbed areas and secondary forest, up to an altitude of 3000 m. The leaves, which are foetid when bruised, give rise to the common name 'Horsewood' or the more descriptive

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

common name 'Perdepis', meaning 'horse urine'. This species is one of 25 in the genus ''

Clausena ''Clausena'' is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae. It was first defined by the Dutch botanist Nicolaas Laurens Burman in 1768. It is distributed in Africa, southern Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.

'', first described in 1768 by the Dutch botanist

Nicolaas Laurens Burman Nicolaas Laurens Burman (27 December 1734 – 11 September 1793) was a Dutch botanist. He was the son of Johannes Burman (1707–1780). He succeeded his father to the chair of botany at the Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam., and at the Hortus Bot ...

, and named for the Norwegian clergyman, Peder Claussøn Friis (1545–1614), the translator of the Icelandic historian and poet,

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...

Description

Up to 10 m tall, this species has smooth, thin, grey-green bark becoming brownish and mottled with age. Young parts are puberulous. The compound leaves are up to 30 cm long and stipules are absent. Leaflets are 11–37 in number, alternate to sub-opposite, and ovate to narrowly elliptical in shape, with a markedly asymmetric, rounded or cuneate base. The leaflet apex is obtuse or notched, and the margins are entire or crenulate. The leaf surfaces are densely covered with embedded, pellucid glands, which are strongly aromatic when bruised. The inflorescence is a hairy, lax axillary panicle. The scented flowers are bisexual, regular, and 4-merous. Sepals are about 1 mm long, while the elliptical petals are 3–7 mm long, concave, and cream to yellowish-white in colour. The 8 stamens have filaments 2–6 mm long, which are thickened at their base. Fruit an ovoid, fleshy berry, 3.3–7 mm in diameter, single-seeded and turning red or purplish-black when mature. Timber is yellowish-white, elastic and dense (0.8 g/cm³).

Phytochemicals

As with other species of the family Rutaceae, the leaves, fruits and stem bark are rich in aromatic essential oils. Carbazole alkaloids are the major constituents of plants in this family, with

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 and

phenylpropanoid The phenylpropanoids are a diverse family of organic compounds that are biosynthesized by plants from the amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine in the shikimic acid pathway. Their name is derived from the six-carbon, aromatic phenyl group and ...

s which are named clausamines. Analysis shows the presence of

estragole Estragole (''p''-allylanisole, methyl chavicol) is a phenylpropene, a natural organic compound. Its chemical structure consists of a benzene ring substituted with a methoxy group and an allyl group. It is an isomer of anethole, differing with resp ...

, (''E'')-anethole, (''E'')-foeniculin, β-pinene,

sabinene Sabinene is a natural bicyclic monoterpene with the molecular formula C10H16. It is isolated from the essential oils of a variety of plants including Marjoram, holm oak (''Quercus ilex'') and Norway spruce (''Picea abies''). It has a strained ...

, (''Z'')-β-ocimene, germacrene B, (''E'')-β-ocimene and

terpinen-4-ol Terpinen-4-ol is an isomer of terpineol with the chemical formula C10H18O. A primary constituent of tea tree oil, it is obtained as an extract from the leaves, branches, and bark of '' Melaleuca alternifolia'' Cheel. Despite considerable basic and ...

, (''Z'')-tagetenone, (''E'')-tagetenone, (''E'')-nerolidol, germacrene D, methyl chavicol,

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 ...

limonene Limonene () is a colorless liquid aliphatic hydrocarbon classified as a cyclic monoterpene, and is the major component in the essential oil of citrus fruit peels. The (+)-isomer, occurring more commonly in nature as the fragrance of oranges, ...

, β-caryophyllene, 3-carene, β-humulene,

s of the

furanocoumarin The furanocoumarins, or furocoumarins, are a class of organic chemical compounds produced by a variety of plants. Most of the plant species found to contain furanocoumarins belong to a handful of plant families. The families Apiaceae and Rutacea ...

type - imperatorin, isoimperatorin, oxypeucedanine, bergaptene, xanthotoxin, xanthotoxol and chalepin, geranylcoumarin (anisocoumarin A–I), furanocoumarin-lactone type ( indicolactone, anisolactone), the tetranortriterpenoids limonin, zapoterin, clausenolide, carbazole alkaloids furanoclausamine A and B, clausamine B, C, D and E, mukonal, glycosinine, mukonidine and clausine F, and the pyranocarbazole alkaloid mupamine. Five major essential oils from the leaf - β-pinene,

germacrene Germacrenes are a group of five naturally occurring volatile organic hydrocarbons of the sesquiterpene and cycloalkene class. Germacrenes are typically produced in a number of plant species for their antimicrobial and insecticidal properties, th ...

-D,

and

linalool Linalool () refers to two enantiomers of a naturally occurring terpene alcohol found in many flowers and spice plants. Together with geraniol, nerol, and citronellol, linalool is one of the rose alcohols. Linalool has multiple commercial app ...

- are efficacious control agents of the larvae of '' Culex quinquefasciatus'', ''

Aedes aegypti ''Aedes aegypti'' ( or from Greek 'hateful' and from Latin, meaning 'of Egypt'), sometimes called the Egyptian mosquito, dengue mosquito or yellow fever mosquito, is a mosquito that spreads diseases like dengue fever, yellow fever, malar ...

'' and ''

Anopheles stephensi ''Anopheles stephensi'' is a primary mosquito vector of malaria in urban India and is included in the same subgenus as ''Anopheles gambiae'', the primary malaria vector in Africa. ''A. gambiae'' consists of a complex of morphologically identical ...

''. They are also effective insecticides and deterrents when used in stored foods. ''

Tenebrio molitor Mealworms are the larval form of the yellow mealworm beetle, ''Tenebrio molitor'', a species of darkling beetle. The yellow mealworm beetle prefers a warmer climate and higher humidity. Male mealworm beetles release a sex pheromone to attract ...

'', '' Rhyzopertha dominica'', '' Sitophilus zeamais'' and other species suffer almost complete mortality. The oils also block the reproduction of '' Tribolium castaneum'' when used as a fumigant, or added to wheat flour at a concentration of 0.2% by weight. These essential oils are generally considered harmless to human beings and are routinely used in flavouring, perfumes, confectionery and pharmaceuticals. An extract of the twigs shows activity against ''

Plasmodium falciparum ''Plasmodium falciparum'' is a Unicellular organism, unicellular protozoan parasite of humans and is the deadliest species of ''Plasmodium'' that causes malaria in humans. The parasite is transmitted through the bite of a female ''Anopheles'' mos ...

''. The oils also affect ''

Salmonella typhimurium ''Salmonella enterica'' subsp. ''enterica'' is a subspecies of ''Salmonella enterica'', the rod-shaped, flagellated, aerobic, Gram-negative bacterium. Many of the pathogenic serovars of the ''S. enterica'' species are in this subspecies, includin ...

'', ''

Pseudomonas aeruginosa ''Pseudomonas aeruginosa'' is a common Bacterial capsule, encapsulated, Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-negative, Aerobic organism, aerobic–facultative anaerobe, facultatively anaerobic, Bacillus (shape), rod-shaped bacteria, bacterium that can c ...

'', ''

Alcaligenes faecalis ''Alcaligenes faecalis'' is a species of Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria commonly found in the environment. It was originally named for its first discovery in feces, but was later found to be common in soil, water, and environments in associat ...

'', ''

Bacillus subtilis ''Bacillus subtilis'' (), known also as the hay bacillus or grass bacillus, is a gram-positive, catalase-positive bacterium, found in soil and the gastrointestinal tract of ruminants, humans and marine sponges. As a member of the genus ''Bacill ...

'', ''

Enterococcus faecalis ''Enterococcus faecalis'' – formerly classified as part of the group D '' Streptococcus,'' is a Gram-positive, commensal bacterium naturally inhabiting the gastrointestinal tracts of humans. Like other species in the genus '' Enterococcus'', ' ...

'', '' Flavobacterium suaveolens'', '' Leuconostoc mesenteroides'' ssp. cremoris and ''

Serratia marcescens ''Serratia marcescens'' () is a species of bacillus (shape), rod-shaped, Gram-negative bacteria in the family Yersiniaceae. It is a facultative anaerobe and an opportunistic pathogen in humans. It was discovered in 1819 by Bartolomeo Bizio in Pa ...

''. Clausenol is active against a number of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi, such as ''

Alternaria alternata ''Alternaria alternata'' is a fungus causing leaf spots, rots, and blights on many plant parts, and other diseases. It is an opportunistic pathogen on over 380 host species of plant. It can also cause upper respiratory tract infections and a ...

'', ''

Aspergillus parasiticus ''Aspergillus'' () is a genus consisting of several hundred mold species found in various climates worldwide. ''Aspergillus'' was first catalogued in 1729 by the Italian priest and biologist Pier Antonio Micheli. Viewing the fungi under a microsc ...

'', ''

Geotrichum candidum ''Geotrichum candidum'' is a fungus which is a member of the human microbiome, notably associated with skin, sputum, and faeces where it occurs in 25–30% of specimens. It is common in soil and has been isolated from soil collected around the w ...

'', ''

Phytophthora palmivora ''Phytophthora palmivora'' is an oomycete that causes bud-rot of Arecaceae, palms, fruit-rot or kole-roga of coconut and areca nut. These are among the most serious diseases caused by fungi and Mold (fungus), moulds in South India. Outbreaks occu ...

'' and '' Penicillium citrinum''. Leaf extracts strongly affect the fungi causing oral candidiasis and skin infections - ''

Candida albicans ''Candida albicans'' is an opportunistic pathogenic yeast that is a common member of the human gut flora. It can also survive outside the human body. It is detected in the gastrointestinal tract and mouth in 40–60% of healthy adults. It is usu ...

'', '' Candida glabrata'', '' Candida tropicalis'', '' Candida parapsilosis'', '' Candida krusei'' and '' Cryptococcus neoformans''. A

methanol Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical compound and the simplest aliphatic Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with the chemical formula (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often ab ...

ic extract from the roots shows molluscicidal results in '' Bulinus globosus'', the intermediate host in

schistosomiasis Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever is a neglected tropical helminthiasis, disease caused by parasitism, parasitic Schistosoma, flatworms called schistosomes. It affects both humans and animals. It affects ...

. The coumarins heliettin and imperatorin are toxic to snails - imperatorin also shows anticonvulsant activity. Essential oils from the leaves also show moderate

antioxidant Antioxidants are Chemical compound, compounds that inhibit Redox, oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce Radical (chemistry), free radicals. Autoxidation leads to degradation of organic compounds, including living matter. Antioxidants ...

activity in vitro, while root extracts show hypoglycaemic activity. Chalepin exhibits anticoagulant activity and when administered intraperitoneally causes the death of 40% of treated rats within 48 hours. Clausamines D–G inhibit early antigen activation of the

Epstein–Barr virus The Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), also known as human herpesvirus 4 (HHV-4), is one of the nine known Herpesviridae#Human herpesvirus types, human herpesvirus types in the Herpesviridae, herpes family, and is one of the most common viruses in ...

. Leaf extracts have a mild effect on HIV-1 and HIV-2 strains, and HIV-1 reverse transcriptase. Clausamine E is cytotoxic to the human leukemia cell line HL60. In 2016, a study by Williams, Soelberg and Jäger showed than ethanolic extracts of ''Clausena anisata'' have ''in vitro'' anthelmintic properties against the

nematode The nematodes ( or ; ; ), roundworms or eelworms constitute the phylum Nematoda. Species in the phylum inhabit a broad range of environments. Most species are free-living, feeding on microorganisms, but many are parasitic. Parasitic worms (h ...

Ascaris suum ''Ascaris suum'', also known as the large roundworm of pig, is a parasitic nematode that causes ascariasis in pigs. While roundworms in pigs and humans are today considered as two species (''A. suum'' and '' A. lumbricoides'') with different ho ...

'', a

swine Suina (also known as Suiformes) is a suborder of omnivorous, non-ruminant artiodactyl mammals that includes the domestic pig and peccaries. A member of this clade is known as a suine. Suina includes the family Suidae, termed suids, known in ...

parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

that is closely related to the human parasite '' A. lumbricoides''. The half maximal effective concentration (

EC50 ] Half maximal effective concentration (EC50) is a measure of the concentration of a drug, antibody or toxicant which induces a stimulus–response model, biological response halfway between the baseline and maximum after a specified exposure tim ...

) value was 74 μg/mL. The authors concluded that these results encourage further investigation of the use of this plant as complementary treatment options for

ascariasis Ascariasis is a disease caused by the parasitic roundworm ''Ascaris lumbricoides''. Infections have no symptoms in more than 85% of cases, especially if the number of worms is small. Symptoms increase with the number of worms present and may in ...

Medicinal uses

This species is used in treating an uncommonly wide range of ailments and conditions. Decoctions of the leaves or roots are taken for gastro-intestinal disorders, fever, pneumonia, headache,

hypotension Hypotension, also known as low blood pressure, is a cardiovascular condition characterized by abnormally reduced blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps out blood and is ...

, sore throat and sinusitis, venereal diseases, as an aphrodisiac and

anthelmintic Anthelmintics or antihelminthics are a group of antiparasitic drugs that expel parasitic worms (helminths) and other internal parasites from the body by either stunning or killing them without causing significant damage to the host. They may also ...

, as a tonic for pregnant women, and as a tonic for infants to prevent

rickets Rickets, scientific nomenclature: rachitis (from Greek , meaning 'in or of the spine'), is a condition that results in weak or soft bones in children and may have either dietary deficiency or genetic causes. Symptoms include bowed legs, stun ...

and to control convulsions. Root decoctions and infusions are also taken for whooping cough, malaria, syphilis and kidney ailments, irregular menses, threatening abortion, skin diseases and epilepsy, and given to women before and after parturition to ease delivery and to expel blood from the uterus, and later to boost milk production. Roots are chewed to combat indigestion. Crushed leaves are used as an antiseptic and analgesic, and are applied to open wounds, mouth infections, otitis and abscesses, also burns, haemorrhoids, rheumatism and general body pains. Crushed leaves are also used to treat wounds in domestic animals, and as a snake-bite antidote. Dried leaves are widely used as an

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

repellent, such as a filling material for mattresses and pillows against fleas, lice and bedbugs. The fruits are sweet and readily eaten by people and other animals. Stem bark is pounded and used as rope.

External links

Gallery
*

Synonyms

*''Amyris anisata'' Willd. *''Amyris dentata'' Willd. *''Amyris inaequalis'' (DC.) Spreng. *''Amyris nana'' Roxb. *''Amyris suffruticosa'' Roxb. *''Clausena anisata var. mollis'' Engl. *''Clausena anisata var. multijuga'' Welw. ex Hiern *''Clausena anisata var. paucijuga'' (Kurz) Molino *''Clausena bergeyckiana'' De Wild. & T.Durand *''Clausena dentata'' (Willd.) M.Roem. *''Clausena dentata var. dunniana'' (H.Lév.) Swingle *''Clausena dentata var. nana'' (Roxb.) N.P.Balakr. *''Clausena dentata var. pubescens'' (Wight & Arn.) N.P.Balakr. *''Clausena dentata var. robusta'' Yu.Tanaka *''Clausena dunniana'' H.Lév. *''Clausena dunniana var. robusta'' (Tanaka) C.C.Huang *''Clausena inaequalis'' (DC.) Benth. *''Clausena inaequalis var. abyssinica'' Engl. *''Clausena longipes'' Craib *''Clausena nana'' (Roxb.) Wight & Arn. *''Clausena odorata'' C.C.Huang *''Clausena pobeguinii'' Pobeg. *''Clausena pubescens'' Wight & Arn. *''Clausena suffruticosa'' (Roxb.) Wight & Arn. *''Clausena suffruticosa var. paucijuga'' Kurz *''Clausena vestita'' D.D.Tao *''Clausena wightii'' M.Roem. *''Clausena willdenowii'' Wight & Arn. (illegitimate) *''Cookia dulcis'' Bedd. *''Elaphrium inaequale'' DC. *''Fagarastrum anisatum'' G.Don *''Myaris inaequalis'' (DC.) C.Presl

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15389244 anisata