''Artocarpus lacucha'', also known as monkey jack or

monkey fruit Monkey fruit is a common name for several plants and can refer to some species in the following genera: *'' Artocarpus'', particularly '' Artocarpus lacucha'' and '' Artocarpus rigidus'' *''Garcinia ''Garcinia'' is a genus of flowering plants in ...

, is a tropical evergreen tree species of the family

Moraceae Moraceae is a family of flowering plants comprising about 48 genera and over 1100 species, and is commonly known as the mulberry or fig family. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however, their ...

. It is distributed throughout the

Indian Subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. The tree is valued for its wood; its fruit is edible and is believed to have medicinal value. In

Northeastern Thailand Northeast Thailand or Isan (Isan/, ; ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pāli ''isāna'' or Sanskrit ईशान्य ''īśānya'' "northeast") consists of 20 provinces in northeastern Thailand. Isan is T ...

, the wood is used to make pong lang, a local traditional instrument. The stilbenoid

oxyresveratrol Oxyresveratrol is a stilbenoid. It is found in the heartwood of '' Artocarpus lakoocha'' and in the traditional drug 'Puag-Haad' made from it. It is also the aglycone of mulberroside A, a compound found in ''Morus alba Morus may refer to: People * ...

can be isolated from the heartwood of ''Artocarpus lacucha'' as well as in ''Puag Haad'', the light brown powder obtained from the aqueous extract of the wood chips of ''A. lakoocha'' by boiling, then slow evaporation, followed by cooling. This traditional drug is effective against the intestinal fluke '' Haplorchis taichui'' or against

taeniasis Taeniasis is an infection within the intestines by adult tapeworms belonging to the genus '' Taenia''. There are generally no or only mild symptoms. Symptoms may occasionally include weight loss or abdominal pain. Segments of tapeworm may be ...

. This tree is mentioned in the

Arthashastra ''Kautilya's Arthashastra'' (, ; ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, politics, economic policy and military strategy. The text is likely the work of several authors over centuries, starting as a compilation of ''Arthashas ...

References

External links

* *
Antioxidant and toxicity activities of ''Artocarpus lakoocha'' Roxb. heartwood extractFruit with foliageCrops for the Future: Barhal (''Artocarpus lakoocha'')
{{Taxonbar, from=Q759430 Experiments have shown that the heme-peroxidase enzyme from the medicinal plant Artocarpus lakoocha has the ability to protect against oxidative damage in vitro and possesses wound healing properties. This stable enzyme also has anti-inflammatory properties, making it a potential candidate for use in biotechnological and industrial applications.Sonkar, K. S., Manendra Pachauri, Amit Kumar, Ankita Shukla, Monika Patel, & Jagannadham., M. V. (2015). Heme-peroxidase from medicinal plant Artocarpus lakoocha: Purification, characterization and wound healing studies. Biocatal Agricu Biotechnol, 4, 180-190. lacucha Flora of the Indian subcontinent Flora of Indo-China Austronesian agriculture

See also

References

External links