''Ploiarium'' is a genus of three species of woody plants in the family

Bonnetiaceae Bonnetiaceae is a family of flowering plants, consisting of 3 genera and 38 species. The family is Neotropical, with the exception of the genus '' Ploiarium'', which is found in Malesia. It is sister to the family Clusiaceae The Clusiaceae or ...

. It is native to tropical forests and peat swamp forests in

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 ...

including southern

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

, and

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

. Species are generally slow growing with irregular flowering and fruiting cycles. Colonization of plants by

arbuscular mycorrhiza An arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) (plural ''mycorrhizae'') is a type of mycorrhiza in which the symbiont fungus (''Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi'', or AMF) penetrates the cortical cells of the roots of a vascular plant forming arbuscules. Arbuscul ...

l fungi is known to improve growth and biomass.

Chemistry

Species of ''Ploiarium'' are used in medicine as they contain compounds that possess antimicrobial activity. Several

xanthone Xanthone is an organic compound with the molecular formula C13H8O2. It is a white solid. In 1939, xanthone was introduced as an insecticide and it currently finds uses as ovicide for codling moth eggs and as a larvicide. Xanthone is also use ...

s have been discovered in the stems and bark of '' P. elegans'' including: ploiarixanthone, euxanmodin A, and euxanmodin B. The

anthraquinones ''For the parent molecule 9,10-anthraquinone, see anthraquinone'' Anthraquinones (also known as anthraquinonoids) are a class of naturally occurring phenolic compounds based on the 9,10-anthraquinone skeleton. They are widely used industrially a ...

emodin Emodin (6-methyl-1,3,8-trihydroxyanthraquinone) is an organic compound. Classified as an anthraquinone, it can be isolated from rhubarb, buckthorn, and Japanese knotweed ('' Reynoutria japonica'' syn. ''Polygonum cuspidatum''). Emodin is part ...

, ploiariquinone A, and 1,8-dihydroxy-3-methoxy-6- methyl-anthraquinone have also been reported from the genus. Triterpenoid benzoates are also reported from the bark of '' P. elegans''. Leaf extracts contain a diverse array of

terpenoid The terpenoids, also known as isoprenoids, are a class of naturally occurring organic compound, organic chemicals derived from the 5-carbon compound isoprene and its derivatives called terpenes, diterpenes, etc. While sometimes used interchangeabl ...

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 ...

polyphenol Polyphenols () are a large family of naturally occurring phenols. They are abundant in plants and structurally diverse. Polyphenols include phenolic acids, flavonoids, tannic acid, and ellagitannin, some of which have been used historically as ...

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 ...

steroid A steroid is an organic compound with four fused compound, fused rings (designated A, B, C, and D) arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes t ...

s, and

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 have been studied for their anti-bacterial properties, particularly against ''

Propionibacterium ''Propionibacterium'' is a gram-positive, anaerobic, rod-shaped genus of bacteria named for their unique metabolism: They are able to synthesize propionic acid by using unusual transcarboxylase enzymes. Its members are primarily facultative pa ...

'', responsible for skin

acne Acne ( ), also known as ''acne vulgaris'', is a long-term Cutaneous condition, skin condition that occurs when Keratinocyte, dead skin cells and Sebum, oil from the skin clog hair follicles. Typical features of the condition include comedo, ...

.Marselia, S., Wibowo, M. A., & Arreneuz, S. (2015). Aktivitas Antibakteri Ekstrak Daun Soma (Ploiarium alternifolium melch) Terhadap Propionibacterium acnes. ''Jurnal Kimia Khatulistiwa'', ''4''(4).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q9061136 Bonnetiaceae Plants described in 1841 Malpighiales genera