Pharmacological and Phytochemical Review on Tecomella undulata

Nagpal N.¹*, Arora M.¹, Rahar S.¹, Swami G.² and Kapoor R.³

¹B.I.S. College of Pharmacy, Gagra, Moga-142103, Punjab, India

²C.T. Institute of Pharmaceutical science, Jalandhar-144001, Punjab, India

³Akal College of Pharmacy, Mastuana Sahib, Sangrur-148001, Punjab, India.

ABSTRACT:

Tecomella undulata is a monotypic genus and one of the most important deciduous, ornamental shrub or small tree of the arid zone regions in India. Different chemical constituents such as Radermachol, Undulatin, Lapachol, Tecomelloside, Stigmasterol, β-amyrin, β-sitosterol, β-sitosteryl acetate, compesterol, stigmasterol and many others have been isolated from the plant. Heartwood and bark of young branches is employed for the treatment of various diseases of skin, liver, spleen, urinary tract and central nerves system. Leaves shows significant antimicrobial activity and are used in treatment of AIDS. It is a common agroforestry tree species in the Thar desert of Rajasthan for its higher survival rates even in extreme drought conditions. The present article reviews the phytochemical and pharmacological work done on the plant.

KEYWORDS: Tecomella undulata, heartwood, bark, AIDS

INTRODUCTION:

The drug consists of heartwood, stem bark, leaves and seeds of Tecomella undulata (Sm.) Seem syn. Tecomella undulata (Roxb.) G. Don of faimly bignoniaceae, commonly known as Rohida, is a well known plant in the Ayurvedic system of medicine.^1-3 It is usually a shurb, found in small patches, but when cultivated it may grow as high as 12 meters with a girth up to 2.4 meters. The species has been identified as an important for environmental conservation in arid zones as a stabilizer of shifting sand dunes, providing shelter for wild life. It is also a very useful species for afforestation of the drier tracts due to its drought and fire resistant properties^4-5.

The bark of Tecomella undulata is strongly astringent and specified for diseases of liver and spleen, internal tumors and diseases of abdomen incl. ascitis. Charka prescribed powdered bark, its decoction and extract in clarified butter in jaundice, enlarged spleen, anemia, intestinal warms and urinary disorders. The paste of root was given in leucorrhoea^6-7.

The various chemical constituents isolated from the plant are radermachol, an unusual rare pigment and 2-isopropenylnaphtho[2,3-b]furan-4,9-quinone along with lapachol, tecomaquinone-I, dehydro-α-lapachone, α-lapachone, β-lapachone, cluytyl ferulate, stigmasterol and β-sitosterol.

Habitat:

Distribution of Tecomella undulata is restricted to the drier parts of the Arabia, southern Pakistan and northwest India up to an elevation of 1200 meters. In Pakistan it is found in Baluchistan and Sind. In India, it occurs naturally in Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Maharashtra. It is also distributed in sub-himalyan tract from gonda (Uttar Pradesh), eastward to Bengal, Sikkim and Assam west, in western ghat and Andmans.⁶

The species is mainly found to occur in western parts of Rajasthan such as Barmer, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Pali, Ajmer, Nagaur, Bikaner, Churu and Sikar districts. In other states its population is scanty and very rare.

General Characteristics:

The trade name of the tree species is Desert teak or Marwar teak. It is nearly evergreen tree of arid and semi arid regions. It occurs on flat and undulating areas including gentle hill slopes and sometimes also in ravines. It is well adapted to drained loamy to sandy loam soil having pH 6.5-8.0. The species thrives very well on stabilized sand dunes, which experience extreme low and high temperatures. It grows in areas of scanty rainfall (annual 150-500mm) and high temperature (35°C to 48°C). It can withstand extreme low temperature (0°C to −2°C) during winter and high temperature (48°C to 50°C) in summers. The tree is a strong light demander. It is drought, frost, fire and wind hardy. At the time of flowering (December-February) it produces beautiful showy flowers in yellow, orange and red colors. Three types of flower bearing trees can be observed near to each other in the same vicinity^8-9.

It is rarely hardy and resistant to drought and used for forestation and landscaping of dry tracts. The tree is propagated from seeds and cuttings. Propagation is highly successful in well drained fibrous loam and it requires plenty of water in summer¹⁰.

The wood is grayish or yellowish brown, close grained and mould with light streaks and is tough, strong and durable. It takes a fine polish and is reported to be highly prized for furniture, carving and agricultural implements. The heartwood contains a good amount of lopachol which is toxic and responsible for the fungus and termites resisting property of wood¹⁰.

Bark of young plant is soft and greenish brown and it is hard and dark brown in tree. Its bark is up to 8 mm. thick in fully matured tree. The bark of young branches is employed for the treatment of syphilis and eczema. Preliminary investigations have shown that the bark possess mild relaxant, cardiotonic and cholesetic activity. It contains tecomin (veratroyl-β-D-glucoside), C₂₉ and C₂₇ alkanes, C₂₈ and C₃₀ alkanols and β-sitosterols. It is used for tanning.¹⁰

Leaves are 4-8 × 1- 1.25 cm. narrowly oblong or linear oblong, simple, obtuse, margin undulate, membranous, dark green, glabrous above and petiole. Leave of this plant have heavy edges.

Flowers are pale yellow or deep orange-red, showy, large, 6.5 - 7.5 cm. long in corymbose racemes, arrange in few flowered from short lateral branches. The tree looks beautiful when in full bloom from march to april.

Fruit is capsule, slightly curved and seeds of Tecomella undulata are winged^11-14.

It has been reported that soil under tree Tecomella undulata has appreciably higher concentration of various macro and micro nutrient elements¹⁵.

PHYTOCHEMICAL INVESTIGATIONS:

Extensive studies have been carried out on Tecomella undulata. Various chemical constituents isolated from heartwood, bark, seed, leaf, flower and fruit have been presented in Table 1.

PHARMACOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION:

In recent years many researchers have examined the effect of Tecomella undulata used traditionally by indigenous healers and herbalists to support function of various body parts and treat diseases in human and animals. In most cases, research has confirmed traditional experience and wisdom by discovering the mechanisms and modes of action as well as reaffirming the therapeutic effectiveness of plant or plant extracts in clinical studies.

Anti microbial activity:

Biochemical analysis indicated that T. undulata leaves have oleanolic acid, ursolic acid and betulinic acid, compounds that are strong HIV prohibitors. Octadimethyl succinate derivatives of oleanolic acid and betulinic acid have been reported to be 24 times more active than AZT, a drug that is currently used for checking the spread of AIDS.³²

Other compounds isolated from the leaves of T. undulata are β-sitosterol, triacontanol, cirsimaritin, cirilineol, pentatriacontanol and 4,5-dihydroxy-3,6,8-trimethoxy flavone. Both aqueous and alcoholic leaf and stem extracts of T. undulata showed growth inhibition of Salmonella typhi, a causal organism of typhoid fever.

Sumitra Chandra et al. works on antibacterial activity with methanolic and aqueous extracts of Tecomella undulata. They found that plant extracts were more active against Gram-positive bacteria than against Gram-negative bacteria. The most susceptible bacteria were B. subtilis, followed by S. epidermidis, while the most resistant bacteria were P. vulgaris, followed by S. typhimurium. The antibacterial activity of aqueous and methanol extracts was determined by agar disk diffusion and agar well diffusion method. The methanol extracts were more active than the aqueous extract.^33-34

Table -1 Chemical constituents isolated from heartwood, bark, seed, leaf, flower and fruit shell of T. undulata.

S. No.	Constituents isolated	Parts	References
1	Radermachol	Heartwood	16
2	2-Isopropenylnaphtho [2,3-b]furan-4,9-quinone	Heartwood	16
3	Tecomaquinone-I	Heartwood	16
4	α-Lapachone	Heartwood	16
5	β-Lapachone	Heartwood	16
6	Cluytyl ferulate	Heartwood	16
7	Undulatin	Heartwood	17
8	Tectoquinone	Heartwood	17
9	Octacosanyl ferulate	Heartwood	17
10	Deoxylapachol	Heartwood	17
11	Lopachole	Heartwood	10, 45
12	Tectol	Heartwood and Root	17, 18
13	Dehydro-α-lapachone	Heartwood and Root	16, 17, 18
14	Lapachol	Heartwood and Bark	17, 19
15	Dehydrotectol	Heartwood and Bark	17, 20
16	ξ-Sitosterol	Heartwood and Bark	21
17	Veratric acid	Heartwood and Bark	1
18	A wax alcohol ferulate	Heartwood and Bark	18
19	n-Triacontanol	Heartwood and Bark	22
20	Tecomelloside	Heartwood and Bark	22
21	Stigmasterol	Heartwood, Bark and Leaves	16
22	Tecomin	Bark	22, 23, 24
23	Undulatoside A	Bark	25
24	Undulatoside B	Bark	17
25	Tecoside	Bark	26
26	β-Sitosteryl acetate	Bark	27
27	p-Hydroxybenzoic acid	Bark	27
28	β-Amyrin	Bark and leaves	27
29	Campesterol	Bark and leaves	27
30	Alkanols	Bark and leaves	1
31	Alphanamixinin	Bark and fruit shell	6
32	β-Sitosterol	Bark, leaves and flowers	28,16,1, 10
33	Rutin	Flowers	28
34	Quercetin	Flowers	28
35	Luteolin-7-glucoside	Flowers	28
36	Alimonoid	Seed	6
37	Rohitukin	Seed	6
38	Linoleic acid	Seed	6
39	Oleic acid	Seed	6
40	Stearic acid	Seed	6
41	Palmitic acid	Seed	6
42	Aphanamixin lactone	Fruit shell	6
43	Aphanamixolide	Fruit shell	6
44	Deterpene	Leaves	6
45	Aphanamixol	Leaves	6
46	Triacontanol	Leaves	29
47	Betulinic acid	Leaves	29
48	Oleanolic acid	Leaves	29
49	Ursolic acid	Leaves	29
50	n-Octacosanol	Leaves	22
51	Campesterol	Leaves	22
52	α-Amyrin	Leaves	22
53	Oleanolic acid	Leaves	22
54	Triacontanol	Leaves	30
55	Cirsimaritin	Leaves	30
56	Cirilineol	Leaves	30
57	Pentatriacontanol	Leaves	30
58	6-O-veratrylcatalposide	Root	18, 31

Central analgesic activity:

Tecomella undulata has significant analgesic activity. Whole plant of Tecomella undulata was extracted with absolute methanol by Ahmad F. et al. using the hot water tail immersion test in mice and carrageenan induced pedal edema in rats, both extracts were tested for oral analgesic potential.

Result showed that T. Undulata had analgesic potential when compared with aspirin.³⁵ This extract probably act on opoidergic receptors and appear to be promising analgesic agent. However, further experiments will possibly define this pharmacological effect. If confirmed it, may become of importance for human clinical treatments.^36-37

Hepatoprotective activity:

Stem bark of Tecomella undulata have strong activity against thioacetamide induced hepatotoxicity. Oral administration of Tecomella undulata at 1000 mg/kg resulted in a significant reduction in serum aspartate aminotransaminase (35% and 31%, respectively), alanine aminotransaminase (50% and 42%, respectively), gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (56% and 49%, respectively), alkaline phosphatase (46% and 37%, respectively), total bilirubin (61% and 48%, respectively) and liver MDA levels (65% and 50%, respectively), and significant improvement in liver glutathione (73% and 68%, respectively) when compared with thioacetamide damaged rats. Histology of the liver sections of the animals treated with the extracts also showed dose-dependent reduction of necrosis.^38-39

Splenomegalic activity:

Rohida bark has their significant action in splenomegaly. Specific action how it works in spleen is not known but it used in auyrveda for treatment of enlargement of spleen.^40-42

Immune modulator activity:

Tecomella undulata possesses diverse biological activities and having bio- modulatory and immunomodulatory functions. Its alchohalic extract influence immune system viz. increase phagocytic activity of macrophages, stimulating the production of antibodies and cytokines, increase accumulation of NK cells into tissue and activation and mobilization of T and B cells.^{38, 43}

Tecomella undulata with a herbal combination of Moringa oleifera, Boerhavia diffusa, Onosma bracteatum, Bauhinia variegata, Spheranthus indicus, Chlorophytum borivilianum, Ficus racemosa, and Cyperus rotundus is effective for the treatment a wide range of physiological and pathological conditions in the human body resulting from a weakened or deteriorating immune system. this combination herbal preparation has been found to be particularly useful in maintaining the normal physiological functions of the immune system, in regulating the immunological functions and all the aberrations that occur due to the subtle immunological imbalances and reduced immunity, and to restore and improve the immune function in individuals exhibiting a weakened or deteriorating immune response.

It have beneficial effects and to improve the quality of life in individuals experiencing all types of cancer, especially those that directly weaken the immune system, in individuals affected with HIV and AIDS, in individuals exhibiting failing immunity due to old age, and all other conditions of the human body that negatively affect the immune system through the following mechanisms: (1) by stimulating the production of growth factors responsible for production of the cells of the immune apparatus, like lymphocytes, macrophages, Langerhans cells, histiocytes, etc.; (2) by enhancing the immune response due to the production of new cells and replacing the aging and functionally incompetent cells of the immune system; (3) by mopping up the free radicals generated by the metabolism of cancer cells, the anti-retroviral metabolism in cells of individuals affected with HIV or AIDS, and during the aging process (i.e. antioxidant effect); and (4) by stimulating the immune apparatus to produce antibodies and to form immune complexes (i.e. immunostimulatory effect).

it can also be used as a chemo protective or radio protective agent in individuals affected with cancer, wherein it can be used as an adjuvant to conventional treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, to reduce the adverse side effects of these therapies.

The combination herbal preparation also exhibits radio sensitizing and chemo sensitizing effects in cancer patients by enabling the tumor to become more sensitive to the effects of these two standard modalities of conventional anticancer therapy. Improved sensitivity of the tumor to radiotherapy and chemotherapy also helps in effectively reducing the required dosage of these therapies in order to achieve the prescribed therapeutic effects, thereby reducing and alleviating the powerful and devastating adverse toxic effects exerted by radiotherapy and chemotherapy in cancer treatment.⁴⁴

Tonic for animals:

Tecomella undulata used for recumbent the animal. The bark of the tree is ground to a powder and 100g of the same is administered daily till the animal recovers.⁴³

Vermifuge activity:

Lopachol is present in heartwood of Tecomella undulata, which is toxic in nature and have fungus and termites resistant property. ^{10, 45}

Anti infective activity (Skin diseases):

Tecomella undulata is used to cure the parasitic skin diseases and used for poulticing in cutaneous diseases. Bark and wood is soaked in water for two days. This is then distilled and the distillate collected is applied on the eczema. The bark of the young branches is often employed in Sind as remedy for syphilis.^{43, 46}

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Received on 26.07.2010

Accepted on 04.08.2010

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Research Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry. 2(5): Sept.-Oct. 2010, 354-358