2857

12(3): Medicinal and poisonous plants 3

Rinorea Aubl.

Hist. pl. Guiane 1: 235 (1775).

VIOLACEAE

x = unknown

Rinorea comprises about 170 species and is pantropical, Africa being richest in species (approximately 100), followed by tropical America (about 50) and tropical Asia (about 15).

Rinorea roots, and more rarely leaves, are occasionally used in traditional medicine in Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra, as a post-partum medicine, and to treat diarrhoea, ulcerated noses and fever. In Java crushed leaves of Rinorea javanica (Blume) O. Kuntze have been administered internally as an antidote. Several Rinorea species are used in traditional medicine in Africa to treat various complaints, e.g. fever, snakebites and syphilis.
Rinorea wood is sometimes used for e.g. implements.

The bark of Rinorea anguifera showed some in vitro antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.

Shrubs or small trees; twigs usually angular when young, later terete. Leaves alternate, distichous, simple, more or less distinctly acuminate, margins often shallowly crenate or dentate, pinnately veined, shortly petiolate or subsessile; stipules often longitudinally striate, often caducous. Inflorescence an axillary fascicle, sometimes a raceme, corymb or panicle. Flowers bisexual, regular, 5-merous; pedicel articulated; sepals free, imbricate, subequal, fimbriate; petals free, generally contorted, subequal; stamens usually connate into a tube, anthers with distinct triangular appendage; ovary superior, 1-celled, style straight, stigma more or less 3-lobed. Fruit a subglobose capsule, generally subtended by calyx, corolla and stamen remains, opening by leathery valves, (1—)3—6(—9)-seeded. Seeds ellipsoid, glabrous, with leathery testa and often distinct hilum and raphe, rich in endosperm.

Rinorea occurs predominantly in the understorey of primary lowland rain forest, occasionally up to 1000 m altitude, on various soils including limestone.

Rinorea may be liable to genetic erosion as it occurs mainly in lowland primary rain forest, a habitat under much pressure in many regions of South-East Asia.

Rinorea is at present unimportant as a medicinal plant in South-East Asia, and it is unlikely that its utilization will increase. However, research on pharmacological properties and phytochemistry might be interesting considering the medicinal uses of Rinorea in both South-East Asia and Africa for more or less similar purposes.

[120]Burkill, H.M., 1985—2000. The useful plants of West tropical Africa. 2nd Edition. 5 volumes. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom. Vol. 1 (1985), Families A—D, 960 pp.; Vol. 2 (1994), Families E—I, 636 pp.; Vol. 3 (1995), Families J—L, 857 pp.; Vol. 4 (1997), Families M—R, 969 pp; Vol. 5 (2000), Families S—Z, 686 pp.
[121]Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. Revised reprint. 2 volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co- operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol. 1 (A—H) pp. 1—1240, Vol. 2 (I— Z) pp. 1241—2444.
[247]Flora Malesiana (various editors), 1950—. Foundation Flora Malesiana. Rijksherbarium/Hortus Botanicus, Leiden, the Netherlands.

Rini Sasanti Handayani

Rinorea anguifera
Rinorea horneri
Rinorea lanceolata

Handayani, R.S., 2003. Rinorea Aubl.. In: Lemmens, R.H.M.J. and Bunyapraphatsara, N. (Editors): Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 12(3): Medicinal and poisonous plants 3. PROSEA Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. Database record: prota4u.org/prosea

The following species in this genus are important in this commodity group and are treated separatedly in this database:
Rinorea anguifera
Rinorea horneri
Rinorea lanceolata