2922

12(3): Medicinal and poisonous plants 3

Suregada Roxb. ex Rottl.

Ges. Naturf. Freunde Berlin Neue Schriften 4: 206 (1803).

EUPHORBIACEAE

x = unknown; Suregada multiflora: 2n = 22

Suregada comprises about 30 species: 8 in Africa, 13 in Madagascar and the Comoros Islands, and the remainder in tropical Asia and northern Australia (1 species). About 5 species seem to occur in the Malesian region, 2 widespread, the other 3 local.

A decoction of Suregada roots is used in Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand to treat fever, and the bark in Cambodia for strengthening the gums and as purgative in liver complaints. The wood is used to treat fever, venereal diseases and beri-beri, and the stem bark as anthelmintic, laxative, and externally as fungicide. The wood is sometimes used for construction, e.g. for rafters, and as firewood. Suregada is occasionally planted as an ornamental in gardens.
In eastern Africa, the roots of Suregada zanzibariensis Baillon are used in decoction as a purgative, and they are also used to treat snakebites.

The diterpenes glomomulides A—F and diol ent-kaurene-3b,15b-diol, and the flavones kanugin, desmethoxy kanugin and pinnatin have been isolated from the roots of Suregada multiflora. Gelonin, a ribosome-inactivating and immunoreactive protein, has been isolated from the seeds. An antiretroviral protein (GAP31) with activity against herpes simplex virus infection in vitro has also been identified. This protein also inhibits human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection and replication, and exhibits DNA topoisomerase inhibitor and RNA N-glycosidase activities.
A leaf extract of Suregada zanzibariensis showed a distinct in-vitro antiplasmodial activity against chloroquine-sensitive and chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum strains.

Dioecious shrubs or small to medium-sized trees, completely glabrous. Leaves alternate, simple, elliptical, entire or slightly toothed, pinnately veined, pellucid-dotted, shortly petiolate; stipules small, connate, early caducous, often leaving a conspicuous scar. Inflorescence leaf-opposed, fasciculate or very shortly cymose, often gummy when young. Flowers unisexual, tiny, tepals (petals absent) 5, suborbicular, strongly imbricate; male flowers with numerous free, exserted stamens and numerous small glands between the filaments; female flowers with annular disk and superior, 2—3-locular ovary, styles 2—3, very short, bifid. Fruit capsule- or drupe-like, globose or shallowly 2—3-lobed, mostly smooth, tardily dehiscent, few-seeded. Seeds subglobose, with fleshy testa.
Suregada is a distinctive genus in the tribe Gelonieae, but the species of the Malesian region are still insufficiently circumscribed. Suregada glomerulata and Suregada multiflora seem to be separable only by the larger size of flowers and fruits in the latter, but it is almost impossible to establish a clear dividing line between them. The leaves in Suregada glomerulata are mostly smaller and often rounded or obtuse at apex. The traditional division of the material in the Malesian region into 2 entities, based on larger, fleshy fruits on the one hand and smaller, capsular fruits on the other hand, seems inadequate. Moreover, 3 endemic species seem to exist in the Philippines and Borneo. There is much need of ecological-morphological field work on the genus.

In South-East Asia Suregada occurs in a wide variation of habitats, from lowland forest, primary as well as secondary, to scrub vegetation and montane forest up to 1500 m altitude.

Both Suregada species treated here are widespread and, at least locally, common. The genetic variation is still unknown.

Some compounds from Suregada show interesting pharmacological activities, e.g. immunotoxic and anti-HIV, which merit further research, and may have potential in the development of future medicines. The antipyretic activity observed for Asia as well as Africa is notable. A taxonomic study of the species in South-East Asia is needed to unravel the species delimitation.

[101]Bourinbaiar, A.S. & Lee-Huang, S., 1995. The activity of plant-derived antiretroviral proteins MAP30 and GAP31 against Herpes simplex virus infection in vitro. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 219(3): 923—929.
[189]Das, B., Chakravarty, A.K., Masuda, K., Suzuki, H. & Ageta, H., 1994. A diterpenoid from roots of Gelonium multiflorum. Phytochemistry 37(5): 1363—1366.
[703]Omulokoli, E., Khan, B. & Chhabra, S.C., 1997. Antiplasmodial activity of four Kenyan medicinal plants. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 56: 133—137.
[817]Saralamp, P., Chuakul, W., Temsiririrkkul, R. & Clayton, T. (Editors), 1996. Medicinal plants in Thailand. Vol. I. Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. 219 pp.

Wongsatit Chuakul, Noppamas Soonthornchareonnon & Orawan Ruangsomboon

Suregada glomerulata
Suregada multiflora

Chuakul, W., Soonthornchareonnon, N. & Ruangsomboon, O., 2003. Suregada Roxb. ex Rottl.. 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:
Suregada glomerulata
Suregada multiflora