914

12(2): Medicinal and poisonous plants 2

Alyxia R.Br.

Prodr.: 469 (1810).

APOCYNACEAE

x = 18; Alyxia ruscifolia, Alyxia sinensis: 2n = 36

Major species Alyxia reinwardtii Blume.

Indonesia: pulasari (general), pulosari (Javanese), palasari (Sundanese). Thailand: nuut. Vietnam: ng[oo]n.

Alyxia comprises about 100 species from north-eastern India, southern China, continental South-East Asia, Malesia, Australia and the islands of the Pacific from the Marianas to New Caledonia and Norfolk Island, eastwards to Henderson Island and northwards to Hawaii. Many species are very localized, particularly in New Guinea, whilst others are common and widespread, such as Alyxia reinwardtii and Alyxia ganophylla Markgr. in western Malesia, Alyxia acuminata K. Schum., Alyxia markgrafii Tsiang and Alyxia subalpina Markgr. in New Guinea, Alyxia sinensis Champ. ex Benth. in China, Alyxia buxifolia R.Br., Alyxia spicata R.Br. and Alyxia ruscifolia R.Br. in Australia, Alyxia concatenata in the Philippines, and Alyxia stellata (J.R. Forster & G. Forster) Roem. & Schult. in the Pacific.

Some Alyxia species have fragrant bark and are sold in markets as white cinnamon. Alyxia reinwardtii is widely used as an ingredient in medicines in Indonesia, accompanied by 'adas'(fennel, Foeniculum vulgare Miller), hence the name 'adas-pulasari'. It is frequently used in 'jamus', Javanese traditional medicine, to treat various illnesses and to impart flavour and a pleasant odour to the other ingredients. About 18 sorts of manufactured 'jamu' from Central Java contain 'adas-pulasari' as a principle ingredient. These are used as an antispasmodic and for treating stomach-ache, flatulence, colic, fever, dysentery, as a carminative and for sprue. The leaves and flowers taste spicy and rather bitter when still fresh and are sometimes used instead of the bark. Alyxia halmaheirae Miq. is used in the same fashion. The bark, leaves and flowers can be taken as infusion to treat gonorrhoea. Alyxia reinwardtii cooked together with Amaranthus spinosus L., Usnea sp. and the bark of Cinnamomum cassia J.S. Presl can be used to treat bronchitis. The bark of the same species pounded with onion, wrapped with leaves, cooked and then the juice extracted, is used to treat thrush. The bark can also be applied together with the leaves of Polygonum flaccidum Meisner and aniseed (Pimpinella anisum L.) as an emmenagogue, or in cosmetics and flavouring. In Indo-China, Alyxia reinwardtii, under its various synonyms, is burnt and the smoke used to treat cephalalgia. The bitter sap is also applied as an emetic. Alyxia pullei Markgr. is used to alleviate stomach-ache in New Guinea. In the Vogelkop peninsula the juice of Alyxia markgrafii is drunk against cough.
Bundles of dried twigs of Alyxia reinwardtii can be placed in cupboards to perfume them and the fragrant smell may last up to two years. Dried and finely powdered bark is used as an ingredient in the manufacture of incense in Java. Local wine industries sometimes use Alyxia to flavour their product with the coumarin substances found in the bark. Alyxia rostrata (Markgr.) Markgr. can be used to make needles for sewing and also plays a role in religious ceremonies. Alyxia concatenata (Blanco) Merr. is used to make perfumes.
Many species throughout the range of the genus are used in personal adornment and it is thought that the name Alyxia comes from the Greek 'halusis' meaning a chain, in reference to the making of leis in the Pacific. Leis are chains of leaves and the bark after it has been stripped off the wood. These are twisted around each other to form a decorative and scented chain for use on festive occasions.

Pulasari is sold as white cinnamon in some South-East Asian markets. Alyxia reinwardtii is generally the principal ingredient of commercial pulasari, but in parts of Asia with more than one Alyxia species, pulasari may contain species other than the common Alyxia reinwardtii. It is generally collected from the wild, so accurate production information is not available. The trade in pulasari for 'jamu' in Central Java is thought to be increasing by about 15% a year. In 1990 63 t were used and this will probably have risen to about 180 t in the year 2000. The local price of this material in Indonesia was expected to be about Rp 5000 per kg in the year 2000, local trade therefore generating more than Rp 900 million, about US$120 000.

Responsible for the fragrant smell, typical of many species of Alyxia, including Alyxia buxifolia from Australia and Alyxia luzoniensis Merr. from the Philippines, is a mixture of isomeric coumarins which can be isolated from, for instance, the bark. Typical components, which are present in chloroform and petroleum extracts of dried stem parts of Alyxia reinwardtii include 3-, 5- and 8-hydroxycoumarin, as well as their glycosides.
Further, the presence of iridoid substances is reported; pulosarioside (a bitter trimeric-iridoid diglycoside) from the bark, and 2 iridoid-lactones alyxialactone and 4-epi-alyxialactone from the leaves. Even though several reports on pharmacological activities of Alyxia reinwardtii are available, most of them showed negative results except for antihistamine and antispasmodic activities.

Climbers, scramblers or shrubs with white latex; branches sometimes with large corky protuberances, branchlets mostly strongly or weakly angled when young, becoming mostly terete with age, lenticellate or not, pubescent or not. Leaves opposite or in whorls of 3—7, more or less equal in size within a whorl but often of extremely different size and shape on different parts of the plant, entire, colleters present in the axils, often with an intramarginal vein; petiole present; stipules absent. Inflorescences axillary and/or terminal, consisting of solitary flowers, of simple pleiochasia, or of compound pleiochasia and then sometimes forming large terminal panicles; peduncle very variable; bracts usually small, sometimes rather leafy, persistent or caducous; bracteoles absent, or one, two or several on the pedicel. Flowers actinomorphic, 5-merous (very rarely 4-merous); sepals normally erect, rarely somewhat fleshy and rarely of widely varying size, ovate to linear; corolla tube cylindrical, somewhat inflated around stamens, lobes erect, spreading or reflexed, overlapping to the left in bud; stamens inserted mostly in the upper half of the corolla tube, more rarely around or just beneath the middle, not exserted from corolla throat, filaments straight, short and thin, anthers ovate, free from pistil head; disk absent; ovary of two separate carpels united into a common style, glabrous, with tufts of hair between the two carpels, pubescent in a ring around the base of the ovary, or pubescent all over, style glabrous, pistil head small, pubescent, ovules several. Fruit a pair of drupes, very frequently with one aborted, consisting of one or more articles with one seed, when more than one then forming a moniliform chain; endocarp thin, papery, sometimes somewhat thicker to quite tough, mesocarp fleshy, often very thinly so, exocarp thin, coloured. Seeds ovoid, ruminate or with longitudinal ridges; embryo with flat to strongly undulate cotyledons.

Alyxia belongs to the subfamily Rauvolfioideae. It has been placed in various tribes by different authors. There are a large number of species in this genus, many of which are difficult to separate from each other, particularly those found in western Malesia. Many species are extremely variable, particularly Alyxia reinwardtii, but also Alyxia sinensis in China, Alyxia acuminata in New Guinea, Alyxia stellata in the Pacific Islands and Alyxia tisserantii Montrouz. in New Caledonia. The name Alyxia stellata has frequently and mistakenly been applied to Alyxia reinwardtii and Alyxia halmaheirae. In Polynesia, a decoction of the roots is used for blood in the stool. However, Alyxia stellata does not occur in Asia or Malesia. Other often misapplied names include Alyxia laurina Gaudich., found only on the island of Waigeo and neighbouring islands, for plants from the Moluccas and Alyxia pilosa Miq. for plants from outside Sumatra. The status of the material quoted as Alyxia kurzii by various authors is unclear. The centres of diversity of Alyxia are in Vietnam, Sulawesi, the Philippines, New Guinea and New Caledonia.

Alyxia comprises species that can be encountered in a variety of habitats, ranging from those that prefer drier conditions, such as Alyxia spicata in Australia, New Guinea and the Lesser Sunda Islands, to those that grow in dense moist forest. Many species grow at low altitude whilst others are only found in high mountains, such as Alyxia royeniana Markgr. in New Guinea. There is also a large variation in growth forms from species such as Alyxia linearis Markgr. in the Philippines which is a small scrambler over rocks and branches, to species such as Alyxia acuminata in New Guinea which can be a large forest liana growing up into the canopy.

Alyxia propagates easily from vegetative parts and seed. Parts of the stem of Alyxia reinwardtii will root when in contact with the ground. For vegetative propagation of Alyxia reinwardtii cuttings of 0.5—0.8 cm diameter and 10—15 cm long are preferred. The cuttings are directly inserted to a depth of 2 cm in a medium of equal parts soil and compost. The cuttings should be screened from direct sunlight and regularly sprayed to maintain humidity. After 2 weeks roots of 1 cm length will have developed, and the first pair of leaves can be discerned after 3 weeks. The cuttings are ready for transplanting when 2—3 pairs of leaves have developed. Shade as well as frequency of watering can be gradually reduced. Seedlings are fairly common where the adult plants are found. In vitro propagation of Alyxia reinwardtii produces good plantlets, when using enriched Murashige and Skoog medium with sucrose at 30 g/l, cytokinin and naphtalene acetic acid at 0.1 mg/l.

Alyxia bark is usually collected from wild populations. Stems are cut and the bark scraped. The stem parts are then heated to facilitate removal of the bark.

The removed and scraped bark of Alyxia can be dried in the sun.

Alyxia reinwardtii is extremely variable and widespread, but may be liable to genetic erosion as a result of collection from the wild. No germplasm collections or breeding programmes are known to exist. It would be interesting to investigate the bioactive properties of the various forms from the entire range.

Alyxia reinwardtii has potential in the medicinal and perfume industries, although more research is required. It should be possible to promote its cultivation rather than relying on wild sources. Anecdotal evidence of the medicinal and perfume uses of other Alyxia species should be further investigated.

Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. Revised reprint. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol. 1 (A—H) pp. 123—125.
Hendrian & Julisasi Tri Hadiah, 1999 (Editors). Koleksi tumbuhan obat Kebun Raya Bogor [Medicinal plants collection in the Bogor Botanical Gardens]. Seri Koleksi Kebun Raya-LIPI 1, No 3. UPT Balai Pengembangan Kebun Raya - Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia, Bogor, Indonesia. pp.5—6.
Heyne, K., 1950. De nuttige planten van Indonesië [The useful plants of Indonesia]. 3rd Edition. W. van Hoeve, 's-Gravenhage, the Netherlands/Bandung, Indonesia. pp. 1284—1285.
Kitagawa, I., Shibuya, H., Baek, N.I., Yokokawa, Y., Nitta, A., Wiriadinata, H. & Yoshikawa, M., 1988. Pulosarioside, a new bitter trimeric-iridoid diglucoside, from an Indonesian jamu, the bark of Alyxia reinwardtii Bl. (Apocynaceae). Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin 36(10): 4232—4235.
Lin, L.J., Lin, L.Z., Ruangrungsi, N. & Cordell, G.A., 1993. 3-hydroxycoumarin glycosides from Alyxia reinwardti var. Lucida. Phytochemistry 34(3): 825—830.
Middleton, D.J., 2000. A revision of Alyxia R.Br. (Apocynaceae). Part 1: Asia and Malesia. Blumea 45(1): 1—146.

H.M. Sangat-Roemantyo & D.J. Middleton

Alyxia concatenata
Alyxia halmaheirae
Alyxia pullei
Alyxia reinwardtii
Alyxia rostrata

Sangat-Roemantyo, H.M. & Middleton, D.J., 2001. Alyxia R.Br.. In: van Valkenburg, J.L.C.H. and Bunyapraphatsara, N. (Editors): Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 12(2): Medicinal and poisonous plants 2. 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:
Alyxia concatenata
Alyxia halmaheirae
Alyxia pullei
Alyxia reinwardtii
Alyxia rostrata