Gen info
- Etymology: The species name "Syzygium" is derived from the Greek word "syzygos", meaning the paired and opposite leaves; "lineatum" refers to striped, netted veins on the leaves. (7)

Botany
Syzygium lineatum is a shrub or evergreen tree  growing up to 30 meters tall, usually much lower,  with a dense foliage. Trunk is erect, up to 50 cm diameter, with a grayish bark  tending to flake off with age. Leaves are simple, opposite, 6-12 cm long and 2.5-4.5 cm wide, with acuminate to caudate apex, and entire margin, rather leathery, with numerous secondary veins, parallel and spaced 1-2 mm;  petioles about 1 cm.  Inflorescences are terminal or axillary erect cymes, 4-12 cm long bearing several white or white-pinkish bisexual flowers,  fragrant, rich in nectar, with obconical hypathium. about 6 nn long,  calyz with  4 semicircular lobes,  2 mm long and 3 mm wide, persis, tent in the fruit, 4 ovate petals precociously deciduous, 3-4 mm long and wide,  numerous white stamens 0.6-1 cm long, and about 1 cm long style. Fruits are globose to ellipsoid berries,  1-1.4 cm long, 1 cm diameter,  initially green, turning white and reddish when ripe, fleshy, edible and one-seeded. (1)

Distribution
- Native to the Philippines.
- Also native to Borneo, Cambodia, China Java, Laos, Lesser Sunda Islands, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Sumatra, Thailand, and Vietnam. (1)
- Common in swamps and flooded zones.

Constituents
- Study of leavrich in tannins.
- Study of leaves for essential oil   by gas chromatography flame ionization detector (GC-FID)  with GC-MS yielded 0.15 (v/w) calculated on dry weight basis. Main constituents were ß-caryophyllene (64.53%),  α-pinene (6.14%), α-selinene (4.76%),  and α-humulene (4.39^). (3)
- Phytochemical analysis of ethanol extract yielded flavonoids,   tannins, and saponins in both leaves,and fruits, with absence of alkaloids.  (4)

Properties
- Study has suggested  cytotoxicity and anticancer properties.

Parts used
Bark and roots.

Uses
Edibility
- Fruit is edible. Ripe fruits are eaten fresh or used as ingredient in fish sinigang or meat dishes.
- Fruit has potential for processing into jam and jelly, and fermentation to produce wine and vinegar. (4)
Folkloric
- No reported folkloric medicinal use in the Philippines.
Others
- Wine: In a study for its potential for processing, results suggest lubeg wine may be preferable to bignay or duhat wine.

Studies
• Cytotoxic Lignan Esters / Bark and Roots:: Study evaluated ,ethanol extract of dried bark and roots of S. lineatum for cytotoxic activity against HT-29 human colon cancer cell line. Three new  and several known lignan esters and a new triterpene acetate were isolated. Several lignan esters were found to b active. A preliminary structure-activity relationship study  showed that both ester groups and their dimeric  were required for the compounds to mediate cytotoxicity against HT-29 cells. (6)
• Taxonomic and Molecular Identification: Study aimed to taxonomically classify and molecularly identify the indigenous species through DBA barcoding. "Lubeg" was found to belong to the family Myrtaceae under the species Syzygium (Gaertn.). It was identified as Syzygium lineatum (Roxb.) (DC.) Merr. & Perr. This was the first sequence of Syzygium under the rbcL gene. Using the phylogenetic tree, the "Lubeg" sequence is closest to Syzygium malaccense, and the out-group is Eucalyptus globulus. (7)

Availability
Wild-crafted.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Syzygium lineatum / Pietro Puccio / Monaco Nature Encyclopedia
(2)
Syzygium cerasiforme / Synonyms / Plants of the World Onlinee
(3)
Analysis of Essential Oils from Leaf of Syzygium hancei Merr., & Perry, Syzygium caryophyllatum (L.)Alston, and Syzygium lineatum (DC.) Merr. and Perry from Vietnam /  Tran Hau Khanh, Pham Homg Ban / Journal of Essential Oil Bearing Plants, 2020; 23(3)  DOI:  10.1080/0972.2020.060X.2020.1790429
(4)
Phytochemical qnqlysis or Lubeg (Syzygium lineatum (DC.) Merr. & L.M.Perry) species in Apayao /   Maria Christina Zarate-Manicad /  International Journal of Novel Research in Life Sciences,  Dec 2016;  3(6): pp  1-5 / ISSN:  2394-966X
(5)
Development of Lubeg (Syzygium lineatum (Roxb.)   MNenette T Columna / err. & Perry Processed Products /  Ocampo and  Usita /  Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2015; 3(4): pp 118-123 / pISSN:  / eISSN:2350-7756 / eISSN: 2350-8442
(6)
Cytotoxic Lignan Esters from the Bark and Roots of Syzygium l Cf. lineatum /   Y Ren,  T N Ninh,,  H B Chai,  Planta Med, 2016; A D Kinghorn et al / Planta Med, 2016 / DOI: 10.1055/s-0036-1578773
(7)
"Lubeg" (Phlippine Cherry), Syzygium llineatumm(Roxb.) DC. Merr. & Perry: Its Taxonomic and Molecular Identification / Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 2019; 12(35): pp 1-7 /

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