Botany
Mala is a rather large and smooth tree growing to a height of 24 meters. Leaves are elliptic-lanceolate, 9 to 14 centimeters long, 2.5 to 4 centimeters wide, pointed at both ends. Flowers are white, about 2 centimeters long, growing on short sprays at the top of branchlets. Sepals are lanceolate, 15 millimeters long, 3 to 4 millimeters wide. Petals are white, oblong-obovate, about 2 centimeters long, and deeply fringed at the tip. Fruit is a drupe, pale green, ellipsoid, with a thin layer of flesh.

Distribution
- In Busuango forests at low altitude.
- Also occurs in Burma, Indo-China, and Java.

Constituents
- Leaves yield tannin, geraniin and 3, 4, 5-trimethoxy geraniin.
- Tannin, geraniin, and 3,4,5-trimethoxy geraniin have been isolated from E. grandiflorus leaves (Rahman et al, 1998). (7)

Properties
- Bark is very bitter.
- Considered antibacterial, antiviral, antidiuretic.
- Studies suggest antibacterial, anti-diuretic, anti-diabetic and antiviral properties.

Parts used
Bark, leaves and seeds.

Uses
Folkloric
- No reported folkloric medicinal use in the Philippines.
- Leaf decoction drunk as tonic and used for treatment of bilious afflictions.
- Crushed bark used for poulticing ulcers.
- Leaves used for treatment of syphilis.
- Used for diseases of women.
- In Indonesia, fruit used for dysentery and bladder pain; bark, for kidney inflammation, and topically for ulcers.
- In Malaysia, used after childbirth as general tonic. Ground bark used in hot water mixture with other plant materials to improve blood circulation, encourage contraction of the uterus, expel wind, and as laxative. (6)
- Water extract of leaves, fruit, and twigs has been used traditionally tor treatment of diabetes. (7)

Studies
• Anti-Diabetic / Concern on Long-Term Effects: Study evaluated the hypoglycemic effect of a water extract of Elaecarpus grandiflorus in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. The water extract exhibited hypoglycemic effect. However, results suggest the extract should not be used for longer than two consecutive weeks, Close follow up for toxicity should be done during chronic use of E. grandiflorus. (1)
• HIV1 Protease Inhibitory Activity: Aqueous extracts of 75 different traditional medicines in China, Japan, and Indonesia were screened for possible inhibitory activity against HIV-1 protease. Forty extracts showed inhibitory activity at concentration of 250 µg/mL. E. grandiflorus (fruit) showed inhibition of 53.9% at 250 µg/mL and 23% at 25 µg/mL. (3)
• PTP1B (Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase) Inhibition / Antidiabetic and Anti-Obesity: Study evaluated water extracts of 18 plants--traditional components in Jamu antidiabetic and antiobesity formulations--for inhibitory effect on protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B). About 44% of the examined samples, including Elaeocarpus grandiflorus, showed more than 80% inhibition against PTP1B, with IC50s ranging from 2.05 to 6.90 µg/mL. A disaccharide from E. grandiflorus could be an active inhibitor towards PTP1B. (8)

Availability
Wild-crafted.