 Gen info
- Chisocheton is a genus of trees in the family Meliaceae.
- Etymology: The genus name Chisocheton derives from Greek words schizos and chiton meaning "split tunic", referring to the lobed staminal tube of C. patens. (16) The specific epithet ceramicus derives from ceram, an island in the Moluccas. (15)
Botany
• Upper canopy tree up to 44 m tall and 71 cm dbh. Stipules absent. Leaves alternate, compound, leaf apex continues to grow indeterminately, resulting in very long leaves, leaflets penni-veined, glabrous. Flowers ca. 6 mm diameter, white-yellow, placed in panicles. Fruits ca. 47 mm diameter, brown-red, dehiscent capsules. Seeds pale orange. (15)
• Large canopy tree (up to 30 m high); Bole cylindrical (up to 40 cm diam.); often crooked or straight (sometimes bole up to 15 m long); buttresses buttresses present (usually buttresses up to 3 m high); spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark sometimes grey or reddish brown, slightly rough, scaly or flaky (in irregular strips), slightly fissured, or pustular (slightly (dimpled), lenticels irregular; Subrhytidome (under-bark) pink, mottled, or grey; less than 25 mm thick, 6.0-8.0; bark blaze consisting of one layer; strongly aromatic; unpleasant; outer blaze pale pink, red, or brown, markings absent; inner blaze pale pink, red, or brown, markings absent; bark exudate (sap)  present, white/milky, not readily flowing (spotty), color not changing on exposure to air, not sticky; terminal buds not enclosed by leaves. Indumentum: Complex hairs absent; stinging hairs absent; mature twig indumentum (hairs) present when young or later absent, hairs dense. Leaves: Leaves spaced along branches, spiral (leaves occurring singly at a node and arranged spirally up the branchlet), compound (a leaf made up from two or more leaflets); petiole present, not winged, attached to base of leaf blade, not swollen; leaves pinnate (unbranched with more than three leaflets); petiolule not swollen or slightly swollen; rachis present, absent, absent; leaves with a terminal leaflet (the number of leaflets odd - imparipinnate), broadest at or near middle, (4.0-) 10.0-32.0 cm, (2.7-) 5.5-13.5 cm, leaflets opposite, asymmetric, terminal developing leaflet buds curled back on itself; venation pinnate, secondary veins open, prominent, intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface green, upper surface dark green, indumentum (hairs) absent when mature or present (when immature (minutely hairy), indumentum (hairs) dense or sparse; absent; domatia absent; stipules absent. Flowers: Inflorescence axillary, flowers on a branched axis, cones absent; flowers unisexual, unisexual with male and female flowers on different plants, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry, 13.0-18.0 mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.); perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals whorls, inner perianth yellowish white, pale yellow, or pink to grey; 4-6, some or partly joined; stamens (4-) 5 (-6), absent, joined (to form a staminal tube), free of the perianth; ovary superior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 2-3; styles solitary, 1. Fruits: Infrutescence arranged on branched axis, fruit 30.0-40.0 mm long, orange to red, not spiny, fleshy, simple, indehiscent or slightly dehiscent, capsule; seeds 1-(dark reddish brown)-3, much more than 10 mm long (20-24 mm long), not winged, narrow (longer than wide), seed more than 10 mm diam. (12-15 mm diam.). (2)
 Distribution
- Native to the Philippines.
- In primary and secondary forests, usually from 0-700 m.
- Also native to Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Jawa, Malaya, Maluku, New Guinea, Solomon Is., Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam. (1)
- In undisturbed to slightly disturbed mixed dipterocarp and sub-montane forests up to 1400 m altitude. Usually on hillsides and ridges with sandy to clay soils. (15)
 Constituents
- Study of bark of Malaysian Chisocheton ceramicus isolated six new limonoids, ceramicines U-Z (1-6). (see study below) (4)
- Study of bark isolated three new limonoids, ceramicines B-D (1-3). (see study below) (5)
- Study of bark isolated three new limonoids, chisomicines A-C (1-3). (see study below) (9)
- Study of bark isolated two phragmalin-type limonoids, chisomicines D and E (1-2) from the bark of C. ceramicus. (10)
- Study isolated three new limonoids, ceramicines J, K, and L (1-3) from the hexane layer of C. ceramicus bark extract. (see study below) (11)
- Study of bark isolated six new limonoids, ceramicines U-Z (1-6). (see study below) (12)
- Study isolated limonoid 14-deoxyxyloccensin K, C27H34O7,
which features an oxygen linkage between C-3 and C-8 along with a tetrahydrofuryl subunit. (13)
Properties
- Studies have suggested antimalarial, antiadipogenic, LDA-inhibitory, NO-production inhibitory, cytotoxicity properties.
Parts used
Bark.
Uses
Edibility
- No studies found on edibility.
Folkloric
- No reported folkloric medicinal use in the Philippines.
Others
- Wood: Used for light construction.
Studies
• Ceramicines U-Z / Antimalarial / Bark: Study of bark of Malaysian Chisocheton ceramicus isolated six new limonoids, ceramicines U-Z (1-6). Ceramicine W (3) exhibited potent antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 strain with IC50 of 1.2 µM. Study suggests ring B and functional groups in the vicinity of rings B and C are critical for the antimalarial activity. Bulky ester substituents with equatorial orientation at C-7 and C-12 greatly increase the antimalarial activity. (4)
• Ceramicines B-D / Antiplasmodial Limonoids / Bark: Study of bark isolated three new limonoids, ceramicines B-D (1-3). The ceramicines exhibited moderate antiplasmodial activity. (5)
• Ceramicines / Antimalarial Limonoids / Bark: Study of bark of C. ceramicus isolated a novel trimeric triterpene, bismoronic ceramicine (1). The bismoronic ceramicine showed moderate antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum strain 3D7. (3)
• Antiadipogenic / Liquid Droplets Accumulation (LDA) Inhibitors / Limonoid Ceramicine B / Bark: Study of bark isolated limonoids including chisomicines A-E, proceranolide, and a few other compounds. The lead compound was ceramicine B, which functioned as a potent inhibitory of lipid droplet accumulation (LDA). C. ceramicus and ceramicines have shown anti-LDA effects with little or no cytotoxic effects. Ceramicine B was the most active compound functioning as regulator of lipid storage in cells and tissues. Ceramicine B is a transcriptional repressor of peroxisome proliferator factor FoxO1, acting via an upstream molecular target. Targeting of glycogen synthase-kinase-3ß is proposed. Study suggests ceramicine B as a natural product precursor for novel compounds capable of reducing LDA in cells and potential for treatment of obesity, liver disease, and other pathologies. (6)
• Ceramicines M-P/ LDA-Inhibitoy / Bark: Study of bark isolated four new ceramicines, ceramicines M-P (1-4). Compounds 1-3 showed LDA inhibitory activity, with 3 showed better selectivity than ceramicine B. Study confirmed the presence of a 7a-OH group to the LDA inhibitory activity. (7)
• Antimalarial / Ceramicines Q-T / Bark: Study of bark isolated four new limonoids, ceramicines Q-T (1-4). Ceramicine R (2) exhibited potent antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 strain with IC50 of 2.8 µM. (8)
• Limonoids / Chisomicines A-C / NO Inhibitory Activity / Bark: Study of bark isolated three new limonoids, chisomicines A-C (1-3). Compound 1, Chisomicine A, exhibited NO production inhibitory activity in J774.1 cells stimulated by LPS-dose-dependently at high cell viability. (9)
• Cytotoxicity Against HL-60 Cell Line / Ceramicines J-L / Bark: Study isolated three new limonoids, ceramicines J, K, and L (1-3) from the hexane layer of C. ceramicus bark extract. The ceramicines J-L exhibited dose-dependent moderate cytotoxicity against HL-60 cell line. (11)
• Ceramicines U-Z / Antimalarial / Bark: Study of bark isolated six new limonoids, ceramicines U-Z (1-6). Ceramicine W (3) exhibited potent antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 strain with IC50 of 1.2 µM. Bulky ester substituents with equatorial orientation at C-7 and C-12 greatly increase the antimalarial activity. (12)
• Cytotoxicity Against P-388 Murine Leukemia Cell Line / Bark: Study isolated a phenyl propanoid compound, 7 hydroxy-6-methoxycoumarin from the bark of C.
Availability
Wild-crafted. |
