Gen info
- Psychotria is a large genus of flowering plants in the coffee family Rubiaceae, with a pantropical distribution.
- As of May 2025, Plants of the World Online lists 1641 species of Psychotria. (4)
- Etymology: The genus name Psychotria derives from Greek, psyche meaning "soul" or "mind" and trephein, meaning "to nourish", referring to the plant providing nourishment. The specific epithet luzoniensis is a Latinization of the island Luzon in the Philippines, where the plant is native and widely distributed.

Botany
Tagpong-gubat is a smooth, erect shrub growing to a height of 1.5 to 5 meters. The leaves are smooth, shining, oblong to oblong-elliptic, 8 to 20 centimeters long, short-petioled and pointed at both ends. Flowers are white, in crowded terminal inflorescences 2 to 3 centimeters long. Corolla is 4 to 4.5 millimeters long with a hairy throat. Fruit is somewhat fleshy, obovoid, 5 to 6 millimeters long, yellow or reddish. Seeds are plano-convex.

Distribution
- Endemic to the Philippines.
-Widely distributed through the Philippines, in primary, disturbed, and secondary forests; recorded from limestone and well-drained substrates.   (3)
- In thickets and secondary forests at low and medium altitudes, in most or all provinces of Luzon, and in Mindoro, Masbate, Leyte, and Panay.

Constituents
- Study of leaves isolated a new hexenoic acid glycoside (1) together with known compounds, flavonol glycosides (2-4), iridoid glycoside (5), megastigmane glycoside (6), and amino acid (7). (see study below) (5)
- GC-MS metabolite profiling of hexane sub-extract yielded 2-butyne-1,4-diol; Z,Z-3,15-octadecadien-1-ol acetate;  (Z)- methyl ester 9-octadecenoic acid; 3ß,22E)-Ergosta-5,22-dien-3-ol. (7)

Properties
- Studies have suggested gastroprotective, cytotoxicity, anticancer, antimicrobia, antioxidant, AGE inhibitory, anti-amyloidogenic properties.

Parts used
Leaves and roots.

Uses
Edibility
- Fruits reported inedible.
- Throat irritation reported on eating unripe fruit.
Folkloric
- Fresh leaves used topically for headaches.
- Bark decoction used for intestinal pains.
- Decoction of fresh young leaves used for cleaning ulcers and as a topical for ulcerated wounds.
- Decoction of the root used for dysentery.

Studies
• Gastroprotective / Anti-Ulcer / Leaves: Study evaluated the gastroprotective property of P. luzoniensis in 15 male Balb/c mice with HCl/ethanol induced gastric ulcerations. Results showed significant reduction in gastric ulcers. The gastroprotective effect was comparable to sucralfate. (2)
• Hexenoic Acid Glycoside / Cytotoxicity Against Human Colon Adenocarcinoma / Leaves: Study of leaves isolated a new hexenoic acid glycoside (1) together with known compounds, flavonol glycosides (2-4), iridoid glycoside (5), megastigmane glycoside (6), and amino acid (7). The compounds were tested for cytotoxicity against human colon adenocarcinoma cell line and showed IC50s < 50µM ranging from 1.97 to 32.85 µM. (5)
• Antioxidant / Leaves: Study evaluated the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activity of six Ru biaceae species collected in Ilocos Norte. TFCs ranged between 1.86-3.81 mg QE/g DW, TPC 5.47-17.17 mg GAE/g DW. On antioxidant profiling, P. luzoniensis exhibited the highest activity in NOS, ABTS, DPPH, and FRAP assays. Results suggest crude methanolic extracts of the Rubiaceae species have relatively high TPC and TFC values and promising antioxidant capacities. (6)
• Antimicrobial / Leaves: Study evaluated crude leaves extracts of Philippine Rubiaceae species: Psychotria luzoniensis, Uncaria cordata var. circa, Psydrax puberula. The sub-extracts of the plants were subjected to antimicrobial micro-plate dillution assay. Extracts from the three plants exhibited promising MICs and MBCs against Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923. (7)
• Antimicrobial / Antioxidant / AGE Inhibition / Inhibition of Aß Leaves: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the presence of amyloid-beta (Aß) plaques in the brain, the formation linked with oxidative stress and advanced glycation end products (AGEs). Study evaluated two endemic Philippine Psychotria species, P. luzoniensis leaf extract (PLLE) and P. banahaensis leaf extract (PBLE) for their pharmacological activities. Phytochemical profiling of both species revealed the PLLE showed higher TPC (16.36 mg GAE/g DW) and TFC (3.54 mg QE/g DW) compared to PBLE,, which suggests high antioxidant activity. In anti-AGE evaluation,  the PLLE showed more potent AGE inhibition with IC50 of 335.75 ppm. Both extracts showed potential in inhibiting Aß aggregation. (8)

Availability
Wild-crafted. 

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