Gen info
- Alchornea is a pantropical genus of about 50 species in the family Euphorbiaceae, about 10 occurring in Southeast Asia, of which A. rugosa is the most widely distributed. The genus was first described in 1788.

Botany
• Shrubs or small trees, 1.5-5 m tall, dioecious. Branchlets pubescent when young, becoming glabrous. Stipules subulate, 5-7 mm; petiole 0.5-3 cm; leaf blade cuneate-obovate or elliptic to broadly lanceolate, 10-21 × 4-10 cm, thickly papery, base obtuse or slightly cordate, with 2 glands, stipels absent, margins serrulate, apex acuminate; venation pinnate, lateral veins 8-12 pairs. Inflorescence terminal, branched, 7-25 cm, puberulent or glabrous; bracts triangular, ca. 1.5 mm, base usually with 2 glands. Male flowers 5-11 per bract; pedicel ca. 0.5 mm; buds globose, ca. 1 mm in diam., pilose; sepals 2-4; stamens 4-8. Female flowers: pedicel ca. 1 mm, pubescent; sepals 5, triangular, pubescent; ovary densely puberulent; styles 3, filiform. 3.5-7 mm. Fruiting pedicel ca. 2 mm; capsule 3-lobed, ca. 8 mm in diam., subglabrous. Seeds ovoid, ca. 5 mm, brownish, verrucate. Fl. and fr. year-round. (iNaturalist)

Distribution
- Native to the Philippines.
- Common throughout the Philippines, in low and medium elevation thickets, secondary forests, etc. (2)
- Also native to Andaman Is., Assam, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, China South-Central, China Southeast, Christmas I., Hainan, Jawa, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Queensland, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam. (1)

Constituents
- Study of methanol extract of leaves isolated five compounds: 3β-friedelanol (1), friedelan-3-one (2), methyl syringate (3), isovitexin (4), and rhoifolin (5). (5)
- Study of leaf and bark tissues for alkaloids isolated two different class of alkaloidal compounds: two guanidine alkaloids (N1,N1-diisopentenylguanidine and N1,N2,N3-triisopentenylguanidine) and two hexahydroimidazo[1,2-α]pyrimidines alkaloids (alchornine and alchornidine). (Hart et al., 1970; Hart et al., 1969) (6)
- Phytochemical study of leaves by MS/MS-based molecular networking revealed 8 undescribed guanidine-flavanol conjugates: rugonines A-H. (see study below) (7)

Properties
- Studies have suggest potential autophagy inhibitory properties.

Parts used
Leaves, roots, fruits, seeds.

Uses
Edibility
- In the Moluccas, leaves used as vegetable.  (3)
Folkloric
- No reported folkloric medicinal use in  the Philippines, (2)
- In Malaysia, leaves and roots used for fever and ague.
- In Indonesia, fruits used as purgative.
- Seeds used as purgative.
- In the Indochinese Peninsula, A. rugosa seeds are eaten to relieve constipation, and decoction of roots and leaves used to reduce fever and treat malaria (Wiart, 2007). Leaf branch documented in Traditional Chinese Medicine for wounds, fracture healing and muscle regeneration (Xu et al., 2004) (7)
- Used by the Nicobarese for abortion, contraception, or anti-fecundation purposes. (10)
Others
- Fuel: Wood use as fuel. (3)
- Cigarette paper: In Irian Jaya, leaves used as cigarette paper. (3)

Studies
• Autophagy Inhibitory Activity / Leaves: Autophagy is an intracellular self-degradative process that eliminates cytoplasmic materials and recycles damaged organelles and nonfunctional proteins in lysosomes to maintain basic energy levels for cellular regeneration and homeostatis. (Autophagy is often upregulated in cancer cells, promoting more aggressive phenotype that allows mutated cells to evade death after esposure to therapeutic treatments, Autophagy has emerged as a significant factor in therapeutic resistance across many cancer types. 8) Phytochemical study of leaves by MS/MS-based molecular networking revealed 8 undescribed guanidine-flavanol conjugates: rugonines A-H. All compounds were tested for autophagosome formation in HEK293 cells stably expressing GFP-LC3. Results showed compounds rugonines D-G showed potential autophagy inhibitory activity. (7)
• Increased Glucose Uptake in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes / Leaves: Study isolated rugonidines A-F (1-6), three pairs of novel configurationally semistable diastereomers. Comounds 1-3 showed significant increase in glucose uptake level in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. (9)

Availability
- Wild-crafted.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Alchornea rugosa / KEW: Plants of the World Online
(2)
Euphorbiaceae: Alchornea rugosa / Co's Digital Flora of the Philippines
(3)
Alchornea rugosa / PC van Welzen, LJ Bulalacao / FLORA MALESIANA
(4)
Alchornea / PROSEA
(5)
Chemical constituents from the leaves of Achornea rugosa (Lour.) Müll. Arg. (Euphorbiaceae) / Pham Van Huyen, Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, Nguyen Huu Huong Duyen, Nguyen Thi Dieu Thuan, Nguyen Huu Toan Phan / Vietnam Journal of Science and Technology, 2022; 60(3) / eISSN: 2815-5874 / pISSN: 2525-2518
(6)
Medicinal plants from the genus Alchornea (Euphorbiaceae): A review of their ethnopharmacology uses and phytochemistry / Cesar A Martinez, Oscar M Mosquera, Jaime Niño / Boletin Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Plantas Medicinales y Aromaticos, 2017; 16(3): pp 162-205 / ISSN: 0717-7917
(7)
Unique guanidine-conjugated catechins from the leaves of Alchornea rugosa and their autophagy modulating activity / Thi-Phuong Doan, Eun-Jin Park, Won-Keun Oh et al / Phytochemistry, 2023; Volume 206: 113521 / DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2022.113521
(8)
Suggested reading: Inhibition of autophagy; an opportunity for the treatment of cancer resistance / Asha Tonkin-Reeves et al / Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 2023; Sec. Cell Death and Survival
(9)
Rugonidines A–F, Diastereomeric 1,6-Dioxa-7,9-diazaspiro[4.5]dec-7-en-8-amines from the Leaves of Alchornea rugosa / Thi-Phuong Doan, Eun-Jin Park, Won-Keun Oh et al / Journal of Natural Products, 2021; 84(12): pp 3055-3063 / DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.1c00785
(10)
Plants used as abortifacient and contraceptive by the Nicobarese. / HS Dagar / Journal of the Andama Science Association, 1989; 5(2): pp 169-170 / ISSN: 0970-4183 / CABI Record Number: 19920313591

DOI: It is not uncommon for links on studies/sources to change. Copying and pasting the information on the search window or using the DOI (if available) will often redirect to the new link page. (Citing and Using a (DOI) Digital Object Identifier)