 Gen info
There are about 500 species in the genus Ixora. A few are in cultivation. There are numerous cultivars differing in flower color (yellow, pink, orange) and plant size. Several cultivars are dwarfs, usually under 3 feet. Other noteworthy ornamental
santans: santan puti (Ixora finlaysoniana Wall), a shrub 2 to 4 meters high,
with white fragrant flowers; and Philippine santan (Ixora philippinensis
Merr), a shrub or small tree, with white to pink flowers.
Botany
Santan-puti is a shrub or small tree, growing up to 5 meters high. Leaves are oblong-lanceolate, with tapered and pointed tips. Blade is dark green and glossy. Flowers are many and in dense clusters, white and fragrant.
Distribution
- Cultivated for ornamental purposes.
- Introduced to the Philippines during the American period.
- Probably native to Thailand.
Constituents
- An n-hexane fraction of a methanolic extract yielded α-amyrin and ß-sitosterol. A chloroform fraction yielded four compounds: 3-hydroxyhexan-5-olide, protocatechuic acid, gallic acid and ß-sitosterol glucoside. An ethyl acetate fraction yielded three compounds: parasorboside, D-1-O-methyl- myo-inostiol, and galactitol. (3)
- An ethyl acetate fraction isolated arasorboside, D-1-O-methyl-myo-inositol, galactitol, and apigenin-4-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside and 11-hydroxy-dodec-5-en-2-one.
- Study
of chloroform extracts air-dried leaves yielded a new dammarane triterpenoid, 17β-dammara-1-one -20 ene-3β-3', 8'-dimethyloctanoate (1) along with two known saturated fatty acids, capric (2) and palmitic (3) and three phenolic acids, gallic (4), caffeic (5), chlorogenic (6), and six flavonols, Kaempferol 3-O-ß-D-arabinopyranoside (7), afzelin (8), Kaempferol-3-O-ß-glucopyranosyl-7-O-glucuropyranoside (9), Kaempferol-3-O-α-L- rhamnopyranosyl (1'''→6'')(4''-trans-p-coumaroyl)ß-D-glucopyranoside-7-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (10), Kaempferol-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1'''→2'')(4''-trans-p-coumaroyl)ß-D-arabinopyranosid-7-O-α-L- rhamnopyranoside (11) and kaempferol (12). (5)
- GC-MMS analysis of essential oil of flowers by HD and SE yielded 22 components, representing 98.08% and 95.19%, respectively.
Ledol and sesquiterpene laurenene showed high percentages in the HD sample, while both hydrocarbons nonedecane and pentacosane were major components in the SE sample. (see study below) (6)
Properties
- Wood is considered febrifugal; root considered aperient, diuretic and deobstruent.
-
Studies on flowers have shown estrogenic, abortifacient, and anti-implantation properties. (4)
Uses
Folkloric
- No reported folkloric medicinal use in the Philippines.
-
In Thailand, dried entire plant used as a tonic or strength medicine Studies
• Antigestagenic / Abortifacient / Anti-Implantation / Aerial Parts:
Oral administration of a crude ethanolic extract of aerial parts of Ixora finlaysoniana to female rats on post-coital days 1-5 or 1-7 prevented pregnancy in 100% of cases. The extract at its contraceptive dose exerts a differential estrogenic response at the fallopian tube and uterine levels, also causing slight asynchrony in development and tubal transport rate, with anti-implantation and post-implantation resorptive actions not mediated via altered ovarian function. (1)
• Bioactivities of Essential Oil / Flowers: Flowers of Ixora finlaysoniana yielded 1.2% and 2.4^ {v/w) of essential oil by hydrodistillation (HD) and solvent (diethyl ether) extraction (SE). The two oil samples compared to standard exhibited variable and significant efficacy and potency as antiulcer, antioxidant, anticonvulsant, hypoglycemic, and hepatoprotective. (see constituents above) (6)
Availability
Wild-crafted.
Cultivated. |
