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Family Myrtaceae
Swamp mahogany
Eucalyptus robusta Sm.
BEAKPOD EUCALYPTUS

Lan an

Scientific names Common names
Eucalyptus multiflora Poir.  Australian brown mahogany (Engl.)
Eucalyptus multiflora var. bivalvis Blakely Beaked eucalyptus (Engl.)
Eucalyptus robusta Sm. Beakpod eucalyptus (Engl.)
Eucalyptus robusta var. bivalvis Blakely Brown gum (Eng.)
Eucalyptus rostata Sm. Red gum (Eng.)
  Swamp mahogany (Engl.)
  Swamp messmate (Engl.)
  Swamp stringybark (Engl.)
There are over 500 different species sharing similar medicinal properties.
This Philippine compilation includes several species of Eucalyptus, a few with a sharing a confusing crossover of color-referring common names: (1) Eucalyptus globulus, blue gum eucalyptus (2) Eucalyptus deglupta, bagras, rainbow gum (3) Eucalyptus camaldulensis, red gum eucalyptus (4) Eucalyptus tereticornis, red gum tree, forest red gum. (5) Eucalyptus robusta, beakpod eucalyptus, brown gum, red gum.(6) Eucalyptus cinerea, silver dollar eucalyptus.
Eucalyptus robusta Sm. is an accepted name The Plant List

Other vernacular names
CHIINESE: Lan an, Cuz huang nu zhen.
SWAHILI: Mkaratusi.

Botanical snippet
- Genus Eucalyptus was described and names in 1978 by French botanist I'Heritier.
- The genus Eucalyptus L'Heritier comprises about 900 species, of which more than 300 contain volatile essential oil in the leaves. (14)
- Eucalyptus comes form the flowers being protected by an operculum, derived from the Greek words 'eu' meaning 'well,' and 'calyptos' meaning 'covered.
' The use of Latin word 'robustus' has an obscure reference. (2)

Botany
Eucalyptus robusta is a tree growing to a height of 20 to 30 meters, with a straight trunk up to 1 meter in diameter. Bark is coarse, stringy, dark-brown, and grooved. Branches are long, spreading, irregular, providing a dense canopy. Leaves are alternate, leathery, broadly lanceolate, 10 to 18 centimeters long, about 8 centimeters wide, and long pointed. Flowers are white or creamy white, in compound clusters of 7 to 13 flowers. Fruit is 1.5 centimeters long, becoming woody when dry.

Distribution
- In the Philippines, cultivated as an ornamental tree in Baguio City and other highland areas.
- Native to Australia.
- Planted as a timber tree.
- Exotic in Argentina, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Fiji, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Philippines, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Province of China, Tanzania, Uganda, United States of America, Zanzibar. (2)

Constituents
• Gum contains about 30% tannin.
• Essential oil yield is 1.7%, with principal constituents of piperitone, rhocymene, linalool, 1,8,-cineole, terpinen-4-ol, citronellyl acetate and alpha-terpinol.
• Leaves and fruits yield flavonoids, sterols, and tannins. Bark yields 1.4% tannin, while the leaves may yield 12%. Leaves yield essential oil, with aromadendren (aromadendral) and pinene. (12)
• Study of essential oil for repellency yielded: α-pinene (28.74%) and 1,8-cineole (27.18%), spathulenol (6.63%), globulol (6.53%) and ρ-menth-1-en-8-ol (5.20%).
• Study of leaves yielded nine known compounds, 5-hydroxy-4′,7-dimethoxy-6,8-dimethylflavone, 4′,5-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-6,8-dimethylflavone, 3β-hydroxy-urs-11-ene-28-oic-13(28)-lactone, 3β-acetoxy-urs-11-ene-28-oic-13(28)-lactone, uvaol, β-sitosterol, 7β-O-glucoside of 5,7-dihydroxy-2-methylchromone, 1-triacontanol and 1-triacontanoic acid, and a new acylphloroglucinol named robustaol B 6, shown to be 4,6-dihydroxy-2-methoxy isobutyrophenone.
• Study of ethanol extract of leaves yielded three active compounds, Robustaol A, Robustadial A and Robustadial B.

• Study of essential oil of leaves yielded a total of 22 components. The principal compounds were α-pinene (28.74%) and 1,8-cineole (27.18%), spathulenol (6.63%), globulol (6.53%) and ρ-menth-1-en-8-ol (5.20%). Other constituents were
cis-carveol, β-gurjunene, β-caryophyllene 1437 aromadendrene, α-humulene, allo-aromadendrene, eremophilene, spathulenol, globulol, epi-lobulol, viridiflorol, α-cadinol, monoterpenoids, and sesquiterpenoids. (see study below) (4)
• GC-MS analysis of water-distilled essential oil from leaves yielded 36 compounds, accounting for 96.21% of total oil. The main components were α-pinene (30.18%), 1,8-cineole (26.08%), and spathulenol (5.31%), followed by globulol (4.44%), and viridiflorol (3.97%). (see study below) (7)

Properties
• Leaves are aromatic when crushed.
Studies have suggested antibacterial, repellent, antimalarial properties.

Parts used
Leaves, oil.

Uses

Folkloric
- No recorded folkloric medicinal use in the
Philippines.
- In China, leaves are used for the treatment of malaria, dysentery, and bacterial diseases
.
- In Gabon, infusion of leaves used for malaria.
- In Mauritius and Reunion, leaves used for baths, inhalations and infusions to treat fever, colds, cough and influenza.
- Inhalations used for asthma, sinusitis.
- Infusions used for diabetes.
- Decoction used for baths in rheumatism, epilepsy and stiffness.
- In Madagascar, buds are squeezed and the sap applied to the nostril to relieve headache.
- Reported use as folk remedy for abscesses, cellulitis, colds, dysentery, encephalitis, enteritis, erysipelas, flu, gangrene, mastitis, and sores. (12)

Other
- Extens
ively planted for pulp, plywood, and solid wood production.
- Apiculture
: Flowers provide significant forage for bees and honey production. (2)
- Fuel: Used for
firewood and charcoal.
- Timber: Heartwood is extremely durable and resistant to marine borers. Used for fencing and construction of wharves.
- Pulp: Can be used as complementary raw material for commercial scale pulp production.
(2)
- Tannin / Dyestuff: Gum yields about 30% tannin. (2)

Studies
Antibacterial / Robustaol B6 / Leaves:
Study of leaves yielded a new acylphloroglucinol named robustaol B 6, plus 9 known compounds. Robustaol B6 showed inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis. (3)
Cockroach Repellent Activity / Constituents: Study evaluated the repellent activity of 8 essential oils of Chinese medicinal herbs (Angelica sinensis, Curcuma aeruginosa, Cyperus rotundus, Eucalyptus robusta, Illicium verum, Lindera aggregate, Ocimum basilicum and Zanthozylum bungeanum. On a scale of Class I (weak repellency) to Class V (strong repellency), E. robusta showed Class IV repellency, using its essential oil plus the two compounds α-pinene and 1, 8-cineole, against nymphs of the German cockroach Blatella germanica. (4) Study of essential oil of leaves yielded a total of 22 components. Strong repellency (Class V) against German cockroaches was obtained from C. rotundus and E. robusta essential oils and α-pinene and 1,8-cineole after one hour exposure. (see constituents above) (4)
Antimicrobial / Leaf Essential Oil: Study of leaves essential oil showed antimicrobial effect against E coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Monoterpene and oxygen-containing monoterpenes were the major constituents
. (5)
Insecticidal Against Cacopsylla chinensis / Essential Oil: Chinese pear psylla, Cacopsylla chinensis is one of the main pests of pear trees in China. The two main constituent compounds, α-pinene and 1,8-cineole, exhibited strong acute contact toxicity against overwintering Chinese pear psylla (Cacopsylla chinensis). The two main constituents, α-pinene and 1,8-cineole exhibited strong acute toxicity with LD50s of 1.34 µg/adult and 11.76 µg/adult, respectively. (see constituents above) (7)
Flavonoids / Antibacterial: Crude extraction by polyamide yielded flavonoids (0.903%). The antibacterial activation to E. coli, S. aureus and B. cactus is much better than oxytetracycline. (8)
Euglobal-IIIa / Cytotoxicity to Five Human Cancer Cell Lines: Leaves of Eucalyptus robusta yielded a novel acylphloroglucinol-sesquiterpene derivative, euglobal-IIIa, and a known analogue. Euglobal-IIIa exhibited cytotoxicity comparable with that of cisplatin against five human cancer cell lines. (9)
ErPAL1 / Phenylalanine Ammonia-lyase (PAL): PAL is the first enzyme of the phenylpropanoid pathway that produces precursors of compounds which play essential roles during plant development and defense. (10)
Antimalarial: Ethanol extract from Eucalyptus robusta leaves revealed a good antimalarial activity and Robustadial B was isolated from this plant. (Xu RS, Snyder JK, Nakanishi K. Robustadials A and B from Eucalyptus robusta. J Amer Chem Soc. 1984;106:734.) (13)
• Essential Oil / 1,8-Cineole: Of the more than 900 species, about 20 species have a high content of 1,8-cineole (more than 70%), commercially used in production of essential oils for the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. The leaf aromatic oil has incredible wide-ranging biologic activities, including antimicrobial, antiseptic, antioxidant, chemotherapeutic, wound healing, insecticidal, and use in the manufacture of perfumes, soap, and grease remover. (14)
• Phosphodiesterase Inhibitory Activity / Phloroglucinol Derivatives / Leaves: Study isolated two phloroglucinol derivatives from the leaves of E. robusta, used in the Chinese traditional medicine Da Ye An. Both compounds showed moderate phosphodiesterase inhibition. (15)
• Flavonids / Antibacterial / Leaves: Crude extraction by polyamide yielded flavonid content of 0.903% and extraction rate of 4.306%. The antibacterial activation of flavonids against E. coli and S. aureus was much better than oxytetracycline. Study on leaf of E. robusta showed potential for application and economic value as feed additive alternative to antibiotic. (16)

Availability
Wild-crafted.

Updated September 2018 / March 2016

IMAGE SOURCE / This is an image of a print of a hand coloured engraving by James Sowerby (1757-1822), based on drawing nominally by John White but probably by the convict artist Thomas Watling. It appeared as Tab. XIII in James Edward Smith's 1793 A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland. The plant depicted is Eucalyptus robusta./ File:Eucalyptus robusta (Sowerby).jpg / 1793 / Public Domain / Wikipedia
OTHER IMAGE SOURCE / Leaf / Eucalyptus robusta / Leaf at Olinda, Maui / Forest and Kim Starr - Plants of Hawaii - Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License / alterVISTA
OTHER IMAGE SOURCE / SEEDS / Eucalyptus robusta Sm. - swampmahogany EURO2 / Steve Hurst @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Eucalyptus robusta
/ Wikipedia

(2)
Eucalyptus robusta / AgroForestryTree Database
(3)
Studies on the chemical constituents of Eucalyptus robusta Sm.: Isolation and identification of robustaol B and other constituents / Qin Guo-Wei, Xu Ren-Sheng / Acta Chimica Sinica, Volume 4, Issue 1, pages 62–67, March 1986 / DOI: 10.1002/cjoc.19860040110
(4)
Repellent Activity of Eight Essential Oils of Chinese Medicinal Herbs to Blattella germanica L.
/ Zhi Long Liu*, Meng Yu, Xiao Mei Li, Tao Wan and Sha Sha Chu / Rec. Nat. Prod. 5:3 (2011) 176-183
(5)
Chemical constituents of the essential oil from the leaves of Eucalyptus robusta and its antimicrobial activity / Journal of Fujian College of Forestry, 2007-01Add to Favorite Get Latest Update/ DOI: CNKI:ISSN:1001-389X.0.2007-01-010
(6)
Eucalyptus robusta Sm / Protabase
(7)
Evaluation of insecticidal activity of the essential oil of Eucalyptus robusta Smith leaves and its constituent compound against overwintering Cacopsylla chinensis (Yang et Li) (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) / Xin Chao Liu, Qi Zhi Liu, Wang Peng Shi, and Zhi Long Liu / Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 2014; 2 (4): 27-31
(8)
Analysis of flavonids of Eucalyptus robusta. sm and study of antibacterial activation / Wang Yuefeng, Yu Yanchun, Yang Guojun, Wei Bogui, Ma Chaoying / Chinese Archives of Traditional Chinese Medicine [2004, 22(11):2135,2143]
(9)
Euglobal-IIIa, a novel acylphloroglucinol-sesquiterpene derivative from Eucalyptus robusta: absolute structure and cytotoxicity / Li-Yan Peng, Juan He, Gang Xu, Xing-De Wu, Liao-Bin Dong, Xiu Gao, Xiao Cheng, Jia Su, Yan Li, Qin-Shi Zhao / Natural Products and Bioprospecting, October 2011, Volume 1, Issue 2, pp 101-103
(10)
A phenylalanine ammonia-lyase gene (ErPAL1) from Eucalyptus robusta: molecular cloning, expression and characterization (Molecular cloning of ErPAL1 from cultured eucalyptus cells) / Shinya AKIMOTO*, Takahisa ISHINO*, Tamami TERADA*, Masahiro SAMEJIMA*, Shigehiro KAMODA** / Bull. Univ. of Tokyo For, 128, 121- 137 (2013)
(11)
Eucalyptus robusta / Synonyms / The Plant List
(12)
Eucalyptus robusta Sm / Swamp mahogany, Iron bark / Hort.Purdue.Edu
(13)
The Antimalarial Potential of Medicinal Plants Used for the Treatment of Malaria in Cameroonian Folk Medicine / Vincent PK Titanji,corresponding author Denis Zofou, and Moses N Ngemenya / Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med. 2008; 5(3): 302–321
(14)
Biological, medicinal and toxicological significance of Eucalyptusleaf essential oil: a review / Ashok K Dhakad, Vijay V Pandey, Sobia Beg, Janhyi M Rawat,, Avtar Singh / Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, Feb 2018; Vol 98, Issue 3: pp 833-848 / https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.8600
(15)
Two New Phloroglucinol Derivatives with Phosphodiesterase Inhibitory Activity from the Leaves of Eucalyptus robusta / Qi Cheng and John K. Snyder / Z. Naturforsch., 1991; 46b: pp 1275- 1277
(16)
Analysis of flavonids of Eucalyptus robusta. sm and study of antibacterial activation / Wang Yuefeng, Yu Yanchun, Yang Guojun, Weil Bogui, Ma Chaoying / Chinese Archives of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1 Jan 2004; 22(11): pp 2135-2143

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.

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