 Gen info
- Croton is an extensive plant genus in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae. There are about 750 species found throughout the warmer parts of the world. The genus was described and introduced to Europeans by Georg Eberhard Rumphius.
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Etymology: The genus name Croton derives from Greek kroton, a tick, referring to the seed's resemblance to ticks. The specific epithet cascarilloides means "resembling cascarilla". Cascarilla derives from the Spanish word 'cascara', meaning "bark".
Botany
• Shrubs 1-2 m tall; indumentum of appressed, rounded, subhyaline, and membranous peltate scales; branches with stouter wrinkles. Leaves usually densely clustered at apex of branchlets; stipules subulate, caducous; petiole 1.5-3 cm; leaf blade lanceolate, oblanceolate, or elliptic to obovate-elliptic, 8-14(-23) × 2-5(-10) cm, thinly papery, glaucous-gray or brownish scale-glands persistent abaxially, adaxial scales deciduous, base attenuate, obtuse, or slightly cordate, with 2 discoid glands, apex acuminate, acute, rotund, or retuse; venation pinnate, lateral veins 8-12, arcuately ascending, anastomosing before margins. Inflorescence terminal, 1-4 cm, spikelike; bracts caducous. Male flowers: sepals ovate, white ciliate; petals obovate, ca. 2 mm, white-ciliate; stamens 15-20; filaments white pubescent. Female flowers: sepals and petals as in male; ovary and styles with dense scales; styles 4-8-fid, lobes filamentous. Capsules subglobose, ca. 7 mm in diam. Seeds ellipsoidal, ca. 4 mm. Fl. and fr. almost throughout year. (Flora of China)
Distribution
- Native to the
Philippines.
- In lowland thickets.
- Also native to Borneo, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nansei-shoto, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam. (1)
 Constituents
- Study of 1-BuOH-soluble fraction of a MeOH extract of Croton cascarilloides leaves isolated seven megastigmane glycosides, crotonionosides A-G, along with three known megastimane glucosides, dendranthemosides A and B, and citroside A. (3)
- Study of Croton cascarilloides isolated and structurally characterized Cascarinoids A-C (1-3), a new class of diterpenoid alkaloids.
(see study below) (4)
- Study of stems of Croton cascarilloides, isolated crotofolane-type diterpenoids, named crotocascarins L–Q (1–6), and a rearranged one (7), named neocrotocascarin. (5)
- Bioassay-guided fractionation of root extract of Croton cascarilloides yielded 3-acetyl aleuritolic acid, rubiadin-1-methyl ether, and julocrotine. (see study below) (6)
- Study of stems isolated eight new diterpenoids, named crotocascarins A-H (1-8), along with two new nor-diterpenoids (9,10) named crotocascarins
α and ß. (7)
- Essential oil of C. cascarilloides consisted mainly of
α-pinene (10.5%), ß-caryophyllene (13.5%),
α-humulene
(5.9%), germacrene D (6.0%), and α-selinene (6.7%). (8)
Properties
- Flowers are slightly scented.
- Studies have suggested immunosuppressive, cytotoxic, anticancer properties.
Parts used
Roots, bark, stem, leaves.
 Uses
Edibility
- No reports on edibility.
Folkloric
- No reported folkloric medicinal use in the Philippines.
- Traditionally used for fever and vomiting.
- In Thailand, bark and roots used for fever.
- In Laos, stems used for treatment of liver disease. (2)
- In Vietnam, root and stem used as blood tonic and in treatment of fever.
Others
- Air-purifying: As a houseplant, believed to naturally purify the air by absorbing pollutants.
- Teeth-blackening: Wood reportedly used to blacken the teeth in Asia.
Studies
• Immunosuppressive Activity / Cascarinoid Alkaloids: Study of Croton cascarilloides isolated and structurally characterized Cascarinoids A-C (1-3), a new class of diterpenoid alkaloids. Compounds 2 and 3 showed moderate immunosuppressive activity against T and/or B lymphocyte cells. (4)
• Cytotoxicity Against Human Lung Cancer Cell Line / Root and Leaves: Study evaluated methanol extracts from 84 selected Vietnamese medicinal plants for cytotoxic activity against cultures of human lung cancer cell line A549. Among active extracts, methanol extracts of root and leaves of Croton cascarilloides showed significant cytotoxic activity with ED50 of 5.98 µg/mL. On extract partitioning into chloroform and water, the fraction showed more potent cytotoxic activity. (6)
• Julocrotin / Cytotoxic Activity against B16 Melanoma Cell / Root: Bioassay-guided fractionation of root extract of Croton cascarilloides yielded 3-acetyl aleuritolic acid, rubiadin-1-methyl ether, and julocrotine. Of the three compounds, compound 3, julocrotin, showed moderate cytotoxic activity against B16 cell, a murine melanoma cells. (6)
Availability
- Wild-crafted.
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