Gen info
-- Mallotus is a genus of the spurge family Euphorbiaceae, first described as a genus in 1790. The genus has about 150 species of dioecious trees or shrubs. (3)
- Mallotus mollissimus is a rainforest plant in the spurge family, indigenous to Queenland and Malesia.

Botany
• Understorey tree up to 12 m tall and 15 cm dbh. Stipules ca. 1 mm long. Leaves alternate, simple, tripli-veined, hairy below, often with two basal nectary glands on upper surface. Flowers ca. 4 mm diameter, white-yellowish, placed in panicles. Fruits ca. 13 mm diameter, yellow-brownish, roundish, densely spiny, dehiscent capsules, seeds with black aril. (AsianPlant)

• Shrubs to small trees up to 12 m high, dbh up to 15 cm, dioecious, occasionally monoecious; bole up to 5 m high; crown up to 6 m long. Outer bark rough to finely fissured or pustular lenticellate, up to 2 mm thick, yellowish green, under surface light reddish brown; inner bark up to 6 mm thick, fibrous, light greenish; sapwood cream with watery sap; wood medium hard, cream. Indumentum dense, sometimes soft-floccose, flocci up to 4 mm long, rarely tomentose. Stipules narrowly triangular, 0.7-1.5 by 0.1-0.3 mm, caducous to persistent, margin subentire, apex acuminate. Leaves alternate to apically subopposite; petiole 30-200 by 1.5-4 mm; blade subpeltate or peltate for 1.5-40 mm, ovate, 10-35 by 8-30 cm, length/width ratio 1.2-1.4, reddish brown when young, base truncate to cuneate, margin entire to dentate, seldom 2-lobed at the widest part of the blade, longest lobes up to 15 mm long, upper surface green, basally with 0-2(-4) extrafloral nectaries, 0.8-4 by 0.4-1.8 mm, marginal nectaries 0-15 per side, 2-10 mm from margin,0.5-1 by 0.5-1 mm, lower surface greenish grey to brownish, with domatia or not; 3- or palminerved, nerves 8-11 per side, mostly ending in the margin. Inflorescences axillary or terminal, unisexual or bisexual, axes greenish tawny, basally 1-4 mm thick; bracts narrowly triangular, 1.8-3 by 0.2-0.5 mm, caducous to persistent, margin subentire; bracteoles absent. Staminate inflorescences up to 43 cm long, side branches up to 20 cm long, with 3-5 flowers per node, nodes per branch up to 100. Staminate flowers 3-5 mm diam.; pedicels 3-3.5 mm long; sepals 3 or 4, elliptic, 2-3 by 1.5-2 mm, greyish; stamens 50-80,yellowish, filaments 1.5-3 mm long, anthers 0.2-0.3 by 0.1-0.2 mm; pistillode present. Pistillate inflorescences racemes, up to 35cm long, occasionally side branches up to 13 cm long, nodes up to 130; bracts caducous to persistent. Pistillate flowers 3-4 mm diam.; pedicels up to 0.5 mm long; calyx 3-5-lobed, connate on the base, 2-3 mm long, green with brown indumentum, lobes ovate, 1.5-2 by 1-1.7 mm; ovary 3-locular, 2.2-3 by 2-3 mm, spines individually visible; style up to 1.2 mm long; stigmas 2.2-2.8 mm long, greenish yellow; staminodes absent. Fruits 10-16 by 11-17 mm, greenish brown, smelling strong when dried, see note 3, spines numerous, curly, thin, less hairy, up to 7 mm long, hairs not forming a continuous layer, easily rubbing off; column 5-6 by 1-1.8 mm. Seeds ellipsoid, 4-5 by 3.8-4 by 3-3.2 mm, smooth, black, shiny; hilum c. 1 by 0.6-0.7 mm. (Flora Malesiana)

Distribution
- Native to the Philippines.
- Widespread in the Philippines in most islands and provinces, usually very common in second-growth forests at low elevation, ascending to 2200 m. (3)
- Also native to Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Jawa, Lesser Sunda Is., Maluku, New Guinea, Queensland, Solomon Is., Sulawesi, Sumatera. (1)

Constituents
- Study of methanol extract of leaves isolated three prenylflavanones, (2S)-5,7-dihydroxy-4′-methoxy-8-(3″,3″-dimethylallyl)flavanone (3), (2S)-5,4′-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-6-(3″,3″-dimethylallyl)flavanone (6), 8-prenylnaringenin (11), and a new epimeric pair (2″S/2″R)-(2S)-5,7-dihydroxy-4′-methoxy-6-(2″-hydroxy-3″-methylbut-3″-enyl)flavanones (4a/4b) were isolated together with taraxerone, taraxerol,  epitaraxerol,  β-sitosterol, oleanolic acid, 1-O-docosanoyl glycerol, apigenin and apigenin 7-0-β-D-glucopyranoside.   (5)
- Phytochemical screening of crude methanolic extract of M. mollissimus revealed alkaloids, steroids, and cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, terpenoids, and tannins. (see study below ) (6)

Properties
- Studies have suggested antimicrobial, antikinase, antiphosphatae, anticancer properties.

Parts used
Leaves, root, bark.

Uses
Edibility
- Young leaves reported eaten; cooked.
Folkloric
- No reported folkloric medicinal use in the Philippines.
- Roots are used for headaches and against malaria. Leaves are used for stomach cramps, and together with the bark to cure spleen disorders.
Others
- Wrapping: Young leaves used as wrapping food.
- Wood: Used used for making scabbards, ritural spears, construction, and as fuel.
- Landscape: Ornamental cultivation usually as hedge plant.

Studies
• Antikinase / Antiphosphatase / Anitcancer: Study of evaluated the antikanase, antiphosphatase and cytotoxic properties of Mallotus mollissimus and Solanum erianthum. Bioassay-guided fractionationm of methanol extract showed the chloroform fraction of (CE) of M. mollissimus exhibited toxic activity against PP1. Column chromatogratphy separation of CE showed fraction FR and F2 are toxic against PP1. Chloroform extracts of both plants exhibited cytotoxic activity against Hela, CaOV3, and MCf7 cell lines. Results demonstrated potential of both extract in antikinase, antiphosphatoase, and anticancer activities. (4)
• Antimicrobial: Study of evaluated the antimicrobial properties and qualitative phytochemicals of extracts from M. mollissimus and Solanum erianthum. For antimicrobial activity by disc diffusion study, M. mollissimus showed superior antimicrobial activities at 100 mg/mL against Gm(+) and Gm(-) bacteria. The CE fraction of M. mollissimus showed ZOI of 7.0mm against Streptococcus pneumoniae, which were correlated with the presence of flavonoids, terpenoids, and tannins. (see constituents above)  (6)

Availability
Wild-crafted.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Mallotus mollisimus / KEW: Plants of the World Online
(2)
Mallotus mollisimus / M Aparicio, SM Bollendorff, MJH Gebraad et al / Malesian Euphorbiaceae Descriptions
(3)
Euphorbiaceae: Mallots mollissimus / Co's Digital Flora of the Philippines
(4)
Mallotus Mollissimus and Solanum Erianthum Exhibit Antikinase, Antiphosphatase and Anti-Cancer Properties / Nurul Ain Ismail, Azlinah Matawali , Pimg-Chin Lee et al / Journal of Pharmacy and Nutrition Sciences, 2021; 11: pp 93-100 / COI: 10.29169/1927-5951.2021.11.12
(5)
(2S)-Prenylflavanones and taraxerane triterpenoids from Mallotus mollissimus / Minh Giang Phan, Mind Trang Vu, Susumu Kawakami, Hideaki Otsuka / Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, 2017; Vol 73: pp 22-25 /DOI: 101.1016/j.bse/2017.05.004
(6)
Phytochemical and anti-microbial potential of Mallotus mollissimus and Solanum erianthum extracts / UMS.EDU

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)