Erythroxylum cambodianum explained

Erythroxylum cambodianum is a shrub in the family Erythroxylaceae. It grows in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. The wood is used for pickets and as firewood.

Description and habitat

The taxa grows as a shrub some 1-3m tall, in clear and pine forests.^[1]

Distribution

The species occurs in a number of countries of Southeast Asia: Vietnam, Laos (recorded from its southernmost district, Khong District^[2]),Cambodia (including Phnom Kulen National Park^[3]), Thailand.

Vernacular names

It is known as ភ្លៅមាន់ (phlov moan) (lit. Chicken's Thigh) in Khmer.^[1] In the Prey Lang Forest of northern Cambodia, it is referred to as chompussek.^[4] Amongst Kuy- and Khmer-speaking people living in the same villages of Stung Treng and Preah Vihear provinces of north-central Cambodia, it is referred to as ចំពុះសេក (chompussek) and ជង្គង់សេក (changkung sek).^[5] The villagers living on Phnom Kulen in northeastern Cambodia refer to the plants as ផ្តិលមាស (ptəl mias) and ចង្អេងសេក (jong eng sek).^[6] In northeastern Thailand it is known as huun-hai.

Uses

In Cambodia the trunks are used to make pickets, the twigs are used as firewood.^[1] The stem is used in traditional medicine,^[3] while unidentified parts of the plant are used by the Kuy- and Khmer-speaking people living in the same villages of Stung Treng and Preah Vihear as a source of medicine.^[5] Villagers living within the Prey Lang Forest, Cambodia, use an infusion of the root to help with post-natal blood circulation and stimulation of appetite.^[4] A post-natal care medicine called lɔng is a decoction to drink made from 13 plants by villages on Phnom Kulen, one of the ingredients is the wood chips of Erythroxylum cambodianum.^[6] Within Thai traditional medicine, the plant is used for anti-fever purposes and as an anti-inflammatory agent.

The aerial parts of the species were identified as having the following phytochemicals with potential drug use: Two new acetophenone diglycosides, erythroxylosides A and B; two known flavans, one known flavonol glycoside and two known megastigmane glucosides: (+)-catechin, (-)-epicatechin, quercetin 3-O-rutinoside, (3S,5R,6R,7E,9Smegastigman-7-ene-3,5,6,9-tetrol 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside and citroside A.^[7]

History

The French botanist Jean Baptiste Louis Pierre published the taxa in his Flore Forestiere de la Cochinchine in 1893.^[8]

Further reading

Additional information can be found in the following.

• Dy Phon, P. (2000). Dictionnaire des plantes utilisées au Cambodge: 1-915. chez l'auteur, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
• Govaerts, R. (2001). World Checklist of Seed Plants Database in ACCESS E-F: 1-50919.
• Lê, T.C. (2005). Danh lục các loài thục vật Việt Nam [Checklist of Plant Species of Vietnam] 3: 1-1248. Hà Noi : Nhà xu?t b?n Nông nghi?p.
• Newman, M., Ketphanh, S., Svengsuksa, B., Thomas, P., Sengdala, K., Lamxay, V. & Armstrong, K. (2007). A checklist of the vascular plants of Lao PDR: 1-394. Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh.
• Toyama, H. & al. (2013). Inventory of the woody flora in Permanent plats of Kampong Thom and Kompong Chhnang provinces, Cambodia Acta Phytotaxonomica et Geobotanica 64: 45-105.

Notes and References

1. Book: Pauline Dy Phon . Plants Utilised In Cambodia/Plantes utilisées au Cambodge . 2000 . Imprimerie Olympic . Phnom Penh . 14, 15 . Pauline Dy Phon .
2. NEWMAN . M. . and five others . New Records of Angiosperms and Pteridophytes in the Flora of Laos . Edinburgh Journal of Botany . 2007 . 64 . 2 . 225–251 . 10.1017/S0960428607000923 . 7 January 2021. free .
3. Sothearith . Yourk . and six others . Evaluation of Allelopathic Potentials from Medicinal Plant Species in Phnom Kulen National Park, Cambodia by the Sandwich Method . Sustainability . 2021 . 13 . 264 . 10.3390/su13010264 . 7 January 2021. free .
4. GRAPE . Victoria H. . and four others . Postpartum phytomedicine and its future in maternal healthcare in Prey Lang, Cambodia . Cambodian Journal of Natural History . 2016 . 2 . 119–133 . 7 January 2021.
5. Turreira Garcia . Nerea . Argyriou . Dimitrios . Chhang . Phourin . Srisanga . Prachaya . Theilade . Ida . Ethnobotanical knowledge of the Kuy and Khmer people in Prey Lang, Cambodia . Cambodian Journal of Natural History . 2017 . 1 . 76–101 . 8 January 2021 . Centre for Biodiversity Conservation, Phnom Penh.
6. Web site: Walker . Taylor . An examination of medicinal ethnobotany and biomedicine use in two villages on the Phnom Kulen plateau . Digital Commons, Hollins University . Hollins University . 8 January 2021.
7. KANCHANAPOOM . Tripetch . NOIARSA . Pawadee . TIENGTHAM . Pimonporn . OTSUKA . Hideaki . RUCHIRAWAT . Somsak . Acetophenone Diglycosides from Erythroxylum cambodianum . Chem. Pharm. Bull. . 2005 . 53 . 5 . 579–581 . 10.1248/cpb.53.579 . 15863935 . 7 January 2021. free .
8. Web site: Erythroxylum cambodianum Pierre, Fl. Forest. Cochinch. t. 282 (1893). . International Plant Name Index (IPNI) . The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . 7 January 2021.