Aglaia Explained

Aglaia is a genus of 121 recognised species of woody dioecious trees in the mahogany family Meliaceae. They occur in the subtropical and tropical forests of Southeast Asia, northern Australia and the Pacific.

Some species are important timber trees; others have scented flowers, or medicinal properties (the edible fruits duku or langsat have now been placed in the genus Lansium). Many have complex biological relationships with their dispersal agents.

Phytochemistry

Species in the genus Aglaia synthesize a unique class of highly bioactive chemical compounds known as flavaglines. Over 50 unique compounds of this class have been described so far, including rocaglamide, aglafoline, silvestrol, pannellin, episilvestrol, and ponapensin.^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]} They are known for their anti-cancer, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and insecticidal properties. Several of these compounds have been shown to be exceptional therapeutic agents for cancer chemotherapy, however further research is needed to develop medicines.

Species

, there are 121 species are accepted by Plants of the World Online, as follows:

• Aglaia aherniana
• Aglaia amplexicaulis
• Aglaia angustifolia
• Aglaia apiocarpa
• Aglaia archboldiana
• Aglaia argentea
• Aglaia australiensis
• Aglaia barbanthera
• Aglaia basiphylla
• Aglaia beccarii
• Aglaia brassii
• Aglaia brownii
• Aglaia bullata
• Aglaia ceramica
• Aglaia chittagonga
• Aglaia conferta
• Aglaia cooperae
• Aglaia coriacea
• Aglaia costata
• Aglaia crassinervia
• Aglaia cremea
• Aglaia cucullata
• Aglaia cumingiana
• Aglaia cuspidata
• Aglaia densisquama
• Aglaia densitricha
• Aglaia edulis
• Aglaia elaeagnoidea
• Aglaia elliptica
• Aglaia erythrosperma
• Aglaia euryanthera
• Aglaia evansensis
• Aglaia eximia
• Aglaia exstipulata
• Aglaia fellii
• Aglaia ferruginea
• Aglaia flavescens
• Aglaia flavida
• Aglaia forbesii
• Aglaia foveolata
• Aglaia fragilis
• Aglaia glabrata
• Aglaia gracilis
• Aglaia grandis
• Aglaia heterotricha
• Aglaia hiernii
• Aglaia ijzermannii
• Aglaia integrifolia
• Aglaia korthalsii
• Aglaia lancilimba
• Aglaia lawii
• Aglaia laxiflora
• Aglaia lepidopetala
• Aglaia lepiorrhachis
• Aglaia leptantha
• Aglaia leucoclada
• Aglaia leucophylla
• Aglaia luzoniensis
• Aglaia mabberleyi
• Aglaia mackiana
• Aglaia macrocarpa
• Aglaia macrostigma
• Aglaia malabarica
• Aglaia malaccensis
• Aglaia mariannensis
• Aglaia membranifolia
• Aglaia meridionalis
• Aglaia monocaula
• Aglaia monozyga
• Aglaia monticola
• Aglaia multinervis
• Aglaia nyaruensis
• Aglaia odorata
• Aglaia odoratissima
• Aglaia oligophylla
• Aglaia pachyphylla
• Aglaia palembanica
• Aglaia pannelliana
• Aglaia parksii
• Aglaia parviflora
• Aglaia penningtoniana
• Aglaia perviridis
• Aglaia pleuropteris
• Aglaia polyneura
• Aglaia puberulanthera
• Aglaia pyriformis
• Aglaia ramotricha
• Aglaia rimosa
• Aglaia rivularis
• Aglaia rubiginosa
• Aglaia rubrivenia
• Aglaia rufibarbis
• Aglaia rufinervis
• Aglaia rugulosa
• Aglaia saltatorum
• Aglaia samoensis
• Aglaia sapindina
• Aglaia saxonii
• Aglaia scortechinii
• Aglaia sessilifolia
• Aglaia sexipetala
• Aglaia silvestris
• Aglaia simplicifolia
• Aglaia smithii
• Aglaia soepadmoi
• Aglaia speciosa
• Aglaia spectabilis
• Aglaia squamulosa
• Aglaia stellatopilosa
• Aglaia subcuprea
• Aglaia subminutiflora
• Aglaia subsessilis
• Aglaia taiwaniana
• Aglaia taynguyenensis
• Aglaia tenuicaulis
• Aglaia teysmanniana
• Aglaia tomentosa
• Aglaia unifolia
• Aglaia variisquama
• Aglaia vitiensis

External links

• Book: Pannell, C.M. . A taxonomic monograph of the genus Aglaia Lour. (Meliaceae) . London . HMSO . 1992 . Kew Bulletin Additional Series . XV1 . 978-0-11-250067-4.
• Book: Pannell, C.M. . 1997 . Solving problems in the taxonomy of Aglaia (Meliaceae): functional syndromes and the biological monograph . J. . Dranseld . etal . Pl. Div. Mal. . III . 163–170.
  • Web site: Aglaia Lour. . Atlas of Living Australia .

Notes and References

1. Kim. Soyoung. Salim. Angela. Swanson. Steven. Douglas Kinghorn. A.. 2006-07-01. Potential of Cyclopenta[b]benzofurans from Aglaia Species in Cancer Chemotherapy. Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry. 6. 4. 319–345. 10.2174/187152006777698123. 16842234. 1871-5206.
2. Ribeiro. Nigel. Thuaud. Frédéric. Nebigil. Canan. Désaubry. Laurent. March 2012. Recent advances in the biology and chemistry of the flavaglines. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry. 20. 6. 1857–1864. 10.1016/j.bmc.2011.10.048. 22071525. 0968-0896.
3. Hwang. Bang Yeon. Su. Bao-Ning. Chai. Heebyung. Mi. Qiuwen. Kardono. Leonardus B. S.. Afriastini. Johar J.. Riswan. Soedarsono. Santarsiero. Bernard D.. Mesecar. Andrew D.. Wild. Robert. Fairchild. Craig R.. May 2004. Silvestrol and Episilvestrol, Potential Anticancer Rocaglate Derivatives from Aglaia silvestris. The Journal of Organic Chemistry. 69. 10. 3350–3358. 10.1021/jo040120f. 15132542. 0022-3263.
4. Brader. G.. Vajrodaya. S.. Greger. H.. Bacher. M.. Kalchhauser. H.. Hofer. O.. December 1998. Bisamides, Lignans, Triterpenes, and Insecticidal Cyclopenta[b]benzofurans from AglaiaSpecies1. Journal of Natural Products. 61. 12. 1482–1490. 10.1021/np9801965. 9868148. 0163-3864.
5. Salim. Angela A.. Pawlus. Alison D.. Chai. Hee-Byung. Farnsworth. Norman R.. Douglas Kinghorn. A.. Carcache-Blanco. Esperanza J.. January 2007. Ponapensin, a cyclopenta[bc]benzopyran with potent NF-κB inhibitory activity from Aglaia ponapensis. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters. 17. 1. 109–112. 10.1016/j.bmcl.2006.09.084. 17055270. 2786496. 0960-894X.