Burflower Tree: Classification, Localization, Characteristics, and Biological Significance
Introduction
Neolamarckia cadamba, also known as “Kadamba” in Ayurveda, is a member of the Rubiaceae family. A beloved plant of “Lord Gopal,” known by the Hindi name “tree Kadam,” is one of the vascular plants mentioned in ancient Sanskrit texts. Large deciduous tree with a height range of 37.5 to 45 metres. New trees have even bark and a grayish-green look. Older trees have alternate, uneven grey bark that is longitudinally fissured as part of their look. Glossy, dark green, simple pulpiness base, sub sessile to petiolate, broadly ovate to elliptical-oblong, whole, apex, and pinnate venation are all characteristics of the leaves. From August to October, orange to yellow flowers begins to bloom. Clustered inflorescences with terminal globose heads, sub sessile, and fragrant. Fruit lets plentiful with top sections that feature four voids or rigid structures.
The species is commonly, but wrongly, referred to as Anthocephalus Chinensis because it possesses fragrance orange blooms that are present in thick globe-shaped clusters and are used to make perfumes. It is a decorative plant that is also utilized in the production of paper and lumber. In Indian mythology and religion, it is of utmost importance. Given the great significance of the cadamba tree to humanity, several religions in India have fervently held that God resides within one. Ayi Jagadamba Mad Amba Kadamba Vana Priyavaasini Haasa Rate is a Sanskrit shloka that states that Goddess Durga likes to reside in a forest of Cadamba trees.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Genus: Neolamarckia
Species: Neolamarckia cadamba
Scientific Name: Neolamarkia cadamba
Common Name: Kadamb, Kadam, Burflower-tree, Laran
Localization
It is a tropical evergreen tree that can be found in various regions of Australia, Bangladesh, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia, as well as Papua New Guinea.
It can be found in the temperate Himalayas of India, including Garhwal, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, and Manipur (which stretch from Kashmir to Bhutan). It is mostly found in Himachal Pradesh’s districts of Chamba, Kangra, Manipur, Bilaspur, Kullu, Sirmour, and Simla at an elevation of around 2 km, as well as the temperate Pauri, Tehri, Chamoli, and Uttarkashi districts of Garhwal.
Characteristics
1. The tree is a medium to a large-sized deciduous tree with cylindrical branches and a rounded crown, growing to a height of 20 to 30 metres and a girth of about 2-3 metres.
2. It can be found in the sub-Himalayan region from Nepal eastward on the lower hills of Darjeeling in West Bengal, where it is common. It can also be found in Chota Nagpur (Bihar), Andhra Pradesh, the Andaman Islands, along large streams in Kerala on the west coast, and at low elevations on the western ghats.
3. Though it takes 6–8 years to gain weight, it develops quite swiftly in length.
4. The leaves are 13–32 cm long, and the trunk measures 100–160 cm in diameter.
5. The tree starts to flower between the ages of 4-5.
6. The Cadamba’s small, fleshy capsule-filled fruits form a yellow-orange infructescence when they are crowded closely together.
7. The plant’s bark is administered to treat inflammation and fever because it is thought to have anti-inflammatory, febrifugal, digestive, carminative, diuretic, and antiemetic qualities.
8. A vegetable made from flowers.
9. The leaves have a faint scent that is unpleasant, yet the leaf decoction is beneficial for wounds, ulcers, and metorrhea.
10. It helps to treat snake bites. It is frequently used in the form of a herbal powder called kvatha churna.
11. The discovery of numerous phytochemicals and secondary metabolites (saponins, indole and quinoline alkaloids, secoiridoids, and triterpenes) of pharmacological importance from the cadamba has been the focus of numerous researchers across the world.
Points to Remember
a) Habitat: India, eastward in the Malaysian archipelago to Papua New Guinea
b) Used parts include the barks, fruits, leaves, seeds, flowers, and roots of the plant.
c) Dark brown bark with longitudinal fissures that peel off in fine scales
d) Leaves: Coriaceous, whole edge, elliptical-oblong, pulvinus base, with acute or briefly acuminate.
e) Flowers: The flowers are tiny, orange in colour, and have globose heads.
f) Fruits: Fruits are fleshy, orange, pseudocarpa-shaped, and yellow.
g) Tiny and muriculate seeds.
Neolamarckia Cadamba’s Medical Uses
Leaves
a) To relieve symptoms, cadamba leaf paste is applied topically to a wound or other location that is experiencing localized pain and swelling.
b) Diabetes can be treated using cadamba tree leaves.
c) A leaf extract that is used as a mouthwash.
Bark
a) The bark is used to treat blood-related disorders and to reduce fevers in both humans and animals.
b) Gum irritation and mouth ulcers can be treated by gargling with bark.
Root
a) Root is used to treat renal calculi, glycosuria, and urinary tract infections.
b) Fever, colic, and muscle symptoms are treated with roots.
Flowers
a) Black spots and pimples are treated with cadamba flower paste.
b) Perfumes contain flowers.
Aerial Parts
a) Irritable bowel syndrome and diarrhoea are other conditions that are treated using aerial parts.
Biological significance
Antihelminthic activity
The Cadamba’s antihelminthic activity has recently been clarified. Due to its morphological and physiological similarities with human intestinal roundworm parasites, it was studied on adult Indian earthworms (Pheritima Posthuma). A vehicle (piperazine citrate, 15 mg/ml, produced in 1% tween-80) and aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the adult bark of the Cadamba were administered to each group. The concentrations ranged from 10 mg/ml to 25 mg/ml. It was found that a single worm took over 4 hours to become paralyzed and then die. Here, it was claimed that death occurred when the worms lost their motility followed by a fading of their body colour and that paralysis occurred when the normal worm did not resuscitate in saline.
Antifungal activity
The antifungal ability of the Cadamba has been proven by Patel et al. They claimed that Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida albicans were both resistant to the antifungal effects of the Cadamba bark and leaf extract. Additionally, they discovered that compared to the bark extract, the Cadamba leaf extract has greater antifungal activity.
Antifilarial and Antimalarial Activities
In India and other nations, mosquito-borne illnesses such as malaria, dengue, chikungunya, filariasis, and Japanese encephalitis result in thousands of fatalities each year. To improve the health and quality of life of the nation’s citizens and visitors, mosquito control is a critical issue. The growing resistance and resurgence of vector-borne diseases to synthetic pesticides has made the management of many illnesses ineffective. Several reports have been made about the use of plant extracts to kill mosquito larvae. Recently, it was discovered that Cadamba leaf extract, even at low concentrations, exhibits good larvicidal and pupicidal activity against the filarial vector Culex quinquefasciatus. It was discovered that stage I, or the larval stage, was the stage against which the methanolic extract of Cadamba leaves was most effective, with mortality rates of 46% at 5 ppm and 100% at 80 ppm. The measured LC50 and LC90 values against stages I, II, III, and IV of larval pupae were 12.15 ppm and 56.62 ppm, 15.15 ppm and 64.72 ppm, 21.82 ppm and 79.52 ppm, and 31.29 ppm and 102.13 ppm, respectively. Additionally, the addition of gold nanoparticles to the extract has shown to be more deadly, causing 100% death at the larval stage at a very low concentration with LC50 at 0.61 ppm. According to a different study, the dimethyl sulfoxide extract of cadamba has antimalarial activity with an LC50 of 3.7 g/ml against the K1 strain of Plasmodium falciparum.
Antibacterial Activity
The antibacterial activity of Cadamba fruit extracts, both alcoholic and aqueous, against microorganisms has been significantly increased (Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Klebsiella pneumonia, Proteus mirabilis, Candida albicans, Trichophytonrubrum, Asperagillus niger, Asperagillus flavus, and Asperagillus nidulans). At a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 1.00 mg/ml, Mishra et alexperiment .’s revealed that the antibacterial activities of cadamba have zones of inhibition that are 22.0 cm and 24.0 cm against E. coli and P. aeruginosa, respectively. Additionally beneficial was the Cadamba extract in treating animal foot-and-mouth disease. Furthermore, Rathyibacter tritici, the bacterium that causes the tundu disease of wheat, was successfully eradicated by the aqueous extract of cadamba.