Celastrus paniculatus

Wikipedia

Wikipedia

NAME: Celastrus paniculatus       

FAMILY: Celastraceae

COMMON NAMES:  Staff tree, intellect tree

LOCAL NAMES: Mawo Olule

MORPHORLOGICAL DESCRIPTION:

Celastrus paniculatus is a deciduous, climbing shrub producing stems up to 10 metres long and 25cm in diameter, with its twine helping to support themselves by means of hooked prickles.

USEFUL PART(s): Bark,roots            

GENERAL USES:

  • Young flowers are cooked and used as a vegetable.

  • Oil from seed is used as an an illuminant in lamps and also for soap making.

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION:

East Asia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia

WHY IS IT GREEN?

  • Antimalarial

  • Antipyretic

  • Tuberculosis

  • Dysentery

  • Abortion

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

None known

FUN FACT

Fruits are used as blood tonic.

FURTHER READINGS

Bhanumathy, M., Harish, M. S., Shivaprasad, H. N., & Sushma, G. (2010). Nootropic activity of Celastrus paniculatus seed. Pharmaceutical Biology. https://doi.org/10.3109/13880200903127391

Borrelli, F., Borbone, N., Capasso, R., Montesano, D., De Marino, S., Aviello, G., Aprea, G., Masone, S., & Izzo, A. A. (2009). Potent relaxant effect of a Celastrus paniculatus extract in the rat and human ileum. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2009.02.003

Nalini, K., Karanth, K. S., Rao, A., & Aroor, A. R. (1995). Effects of Celastrus paniculatus on passive avoidance performance and biogenic amine turnover in albino rats. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-8741(95)01264-E

Phulwaria, M., Rai, M. K., Patel, A. K., Kataria, V., & Shekhawat, N. S. (2013). A genetically stable rooting protocol for propagating a threatened medicinal plant - Celastrus paniculatus. AoB PLANTS. https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/pls054

Valecha, R., & Dhingra, D. (2016). Behavioral and biochemical evidences for antidepressant-like activity of celastrus paniculatus seed oil in mice. Basic and Clinical Neuroscience.