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.