Common Name: Madhumalti, also known
as Chinese honeysuckle or Rangoon
creeper Other names for the plant include Quiscual (in Spanish), Niyog-niyogan (in Filipino), Madhu Malti or Madhumalti
(in Hindi), Malatilata (in Bengali), Malati ( মালতী in Assamese), Akar Dani (in Malay)
and Radha Manoharam (in Telugu).
Botanical Name:Combretum
indicum
Habitat:Rain forests, low woods, thickets, hedges, mountains,
dry hillsides, riversides, roadsides, wasteland, also cultivated; below 1500 m.
Geographical
Distribution:It is found in Asia.Rangoon creeper is
found in thickets or secondary forest of the Philippines, India and Malaysia.
It has since been cultivated and naturalized in tropical areas. It is found in many other parts of the world either
as a cultivated ornamental or run wild.
Introduction:
The Rangoon
creeper is a vine with red flower clusters. It is a ligneous vine that can reach from 2.5 meters to
up to 8 meters. The leaves are elliptical with an acuminate tip and a rounded
base. They grow from 7 to 15 centimeters and their arrangement is opposite. The
flowers are fragrant and tubular and their color varies from white to pink to
red. The 30 to 35 mm long fruit is ellipsoidal and has five prominent
wings. The fruit tastes likealmonds when
mature. The niyog-niyogan is usually dispersed by water.
Chemical
Composition: Plants
contain alkaloids, carbohydrates, protein, amino
acids,saponins,glucorides,steroids,flavonoids, and phenolic compounds. Studies
show they yield quisqualic acid. Leaves yield rutin, trigonelline, L - proline,
L - aspargine,etc. Plants yield a fatty oil, gum and resin. Flower gum yields
pelargonidin -3 - glucoside.
Medicinal Use: The plant is used as an herbal
medicine. Decoctions of the root, seed or fruit can be used as antihelmintic to expel parasitic worms or for
alleviating diarrhea. Fruit decoction can also be used for gargling. The fruits are also
used to combat nephritis.Leaves
can be used to relieve pain caused by fever. The roots are used to treat rheumatism. The seeds of this
and related species, Quisqualis
fructus and Q. chinensis, contain the
chemical quisqualic acid, which
is an agonist for the AMPA receptor, a kind of glutamate receptor in the brain. The chemical is linked
to excitotoxicity (cell death).The seeds from the pod
are useful for treating Roundworm and Pinworm. It is toxic to the
parasite and kills it in the digestive tract.
Flower: March to November
Fruit: June to November
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