Helicteres isora, sometimes called the Indian screw tree, is a small tree or large shrub found in southern Asia and northern Oceania. It is usually assigned to the family Malvaceae,[2] but it is sometimes assigned to the family Sterculiaceae.[3] The red flowers are pollinated mainly by sunbirds, butterflies, and Hymenoptera.[4][3][5][6] In the 19th century fibers from the bark were used to make rope and sacks, although nowadays the tree is harvested for the fruits and roots which are used in folk medicine.[7]
| Helicteres isora | |
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| Flower | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malvales |
| Family: | Malvaceae |
| Genus: | Helicteres |
| Species: | H. isora
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| Binomial name | |
| Helicteres isora | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Common names
edit- Sanskrit - Avartani, avartphala
- Hindi - Marorphali (मरोड़ फली ), bhendu, jonkphal
- English - Indian screw tree, East Indian screw tree, deer's horn
- Marathi - Kewad, muradsheng (मुरुड शेंग)
- Bengali - Antamora (আঁতমোড়া)
- Gujarati - Maradashingh
- Kannada - Yedmuri
- Tamil - valampuri (வலம்புரி)
- Telugu - valambiri (వలంబిరి); vadambiri (వడంబిరి)
- Malayalam - Idampiri valampiri (ഇടംപിരി വലംപിരി|ഇടംപിരി വലംപിരി)
- Thai - S̄amunpra pai ka bid (สมุนไพรปอกะบิด)
- Sinhala - Liniya (ලීනිය)[8]
Other vernacular names include mochra, mudmudika, kurkurbicha, sinkri, valumbari, yedamuri, pita baranda, balampari, guvadarra, pedamuri, ishwarmuri, murmuriya, and vurkatee.[3][9][5][10][6] In Indonesia it is called buah kayu ules or ulet-ulet on Java.[11] Odia: Modi modika( ମୋଡି ମୋଡ଼ିକା)
Description
editH. isora is a small tree or large shrub, five to eight metres in height. It has grey bark and alternately arranged, hairy, ovate leaves with serrate margins. Its flowers are brick red or orange-red, and its fruits are green when raw, brown or grey when dried, and twisted, with a screw at its pointed end. Seeds of the plant are black or brown and are highly polished, roughly rhomboid, and rectangular or triangular.[3][5][10][6] Pollinators of the flower include the jungle babbler, the golden-fronted leafbird, the ashy drongo, and the white-bellied drongo.[12]
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Dried fruits of H. isora -
Fruits of H. isora at Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary, Visakhapatnam -
Dried, ruptured fruits of H. isora (with centimetre scale) -
flower -
flowers
_East_Indian_screw_tree_seed_at_Kambalakonda_05.JPG)
Distribution
editH. isora is a tropical Asian plant. It is found throughout India and Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. However, it gregariously grows in dry deciduous forests of central and western India on hill slopes. It is also found on the Malay Peninsula, Java,[11] and Australia.[3][5][10]
Economic importance
editFruits of H. isora are exported from India to 19 countries, with a 36-month value of US$ 274,055. At the farm gate local harvesters receive 0.3 US$ per kg, while it can be sold overseas for 2 US$.[7]
Phytochemistry
editH. isora is a rich source of antioxidants, carbohydrates, proteins, fibre, calcium, phosphorus, and iron.[13] Active phytoconstituents include gallic acid, caffeic acid, vanillin, and p-coumaric acid.[14][15] Cucurbitacin b and isocucurbitacin b have been isolated from the roots.[16] Additionally, Satake et al. (1999) isolated rosmarinic acid and their derivatives; isoscutellarein and their derivatives; D-glucopyranosyl isorinic acid with rosmarinic acid; helisterculins A and B; and helisorin.[11]
Medicinal value
editThe fruits and roots of H. isora are used in traditional medicine systems of Asia, Iraq and South Africa, where they are credited with having value in treatment of a wide variety of conditions, including gastrointestinal disorders, diabetes, cancer, and infections.[3][5][7] There appear to have been no scientific investigations of these beliefs. However, laboratory studies have confirmed that both bacteria and cancer cells may survive less well in the presence of extracts of the fruits.[15][17][18] Animal studies have shown that extracts of the roots can improve glucose tolerance in diabetic rats.[19][20]
References
edit- ^ "Helicteres isora L. — the Plant List".
- ^ Hinsley, S.R. (2006). "Classification of Malvaceae: Overview". malvaceae.info. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
- ^ a b c d e f Warrier, P. K., Nambiar, V. P. K., & Ramankutty, C. (1994). Indian medicinal plants: A compendium of 500 species (Vol. 3). Orient Blackswan. 132-135
- ^ Atluri, J. B., Rao, S. P. and Reddi, C. S. (2000). "Pollination ecology of Helicteres isora Linn. (Sterculiaceae)" (PDF). Curr. Sci. 78: 713–718.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d e Ahuja BS. Medicinal plants of Saharanpur (1965), Vedicbooks.net, 40-41
- ^ a b c Trivedi PC, Ethanobotany,2002; Sur, RR and Halder AC; 146-168
- ^ a b c Cunningham, A.B.; Ingram, W.; Brinckmann, J.A.; Nesbitt, M. (2018). "Twists, turns and trade: A new look at the Indian Screw tree ( Helicteres isora )". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 225: 128–135. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2018.06.032. PMID 29944892. S2CID 49430100.
- ^ "Ayurvedic Plants of Sri Lanka: Plants Details".
- ^ Warrier, P. K. (1993). Indian Medicinal Plants: A Compendium of 500 Species. ISBN 9788125003021.
- ^ a b c Kirtikar KR, Basu BD. (1995) Indian medicinal plants. Vol. 1. Dehradun, India: International book distributors; 371–2
- ^ a b c Satake, T., Kamiya, K., Saiki, Y., Hama, T., Fujimoto, Y., Kitanaka, S., ... & Umar, M. (1999). Studies on the Constituents of Fruits of Helicteres isora L. Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin -Tokyo-, 47, 1444–1447.
- ^ V, Santharam (25 Feb 1996). "Visitation Patterns of birds and butterflies at Helicteres isora Linn. (Sterculiaceae) clump" (PDF). Current Science. 70: 316–319.
- ^ Gayathri, P., Gayathri Devi, S., & Sivagami Srinivasan, S. S. (2010). Screening and Quantitation of Phytochemicals and Nutritional Components of the Fruit and Bark of Helicteres isora. Hygeia journal for drugs and medicines, 2(1), 57-62.
- ^ Jain Amita, Sinha Prakriti; Desai Neetin S.; (2014) Estimation of flavonoid, Phenol content and antioxidant potential of Indian screw tree (Helicteres isora L.); International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research (4):1320–1330.
- ^ a b Raaman, N., & Balasubramanian, K.(2012) Antioxidant and anticancer activity of Helicteres isora dried fruit solvent extracts. Journal of Academic and Industrial Research (1), 148-152.
- ^ Bean, M. F., Antoun, M., Abramson, D., Chang, C. J., McLaughlin, J. L., & Cassady, J. M. (1985). Cucurbitacin B and isocucurbitacin B: cytotoxic components of Helicteres isora. Journal of Natural Products, 48(3), 500-500.
- ^ Pradhan, Madhulika (2008). "In-vitro cytoprotection". Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology. 1: 450–452.
- ^ Shiram, V (2010). "Antibacterial and antiplasmid activities of Helicteres isora L.". Indian Journal of Medical Research. 132: 94–99.
- ^ Venkatesh, Sama; Madhava Reddy, B.; Dayanand Reddy, G.; Mullangi, Ramesh; Lakshman, M. (2010). "Antihyperglycemic and hypolipidemic effects of Helicteres isora roots in alloxan-induced diabetic rats: a possible mechanism of action". Journal of Natural Medicines. 64 (3): 295–304. doi:10.1007/s11418-010-0406-9. ISSN 1340-3443. PMID 20238178. S2CID 26989028.
- ^ Venkatesh, Sama; Dayanand Reddy, G.; Reddy, Y.S.R.; Sathyavathy, D.; Madhava Reddy, B. (2004). "Effect of Helicteres isora root extracts on glucose tolerance in glucose-induced hyperglycemic rats". Fitoterapia. 75 (3–4): 364–367. doi:10.1016/j.fitote.2003.12.025. PMID 15158996.