Amburana Bark

Amburana cearensis is a species of timber tree in the family Fabaceae. Torresea cearensis is a synonym of the species. The tree is native to northern, eastern and west-central Brazil, northwestern Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. It is not protected under CITES regulations.

The heartwood is basically yellow to brown, with streaks or without streaks. The basic specific gravity of the wood is 0.52-0.57-0.65 g/cm3.

Coumarin, 6-hydroxycoumarin, isokaempferide, formononetin, vanillic acid, amburoside A and (E)-o-coumaric acid have been isolated from the seeds and trunk bark of the tree. Six new amburosides were isolated from the seeds, and a new 6-coumaryl protocatechuate from the trunk bark. Coumarin belongs to the benzopyrone chemical class and is considered a lactone. Vogel of Munich first isolated coumarin from tonka beans in 1820 and at first mistook it for benzoic acid.

Tonka beans, the seeds of Dipteryx odorata, normally contain about 1-3% coumarin, and rarely up to 10%. Tonka beans have been used as a source of natural coumarin, and after its synthesis in the 1940s artificial coumarin became one of the first artificial flavoring agents, as a vanilla substitute.

In northeastern Brazil, the trunk bark and seeds are popularly used for the treatment of respiratory affections such as asthma and bronchitis. The hydroalcohol extract from trunk bark and some of its constituents demonstrated bronchodilator, antiinflammatory and analgesic activities in pre-clinical trials.

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Related: Alder · Alpha Humulene · Amaranth · Amberever · Antillone · Apple Tree · Araucaria