Aglaia odorata is a species of flowering plant in the family Meliaceae. It is found in Cambodia, Southeast China, Hainan, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is a small tree that retains its green leaves throughout the year and can reach a height of 2 to 5 meters. Its small golden yellow flowers are borne in racemes, are oval-shaped and have six petals. The fruit is red, about one centimeter long and egg-shaped, containing one to two seeds.
Botanical Description and Names
The tree is multiple branched, and its leaves are 5 to 12 centimeters long. It is also described as a shrub or small tree up to 10 m tall, with three to five, rarely seven, opposite leaflets that have five to nine pairs of secondary veins. The fruit does not split open and has a single chamber. The accepted name is Aglaia odorata Lour., and the species belongs to the order Sapindales. Its synonyms include Aglaia chaudocensis, Aglaia duperreana, Aglaia oblanceolata, Aglaia sinensis, Camunium chinense and Murraya exotica. Its conservation status is Least Concern. Vernacular names include Chinese rice-flower in English, pacar cina in Indonesia, me shui lan in Malaysia, sinamomong-sunsong in the Philippines, homklai in Thailand, and hoa ngâu in Vietnam.
Habitat and Cultivation
Aglaia odorata is a woody plant predominantly inhabiting sparse forests and shrublands in low-altitude mountainous regions. It occurs scattered but is locally common in evergreen primary and secondary forest, sometimes along the coast, up to 700 m altitude. It is cultivated in India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Java. In China it is primarily cultivated in Fujian and Guangdong provinces, with additional wild or cultivated populations in Guangxi, Yunnan, and Sichuan. It is occasionally sold as a house plant under the name Chinese perfume plant. It can be grown outdoors in USDA zones 9 and 10. Its range is also given as Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Vietnam, Hainan and Thailand, and it is possibly present in Laos and the Moluccas.
The Genus Aglaia
Aglaia is a genus of 121 recognised species of woody dioecious trees in the mahogany family Meliaceae. Some species are important timber trees; others have scented flowers, or medicinal properties. The edible fruits known as duku or langsat have been placed in the genus Lansium. Species in the genus Aglaia synthesize a unique class of highly bioactive chemical compounds known as flavaglines. Over 50 unique compounds of this class have been described so far, including rocaglamide, aglafoline, silvestrol, pannellin, episilvestrol, and ponapensin. Flavaglines have anti-cancer, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and insecticidal properties. Several of these compounds have been shown to be exceptional therapeutic agents for cancer chemotherapy, but further research is needed to develop medicines. Aglaia odorata contains the anti-cancer components rocaglaol and rocaglamide. Rocaglaol and rocaglamide have significant cytotoxicity against blood cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer and colon cancer. Rocaglaol has a molecular weight of 434.48 g/mol and rocaglamide of 505.55 g/mol. Rocaglamide has the formula C₂₉H₃₁NO₇ and, like other flavaglines, shows insecticidal, antifungal, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities.
Chemistry
The essential oil of the flowers has been separated into 21 identified components. They include linalool, copaene, beta-humulene, beta-elemene and beta-selinene. The components were separated and identified by gas-liquid chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, and infrared, ultraviolet, mass and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The amounts of the components were also determined in oils produced in Zhangzhou, Fushou and Chongqing.
Flower extracts have more recently been analysed by headspace solid-phase microextraction with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and by an electronic nose, to compare extracts prepared by different methods. The flowers used were bought in Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province, and authenticated by a botanist. The volatile profiles of the extracts depend on the extraction method, and the compounds were identified by matching their spectra against a mass spectral library.
Traditional and Other Uses
Many parts of Aglaia odorata - roots, leaves, flowers and branches - can be used as medicine. The roots are boiled with water to make a drink to increase appetite. The dried flowers are used to cure mouth ulcers and reduce fever. In China, the dried branches and leaves are boiled in water and used to reduce pain from rheumatic joints, injuries from falls, superficial infections and toxic swelling. In the Philippines, the roots and leaves can be used as a tonic. The flowers are applied externally to the body after childbirth or taken internally against fever. In Indonesia, an infusion of the leaves is drunk as a tonic to treat excessive menses and venereal diseases. The flowers and leaves are used in Vietnam to treat fever, asthma and jaundice. The leaves are considered expectorant, stimulant and antipyretic, and they are used to treat convulsions and menorrhagia. In Java the plant has also been recorded against dysmenorrhea. The wood is excellent for turnery. Its use as an ornamental, for example in hedges, is more important. Aglaia odorata can be used as an organic herbicide to control grass and weeds in fields, such as rice fields and maize fields.
