Cananga odorata (Lamk.) Hook. f. &Thoms.
[From Malay, kananga = Canangaodorata
(Lamk.) Hook. f.& Thoms. and from Latin, odorem = odour]
Synonymy: Canangium odoratum Baill.
Common names: Ylang-ylang tree; bois de lance batard (French);
maladi (Tamil); kenanga (Malay); kadapnyan (Burmese).
Physical description: It is a shrub which grows to a height of 4m.
The plant grows wild in a geographical zone spanning from India to
Polynesia.The bark is blackish to grey, smooth and the young stems are
pubescent. Leaves: simple, alternate and exstipulate. The blade is light green,
soft, dull, oblong to broadly elliptic, and 6.5 cm×20 cm–3 cm×8.5 cm.The apex
of the blade is acuminate and the base is round. The blade shows 6–10 pairs of
secondary nerves. The flowers are strongly fragrant. The calyx consists of 3
sepals and the corolla consists of 6 linear valvate petals, yellow at first
then turning golden yellow. The fruits consist of 2 to 12 ripe carpels arranged
in 2 whorls, ripening to black, and 1.75 cm × 2.5 cm. Each carpel contains 6 to
12 seeds (Fig. 7).
Fig. 7. Cananga odorata (Lamk.) Hook. f. & Thoms.
History: The oil obtained by distillation of the flowers is the Cananga oil or
ylang-ylang oil, which is used to make perfumes. Cananga oil added to coconut
oil and other ingredients makes the Macassar oil which was so familiar to the
well-groomed Victorian and Edwardian males.The British Standards Institution
has published standard specifications for Cananga oil (BS 2991/ 1:1965).
Cananga oil contains geraniol, linalool esters of acetic and benzoic acids,
p-cresol methyl ester, cadidene, some sesquiterpenes and phenols (Greenberg LA et
al., 1954).
Pharmaceutical interest:
Cytotoxic properties: Cananga odorata (Lamk.) Hook. f. & Thoms. Contains a
cytotoxic oxoaporphine alkaloid known sas liriodenine, which inhibits
the enzymatic activity of topoisomerase II in vitro and in vivo (Woo
Fig. 7. Cananga odorata (Lamk.) Hook. f. & Thoms.
Set al., 1997).The inhibition of topoisomerase II, a key enzyme of
the DNA replication, causesaquick cleavageof theDNAbackboneandthereby
cellular death. Topoisomerase II inhibitors are of critical
chemotherapeutic importance and the family Annonaceae, which abound with
liriodenine-like alkaloids, may appear as a potential reserve of
chemotherapeutic agents. Examples of therapeutic topoisomerase II
inhibitors are the relatively newly introduced oral antibacterial broad-spectrum
antibiotic fluoroquinolones.An example of fluoroquinolone is
ciprofloxacine, generally regarded as the most significant development in the
field of antibacterial chemotherapy. The fruits contain some alkaloids, and sesquiterpenes
which have cytotoxic properties (Hsieh TJ et al., 2001).
Liriodenine
Amebicidal properties: An extract of Cananga odorata (Lamk.)
Hook. f. & Thoms. inhibits, in vitro, the proliferation of Acanthameba
culbertsoni, Acanthameba castellani, and Acanthameba polyphaga which
are the causative agents of granulomatous amoebic encephalitis and
amoebic keratitis (Chu DM et al., 1998).
References
Chu DM, et al. (1998) Parasitol Res
84(9): 746–752.
Greenberg LA, et al. (1954) Handbooks
of Cosmetic Materials, Interscience, New York.
Hsieh TJ, et al. (2001) J Nat Prod 64(5):616–619.
Schieffelin, et al. (1973) Almay
Hypo-allergenic Cosmetics Product Formulary, 8th ed. Pharmaceutical Laboratories
Division, New York.
Woo S, et al. (1997) Biochem
Pharmacol 54(4): 467–473.
Warning: Perfumes containing Cananga oil can produce dermatitis in sensitized individuals
and have been removed from certain cosmetics (Greenberg LA et al., 1954;
Schieffelin, 1973).
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