Camptotheca acuminata Decne.

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Camptotheca acuminata Decne.; Photos Hoang Thanh Son

Latin Name: 

Camptotheca acuminata Decne.

Family: 

Nyssaceae; 

Genus: 

Camptotheca

Synonym Name: 

Camptotheca acuminata var. acuminata; Camptotheca acuminata var. rotundifolia B.M. Yang & L.D. Duan; Camptotheca acuminata var. tenuifolia W.P.Fang & Soong; Camptotheca yunnanensis Dode; Cephalanthus esquirolii H.Lév.

English Name:  

Common Camptotheca, Camptotheca, Happy Tree, Tree of Life, Cancer Tree

Chinese name: 

fruits: Xishu. Leaves: Xishuye. Bark: Xishupi. 喜树 xi shu

Description: 

Trees deciduous, to 20 m high; bark light gray, deeply furrowed; young branchlets purplish, villous, old branchlets glabrous. Petiole 1.5-3 cm; leaf blade abaxially greenish and lucid, oblong-ovate, oblong-elliptic, or orbicular, 12-28 × 6-12 cm, papery, slightly pubescent, lateral veins (4-)8-11(-15) pairs, base subrounded, margin entire, apex acute. Head terminal or axillary, often 2-9-flowered, 1.5-2 in diam.; bracts 3, triangular, 2.5-3 mm, both surfaces pubescent. Calyx cup-shaped, shallowly 5-lobed. Petals 5, light green, ca. 2 mm. Disk conspic- uous. Stamens 10, outer 5 longer than petals, glabrous. Style ca. 4 mm, glabrous; stigmas 2. Fruit thinly winged, gray-brown, 2.5-3.5 cm × 5-7 mm, smooth and lucid when dry. Seed 1; cotyledons lanceolate, 2-4 × ca. 1 cm, pinniveined, with 6-8 lateral veins on each side. Flowering: April to July; fruiting: October to November.

Habitat availability

Happytree mostly grows in low dam plain, sides of rivers, stream edge, forest fringe, slope of hill and crops sides. Because happytree’s distribution range is often within human activity scope, so it can’t avoid being cut for the purpose of planting trees and crops , besides happytree’s fast growth and bad timber quality, which result in cracking and are weak fastness in resisting corrode, and is not regard as favourite. Therefore, the dotted-distributed happytrees is saved as the shelter of sunshine when peasants are plowing or as destiny forest.

Cultivation details:

Climate: warm temperate. Humidity: humid. Camptotheca acuminata grows very fast during the first ten years and then slows down in subsequent years. Light: Full sun/Light shade. Require deep, moist soil and shelter from strong winds. It can be pruned back without damage so is useful as a coppiced tree. Flowering Time in the Southern Hemisphere is in December to February. Flowers are small white and inconspicuous. Carbon Farming Solutions - Cultivation: new crop. Management: coppice (Describes the non-destructive management systems that are used in cultivation).

Distribution: 

Growing on river beaches of high groundwater level, pond banks and pipelinesides. Distributed in Southwest China, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Hunan, Hubei, Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan and etc. The medicinal materials are mainly produced in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan.

Part Used: 

Medical part: fruits, roots, root bark and leaves.

Harvest & Processing: 

Collected root and root bark all over the year, better in autumn, removed rough bark, sun-dried or baked to dry. Collected bark all over the year, taken bark, cut up and sun-dried. Collected mature fruits in October and November and sun-dried.

Chemistry:

Fruit mainly contains alkaloids, such as camptothecine, 10-hydroxy camptothecine, etc.; tannins, such as syringicacid, salicylic, etc.

Xishugen contains alkaloids, such as camptothecine, venoterpine, etc. also contains β-sitosterol 3-β-D-glucoside, etc.

Root bark contains alkaloids, such as 20-deoxycamptothecin, 20-hexanoylcamptothecine, etc. Xishuye contains alkaloids, such as camptothecine; flavonoids, such as quercetin, kaempferol; tannins, such as gallic acid and trifolin, etc.

Pharmacology: 

Immuneodepression and anti-tumor, and anti-viral.

Properties & Actions: 

Fruits: bitter, pungent, cold, toxic. Camptotheca leaves: bitter, cold. Toxic. Camptotheca bark: bitter, cold, sterilizing. Fruit: clearing heat, detoxifying, dissipating stasis, removing diseasing. Xishuye: clearing heat, detoxifying, removing wind and arresting itching. Xishupi: activating blood, detoxifying, removing wind and arresting itching.

Indications & Usage: 

Xishu fruit: esophageal cancer, gastric carcinoma, intestinal cancer, carcinoma of gastric cardia, liver cancer, leukemia, psoriasis, swelling sores. Common camptotheca leaves: Mainly indicated for ulcerative carbuncle and furuncle, psoriasis. Common camptotheca bark: Mainly indicated for psoriasis. Can be applied externally by using decoction as wash or it can be applied after concentration. Xishuguo: oral administration: decocting, root bark 9-15g, fruit 3-9g; powered and swallowed; or made as injection or pills. No over dose used for internal use. Xishuye: external: fresh used, triturated for application, or prepared decoction for washing. Xishupi: oral administration: decocting, 15-30g. External: prepared decoction for washing or decocted for application.

Note: 

Used in traditional Chinese medicine to provide treatments for psoriasis, liver and stomach ailments, and common colds. Also used to treat leukemia. This latter use led to scientific study to determine if there actually was an anti-cancer compound in C. acuminata. The cancer-fighting properties were first verified in 1958 by Dr. Monroe E. Wall of the USDA and Jonathon Hartwell of the National Cancer Institute in the United States. The bark and stems of Camptotheca acuminata contain the alkaloid camptothecin. Several chemical derivatives of camptothecin are under investigation for or used as drugs for cancer treatment, including irinotecan, topotecan, rubitecan. Camptotheca acuminata also contains the chemical compounds trifolin and hyperoside.

Examples      

1. Treat gastric cancer, rectal cancer, liver cancer, carcinoma of bladder: common camptotheca root peel, grind into a powder, 3 times a day, 3g each time. Common camptotheca fruit, grind into a powder, one time a day, 6g each time.

2. Treat furuncle, onset of sore and carbuncle: tender common camptotheca leaves 1 bundle, add a little salt (pestle) and apply externally.

Other Uses

Carbon Farming Solutions - Industrial Crop: medicinal (Crops grown for non-food uses. Industrial crops provide resources in three main categories: materials, chemicals, and energy. Traditional materials include lumber and thatch, paper and cardboard, and textiles). It is used as a street tree in some cities in China

References

Chinese Medicinal Material Images Database

efloras.org

Theplantlist

Shiyou Li and Ping Wang ; Phytochemistry of Camptotheca Decaisne; Pharmaceutical Crops, 2014, 5, (Suppl 2: M9) 163-172