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Eurycoma Longifolia The Amazing Aphrodisiac Herb
Description
Eurycoma longifolia (Simaroubaceae) is a small tree to
15 m high. Plants dioecious (flowers on a plant are either
male or female). Leaves compound, long, and crowded at the
tips of the branches. When the leaves fall they leave large
scars on the stems. Leaflets are ovate-lanceolate, sessile
or nearly so, and opposite. Flowers are borne in axillaries
panicles, mostly large and lax, and puberulous with short
hairs. Flowers are unisexual; male flower has sterile
pistil, female flower has sterile stamens. Fruits ellipsoid
or ovoid, 10-20 x 5-12 mm, green to blackish-red when ripe.
Ecology
E. longifolia prefers acid and sandy soils at low
altitude up to 700 m above sea level. Plants usually grow in
beach forests, primary and secondary forests, mixed
dipterocarp forests and also in heath forests. In Riau
Province, Sumatra, 1991, the author found that plants were
growing in areas with an average temperature of 25C and 86%
humidity. The soils in this area were found to be poor in
nutrients, but mycorrhizal fungi were found growing near the
plants and may indicate an association. Seedlings require
shade, during which time they develop an extensive root
system. Following juvenile stages, plants need stronger
light to develop vegetative and reproductive parts. E.
longifolia flowers and fruits throughout the year, with peak
flowering from June-July and peak fruiting in September.
Distribution
E. longifolia originates from South East Asia, including
Indonesia, Malay Peninsula, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and
Vietnam. In Indonesia, this species only occurs naturally in
Sumatra and Kalimantan.
Uses
Though E. longifolia is currently mostly known as an
aphrodisiac, in South East Asia, all parts of E. longifolia
plants have long been used medicinally. The plant is
commonly used throughout the region as a tonic after
childbirth. The bark of the roots is used in the Malay
Peninsula to cure fever, ulcers in the mouth, and intestinal
worms. The Malays also use the paste of the plant to relieve
headache, stomachache, pain caused by syphilis, and many
other general pains. In parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan, the
root is used as an anit-pyretic. In Lampung and Belitung it
is used as a medicine for dysentery. The people of Sabah and
Kalimantan make a decoction of the bark that is drunk to
relieve pain in the bones or applied for washing itches. In
Vietnam, people use the flowers and fruits as a medicine for
treating dysentery. In Riau, where the author carried out
research, people living in the surrounding forests boil the
root or stem to cure malaria. One of the most unique uses
for E. longifolia is that of the Sakai ethnic group in
Sumatra who use the plant as an amulet to protect people
from the smallpox virus.
Phytochemistry
The active constituents in E. longifolia, and many other
species in the Family Simaroubaceae, include quassin, neo-quassin,
glaukarubin, sedrin, eurycomanol that are mostly derivatives
from compounds with 20 carbon atoms.
Click here to read
some clinical studies
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