Gambir, Uncaria

Ingredient of various plants and trees ("catechu" from Uncaria gambir and Acacia catechu), obtained by extraction with water or ethyl acetate. 

A classical example of medicinal Rubiaceae of Asian origin is Uncaria gambir (Hunter ) Roxb., from which is extracted an astringent extract (catechu, British Pharmaceutical Codex, 1963), employed for the treatment of diarrhea. 

Gambir or Gambier(Pale Catechu). An odorless brown powder prepd by drying an extract from a decoction of the leaves and twigs of an Indian shrub, Ourouparia or Uncaria gambir. It is insol in w and sol in ale. Used as an astringent and tanning material... 

N.A. Uncaria gambir (Hunter) Roxb. Rhyncophylline, corynoxeine, hirsutine, isorhyncophylline, nicotinic acid, catechin.297 298 299 313 Lower blood pressure, protect the liver from infection. An astringent. 

Catechins Crataegus laevigata, C. monongyna, C. oxyacantha, Leonurus cardiaca, Platycladus occidentalis, Potentilla erecoa, P. tormentilla, Rheum ojflcinale, R. palmatum, R. tanguticum, Uncaria gambir... 

Daucus carota, Lycopersicon esculentum, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Uncaria gambir... 

The active substance (+)-catechin is the main component of the plant Uncaria gambir. In the systematic chemical nomenclature,... 

A European patent by Inomata [38] describes the use of Uncaria gambir rox-burgh extract in effectively suppressing the activity of elastase and restoring the tautness and elasticity of skin. Also, a world patent by Fransoni [39] describes the benefit of a complex of hyaluronic acid and carnitine and its derivatives... 

Uncaria tomentosa, Uncaria guianensis, Uncaria gambir, una de gato, life-giving vine of Peru, samento (Anonymous, 1996)... 

Until recently only monomeric indole and oxindole alkaloids had been isolated from the bark and leaves of Uncaria gambir Roxb. (Rubiaceae). Amongst these were alkaloids of the corynantheine and yohimbine types."" However, from a different batch of plant material five new isomeric alkaloids, the roxburghines A—E, C31H32O2N4, have been isolated in 0.0005—0.005 % yield. ... 

Recently two new oxindole alkaloids designated gambirdine and isogambirdine (C21H24N2O4), probably stereoisomeric with mitraphylline, have been isolated from the stem of Uncaria gambir (Hunt) Roxb. (30). 

Roxburghines-A-E are five diastereomeric alkaloids of molecular formula C31H32N4O2 which have recently been isolated from the leaves and stems of Uncaria gambir (14). These alkaloids belong to a new structural type and their isolation is of some interest, having regard to the fact that these bases have not been encountered in any of the previous extractions of this species. 

Uncaria gambir (family Rubiaceae) Distributed in South-East Asia. The juice of the leaves and stem are used as a stimulant. 

The profisetinidins in the Anacardiaceae are of unusual structure as they consist of flavanoid units with a IS rather than the normal 2R configuration (see Sect. 7.6). This situation is rare in the proanthocyanidins and only a few other instances are known the widespread occurrence of e z epicatechin and ent-epicatechin-4 procyanidins in monocotyledonous plants (29), and the presence of ezz epicatechin in Polygonum multiflorum (93) and Uncaria gambir (95). Ent-catechin has been isolated from Polygonum multiflorum (93) and Rhaphiolepsis umbellata (91) - as the 7-O-glucoside and 3-O-gallate, respectively. 

White cutch ( gambier ) is an extract of Uncaria gambir, a plant belonging to the madder (q.v.) family. 

Source Black catechu Acacia catechu (L.f.) Willd. (Family Leguminosae or Fabaceae). Pale catechu Uncaria gambir (W. Hunter) Roxb. (Family Rubiaceae). 

Uncaria gambir is an evergreen woody vine, native to southeastern Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.). Parts used are the leaves and twigs, which are extracted with boiling water to yield pale catechu after filtration and evaporation of the extract to dryness it is a pale brown to dark mass occurring in cubes (evans). 

Rubiaceae family plant species play a significant role in day-to-day life being source of many products including, Uncaria gambir (source of taruiin), Calycophyllum, and Neolamarckia chinensis as sources of timbers [4], Gardinea spp. as source of perfume and ornamentals [5]. The plant species of this family are accessible on almost every region of world except Antarctic continents. Uncaria Schreb. (Rubiaceae) spp. are other major sources for the discovery of novel medicinal natural compounds [6]. Species of Uncaria are commonly woody climbers, shrubs, or small trees with characteristic hooks on either side of the shoots [7]. Most of the species of Uncaria are native to Asia and some of them are also distributed in Africa and South America [7]. 

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