Garcinia Species - Good For Human Consumption

A plant that is traditionally known to repel herbivores is now found to have medicinal use for humans.

A botanical study conducted by four plant specialists from India found that the volatile chemicals found in the leaves of six species of Garcinia plants are good for human consumption.
The six species are: Garcinia morella, Garcinia dulcis, Garcinia xanthochymus, Garcinia assamica, Garcinia lanceifolia and Garcinia pedunculata.
There are some 250 species of trees from the genus Garcinia.
These are distributed across southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent and tropical Africa.
In India, there are 44 species and 19 are from the north-east region of the country.
The species Garcinia assamica was recently found in Assam’s Manas National Park. Only a few trees were found in the park.

From the essential oils of the six species, the researchers have identified 64 volatile compounds.
The major compounds were (E)-caryophyllene, a-copaene and b-selinene.
(E)-caryophyllene is found to be the moot compound that retards the growth of other plants in the vicinity of the tree and also is the reason for repulsing herbivore attacks.
The medicinal use of the compound is already known.
It possess anti-carcinogenic, anti-fibrotic, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anxiolytic, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anaesthetic, and other biological activities.
Earlier, the genus Garcinia is known to possess therapeutical substances that exhibit antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Owing to their health benefits, nurseries of Garcinia plants are being raised as a commercial crop in Assam. Traditionally, the fruit of the plant is used in Assam for treating dysentery and diarrhoea.
The researches note that the plant products can be marketed as an anti-obesity agent.