Bombax ceiba, the promising Cotton tree

Bombax ceiba (Cotton tree) is a tree from the Malvaceae family that grows in Malay, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan [28]. It is covered with thorns and it's known by Tibetans as "salmari" [27], but most commonly known in Europe and America as cotton tree or tree cotton [28]. Its red flowers have five petals and were commonly used as herbal tea in China. The name Cotton tree derives from the cotton-like fiber that covers the Cotton tree seeds and that were also used in the past as a cotton substitute.

Bombax ceiba has risen the interest of scientists and researchers since some of the active constituents and phytochemicals found on this plant are known to exert many beneficial effects. Some of them, as for example apigenin, a well-known anti-cancer agent, or Luteol, a triterpene with many health benefits among which we can mention its anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic, anti-mutagenic, anti-malarial [20] and anti-plasmodial [22,23,24,25] properties. 

But this plant is also known to contain other active constituents that deserve special attention for their properties and health benefits, let's have a look at some of them.

BOMBAX CEIBA

Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Bombax
Common name: Cotton tree, tree cotton, Bombax malabaricum, Salmalia malabarica.

BOMBAX CEIBA CONTAINS LUPEOL

Bombax ceiba is contains Lupeol (Lup-20(29)-en-3β-ol), a triterpene (phytosterol) also known as Fagarsterol and found in vegetables as green pepper, white cabbage, pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, red grapes, mangoes (Mangifera indica), grapes, olives, figs, three leaved caper (Crataeva nurvala) and strawberries.

In plants Luteol can be found in American ginseng, Shea butter plant, Tamarindus indica, Allanblackia monticola, Himatanthus sucuuba, Celastrus paniculatus, Zanthoxylum riedelianum, Leptadenia hastata, Crataeva nurvala, Bombax ceiba and Sebastiania adenophora [17,20,22,26].

• Anti-inflammatory properties of Lupeol

Lupeol has been the subject of many investigations and clinical trials during the last 15 years in order to verify its claimed beneficial properties, among which we have to highlight its immense anti-inflammatory properties [17], a process known to be directly linked to many types of cancer and a precursor of some tumors.

• Lupeol for Prostate Cancer

Lupeol has also shown to be able to decrease serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and inhibit the tumorigenicity of prostate cancer (CaP) cells in vivo [18,19].

BOMBAX CEIBA ACTIVE CONSTITUENTS

Bombax ceiba is rich in many phytochemicals, among the active constituents found in this herb we can mention:

Lupeol, steroids, tannins, flavonoids, triterpenoids, saponins, cholesterol, stigmasterol, campesterol and a-amyrin, hydrocarbons, seven flavones: vicenin 2 (1), linarin (2), saponarin (3), cosmetin (4), isovitexin (5), xanthomicrol (6), apigenin (7), cadinane sesquiterpenoids,bombamalones, bombamaloside, isohemigossypol-1-methyl ester, acid lactone, bombaxquinone, lacinilene C [8], sesquiterpene lactone, naphthoquinone [10], naphthoquinone [12], mangiferin, xanthone, anthocyanins [15].

BOMBAX CEIBA PROPERTIES

BOMBAX CEIBA ANTI-HELICOBACTER PYLORI PROPERTIES

Among several Taiwanese folk medicinal plants studied for their anti-helicobacter pylori properties [9] only Paederia scandens, Plumbago zeylanica, Anisomeles indica, Bombax ceiba and Alpinia speciosa and Bombax ceiba demonstrated anti-helicobacter pylori properties [9].

BOMBAX CEIBA ANTI-AGING PROPERTIES

Some studies suggested the potential use of Bombax ceiba for the prevention, reversal or delay of age-related diseases [2] due to the antioxidant effect exerted by this herb.

ANTHELMITIC, VERMIFUGE AND VERMICIDES PROPERTIES OF BOMBAX CEIBA

In some cases Bombax ceiba leaves exerted Anthelmintic effects, a property that some plants and medicines have to help the body expel helminths or parasitic worms. This use was reported at least in the traditional system of medicine in Southern Punjab of Pakistan [3], where it was able to fight live parasites (as trematode: Paramphistomum explanatum), collected from buffalo.

BOMBAX CEIBA FOR INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE

As part of polyherbal preparations against inflammatory bowel disease in rats, the aqueous extract of Bombax ceiba showed a certain beneficial effects, suggesting this plant has a protective role on inflammatory bowel disease cases [5].

ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES OF BOMBAX CEIBA

Bombax ceiba also exhibited significant antioxidant and antimicrobial activities [7] in other studies done on this plant.

ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES OF BOMBAX CEIBA

Bombax ceiba (Bombacaceae) has been used in traditional Chinese herbal medicine for the treatment of inflammatory conditions, diarrhea, fever, chronic inflammation, catarrhal affection, and as a diuretic [6].

The antioxidant activities of extracts from Bombax ceiba flowers exerted radical-scavenging activity, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and all the extracts possessed remarkable antioxidant capacity compared with ascorbic or gallic acids. The flowers of Bombax ceiba have excellent antioxidant properties and could be the source of natural antioxidants [6,7].

Disclaimer

REFERENCES

[1] In vivo antitrypanosomal effects of some ethnomedicinal plants from nupeland of north central Nigeria. Mann A, Ifarajimi OR, Adewoye AT, Ukam C, Udeme EE, Okorie II, Sakpe MS, Ibrahim DR, Yahaya YA, Kabir AY, Ogbadoyi EO. Department of Science Laboratory Technology, Federal Polytechnic Bida, P. M. B. 55, Bida, Niger State, Nigeria.

[2] Are Bombax buonopozense and Bombax malabaricum possible nutraceuticals for age management? Ngwuluka NC.

[3] Anthelmintic effect of a methanol extract of Bombax malabaricum leaves on Paramphistomum explanatum. Hossain E, Chandra G, Nandy AP, Mandal SC, Gupta JK. Pharmacy College, Itaura, Chandeshwar, Azamgarh, 276128, Uttar Pradesh, India

[4] Effect of Bombax ceiba L. on spermatogenesis, sexual behaviour and erectile function in male rats. Bhargava C, Thakur M, Yadav SK. Advance Group of Pharmacy Colleges, Naramau Kanpur, India  Ravi Shankar College of Pharmacy, Bhopal, India.

[5] Protective effect of aqueous extract of Bombax malabaricum DC on experimental models of inflammatory bowel disease in rats and mice. Jagtap AG, Niphadkar PV, Phadke AS. Department of Pharmacology, Bombay College of Pharmacy, Kalina, Mumbai 400 098, India.

[6] In vitro antioxidant activity of Bombax malabaricum flower extracts. Yu YG, He QT, Yuan K, Xiao XL, Li XF, Liu DM, Wu H. Institution of Food Safety, College of Light Industry and Food Sciences, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.

[7] Phytochemical investigation and biological studies of Bombax malabaricum flowers. El-Hagrassi AM, Ali MM, Osman AF, Shaaban M. Department of Phytochemistry and Plant Systematics, National Research Centre, Dokki-Giza 12622, Egypt.

[8] Sesquiterpenoids from Bombax malabaricum. Zhang X, Zhu H, Zhang S, Yu Q, Xuan L. state Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Science, 555 Zuchongzhi Road, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, Shanghai 201203, People's Republic of China.

[9] Screening of anti-Helicobacter pylori herbs deriving from Taiwanese folk medicinal plants. Wang YC, Huang TL. Department of Food Science, National Chung-Hsing University, 250 Kuokuang Road, Taichung 40227, Taiwan, 402, ROC.

[10] A new sesquiterpene lactone from Bombax malabaricum. Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy M, Kesava Reddy M, Gunasekar D, Marthanda Murthy M, Caux C, Bodo B. Natural Products Division, Department of Chemistry, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, India.

[11] Isolation of mangiferin from Bombax malabaricum and structure revision of shamimin. Shahat AA, Hassan RA, Nazif NM, Van Miert S, Pieters L, Hammuda FM, Vlietinck AJ. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt.

[12] A new naphthoquinone from Bombax malabaricum. Sreeramulu K, Rao KV, Rao CV, Gunasekar D. Department of Chemistry, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, India.

[13] Chemical examination of the seeds of Bombax malabaricum. Dhar DN, Munjal RC.

[14] Study of a polysaccharide from the stamens of Bombax malabaricum flowers. Agrawal GD, Rizvi SA, Gupta PC, Tewari JD.

[15] Anthocyanins from the flowers of Bombax malabaricum. Niranjan GS, Gupta PC.

[16] Wikipedia Bombax ceiba (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombax_ceiba)

[17] Lupeol, A Novel Anti-inflammatory and Anti-cancer Dietary Triterpene Mohammad Saleem* Mohammad Saleem, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI; * Correspondence : Mohammad Saleem, Bhat , PhD, School of Medicine and Public Health 1300 University Avenue MSC-B25, Lab # 4385 University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI, 53719, USA

[18] Lupeol inhibits proliferation of human prostate cancer cells by targeting β-catenin signaling Mohammad Saleem,† Imtiyaz Murtaza,† Rohinton S. Tarapore,1 Yewseok Suh, Vaqar Mustafa Adhami, Jeremy James Johnson,2 Imtiaz Ahmad Siddiqui, Naghma Khan, Mohammad Asim, Bilal Bin Hafeez, Mohammed Talha Shekhani, Benyi Li,3 and Hasan Mukhtar corresponding author Department of Dermatology, University of Wisconsin, 1300 University Avenue, MSC-25B, Madison, WI 53706, USA 1Molecular and Environmental Toxicology Center 2School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 3Department of Urology, 2045 Lied Biomedical Research Facility, University of Kansas Medical Center, Mail Stop 3035, 3901 Rainbow Boulevard, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA corresponding authorCorresponding author.

[19] Lupeol Triterpene, A Novel Diet-based Microtubule Targeting Agent: Disrupts Survivin/cFLIP Activation in Prostate Cancer Cells. Mohammad Saleem,* Imtiyaz Murtaza, Olya Witkowsky, and Amanda Marie Kohl School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

[20] Dietary agents for chemoprevention of prostate cancer Deeba N Syed, Yewseok Suh, Farrukh Afaq, and Hasan Mukhtar Department of Dermatology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA Send correspondence to: Hasan Mukhtar, Ph.D., Helfaer Professor of Cancer Research, Director and Vice Chair of Research, Department of Dermatology, University of Wisconsin, Medical Sciences Center, Room #B25, 1300 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706.

[21] Targeting Inflammatory Pathways by Triterpenoids for Prevention and Treatment of Cancer. Vivek R. Yadav, Sahdeo Prasad, Bokyung Sung, Ramaswamy Kannappan, and Bharat B. Aggarwal* Cytokine Research Laboratory, Department of Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston 77030, TX, USA;

[22] Medicinal Plants Used by Various Tribes of Bangladesh for Treatment of Malaria. Mohammed Rahmatullah, * Shahadat Hossan, Afsana Khatun, Syeda Seraj, and Rownak Jahan Department of Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh

[23] Ajaiyeoba EO, Ashidi JS, Okpako LC, Houghton PJ, Wright CW. Antiplasmodial compounds from Cassia siamea stem bark extract. Phytotherapy Research. 2008;22(2):254–255..

[24] Fotie J, Bohle DS, Leimanis ML, Georges E, Rukunga G, Nkengfack AE. Lupeol long-chain fatty acid esters with antimalarial activity from Holarrhena floribunda. Journal of Natural Products. 2006;69(1):62–67.

[25] Kumar S, Misra N, Raj K, Srivastava K, Puri SK. Novel class of hybrid natural products derived from lupeol as antimalarial agents. Natural Product Research. 2008;22(4):305–319.

[26] Lupeol, A Novel Anti-inflammatory and Anti-cancer Dietary Triterpene Mohammad Saleem* Mohammad Saleem, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI; * Correspondence : Mohammad Saleem, Bhat , PhD, School of Medicine and Public Health 1300 University Avenue MSC-B25, Lab # 4385 University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI, 53719, USA

[27] A guide to the Bodhisattva way of life By Śāntideva, Vesna A. Wallace, B. Alan Wallace.

[28] Bombax ceiba Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombax_ceiba)

[29] Bombax ceiba picture by By Santosh Kumar Sharma Dr. Santosh Kumar Sharma via Flickr under Creative Commons License terms See original here:http://www.flickr.com/photos/santosh_ujj/4814904838/

[30] Plant names in other languages: Porcher Michel H. et al. 1995 - 2020, Sorting Origanum Names. Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database - A Work in Progress. Institute of Land & Food Resources. The University of Melbourne. Australia.   < http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Origanum.html > (2007).

[31] Porcher Michel H. et al. 1995 - 2020, Sorting Bombax Names. Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database - A Work in Progress.  School of Agriculture and Food Systems. Faculty of Land & Food Resources. The University of Melbourne.  Australia.  < http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Bombax.html >