Acacia catechu: Scientific Description and pharmacological activities

Common Names:

in English: black catechu, black cutch, catechu, cutch, cutch tree, Jerusalem thorn, kath, Wadalee-gum tree

in Brazil: cachu, catechu, cato, cato-de-pegu, terra-japonica

in China: er cha, erh ch’a, hai er cha, hai erh ch’a, wu tieh ni

in India: alu, amirakitam, anmaram, bahushalya, balapatra, balaputra, balatanaya, cachu, carrankali, cateku, catta, cengarinali, cenkarinnali, cenkarunkali, cinkacalliyam, dantadhavana, gayatri, hihmashalya, homa, irattacaraccam, irattacaram, irattacaramaram, irulmuli, jihvashalya, jivamangalya, kaachu, kaachu mara, kacappi, kachu, kachu bili, kacu, kadaram, kaderi, kadiram, kaggali, kaggali chakke, kaggali mara, kagli, kair, kalariro, kanchu, kanpuri katha, kantaki, kanti, kapit, karai, karan-galli, karangalli, karigoli, karimgali, karinali, karingaali kaathal, karinnali, karkati, karukoli, karungali, karungnyali, karunkaali, karunkali, kasha-katti, kashu, kasku-kutta, kasu, kasukkati, kasukkatti, kat, kath, kath-kh-air, katha, katha gulabi pani, katha kala kanpuri, katha kanpuri, katha safaid, katha singapore, katha singapur, katho black (kanpuri), katir, katiram, katiravam, katiravamaram, katirmaram, kaththa safed pani, kattha, kattha (chalu), kattha (kanpuri), kattha (singapuri), kattha kala kanpuri, kattha kanpuri, kattha mashin, kavi, kayattiri, kempu khairapa jaali, kempujali, kempukayiru, kempukhair, kempukhairada, kempukhairadajali, kempukhairapajali, khair, kh-air-babul, kh-air-ka-per, khaderi, khadir, khadira, khadirah, khadiram, khadiramu, khadiravrikshaha, khadyapatri, khair, khair araung, khair gaachh, khaira, khairbabul, khairkatha, khapuram, khayar, khayer, khdira, kheera, kher, kher chhal, kher ki chaal, kher ki chal, khera, kherchal, khir, khoira, khoiru, kodam, koir, koratam, kotakam, kotam, kotankam, kotankamaram, kottha fooflee sooparee, kshitikshana, kudakkini, kuglee, kugli, kushtarhita, kushthari, kustaghna, kutakkini, kutarcalliyam, kuth, kutilakantakam, kuttakkini, laalkhair, lal-khair, lalkhair, mallasandra, medhya, mridupatrika, mrydupatrika, nalla sundra, ntakidruma, odalai, otakam, otakamaram, otam, othalei, padalamaanu, parittavam, parittavamaram, pataravatam, pathidruma, patirakam, patiram, pattiracanam, podalamaanu, podalamanu, podali-manu, podalimanu, pogamu, poogamu, prasakha, raktasara, raktasarah, sandra, saradruma, sengarungali, senkarinnali, seredu, shemi, sirumarodam, soma valka, sundra, supari chikni, sushalya, sweta khaira, tantatvanam, tantayavanam, tantiyavanamaram, tara, tare, tareda, tellatumma, tere, thareddu, tharekundi, thellathumma, tiktasara, utukkaimaram, vakrakantaka, varacunti, voadalam, vodalai, vodalam, wothalay, yajnanga, yajnangah, yajnika, yajniya

in Myanmar/Burma: nya, sha, shaji, tun-sa-se

in Nepal: khair, khayar, khayer

in Thailand: sa che, seesiat, seesiat kaen, seesiat lueang, seesiat nua

in Tibet: gsom seng-ldeng, khyi la ba ri, sen-lden, sen lden, seng-ldeng, skyer seng-ldeng, stod za, tsan-dan seng-ldeng in Kenya and Tanzania: mgenda, mgunga

Scientific Names (Synonyms)

Acacia catechu (L.f.) Willd.

Acacia catechu var. campylacantha (Hochst. ex A. Rich.) Roberty

Acacia catechu var. catechuoides (Roxb.) Prain

Acacia catechu subsp. suma (Roxb.) Roberty

Acacia catechu var. sundra (Roxb.) Kurz

Acacia catechu var. sundra (Roxb.) Prain

Acacia catechu var. wallichiana P.C. Huang

Description:

According to Flora of Pakistan

• A small or medium sized tree, up to 15 m tall, deciduous; dark grey or greyish brown bark peeling off in long strips or in narrow rectangular plates, brown and red inside. Young branches puberulous.
• Leaf bipinnate compound; stipules spiny, flattened, hooked and pointed, up to 8 mm long; rachis c. 7-17 cm long, pilose, with a large gland near the base of the petiole and often several small glands between the pinnae; pinnae 10-30 pairs, c. 1.3-3.5 cm long, pilose;
• Leaflets 16-50 pairs, c. 3-6 mm long, petiolule 1 mm long, base oblique, linear, tip obtuse to subacute, glabrous or pubescent, nerves obscure. Inflorescence 1-4-nate axillary pedunculate spike, 2.5-10 cm long;
• Peduncle c. 1.2-1.8 cm long.
• Calyx c. 1.2-1.5 mm long, campanulate, pubescent or villous outside, teeth deltoid.
• Corolla c. 2.4-3.1 mm long, villous or slightly pubescent, lobes ovate, oblong, subacute.
• Pod 5.0-8.7 cm long, c. 1.0-1.5 cm broad, flat, thin brown, shining, narrowed at the base into a c. 3-7 mm long stalk, triangular beaked at the apex, dehiscent.
• Seeds 3-10 per fruit.

According to China

• Trees, deciduous, small, 6-10 m tall. Bark split into lami­nar strips. Branchlets pubescent, often with a pair of flat, brown, hooked spines below stipules or without spines.
• Leaf glands near petiolar base and between several upper leaflets of rachis; rachis villous;
• pinnae 10-30 pairs;
• leaflets 20-50 pairs, linear, 2-6 × 1-1.5 mm, ciliate. Spikes 1-4, axillary, 2.5-10 cm.
• Flowers yellowish or white.
• Calyx campanulate, 1.2-1.5 cm; teeth deltoid, hairy.
• Petals lanceolate or oblanceolate, ca. 2.5 cm, sparsely pubescent.
• Stamens numerous. Ovary ca. 1 mm, glabrous. Legume brown, straight, strap-shaped, 12-15 × 1-1.8 cm, nitid, dehiscent, stalk 3-7 mm, apex rostrate.
• Seeds 3-10

Phytochemicals:

Dihydroquercetin, Afzelechin, (+)-Catechin, (-)-Epicatechin, Fisetin, Quercetagetin, (+)-Dihydrokaempferol, 5,7-Dihydroxy-3,6-dimethoxyflavone 5-alpha-L-arabinosyl-(1->6)-glucoside, Quercetin 3-methyl ether 7-galactosyl-(1->4)-glucoside, Axillarin 5-alpha-L-arabinosyl-(1->6)-glucoside

Pharmacological activity

Powder and decoction of root, heart-wood and flowers to treat poisoning, wounds, boils, vitiligo and skin diseases, cough, hemorrhage, diseases of mouth and teeth. Root paste tied over joints to get relief in rheumatism. Bark astringent, healing, antiseptic, antidiabetic, postpartum remedy, for the treatment of cough and sore throat, bronchial affections, dysentery, diarrhea and in healing wounds and chronic wounds; roasted and ground mixture of fruit pericarp of Sapindus mukorossi and bark powder of Acacia catechu given to cure piles; pounded mixture of bark of Acacia catechu with bark and roots of Melia azedarach applied on swellings of legs; bark decoction causes squeeze of uterus and hence is used for abortion; bark and leaves applied on abscesses. Paste with stem extract of Acacia catechu and bark of Morus alba applied to abscess due to fishing; powdered stem bark to stop bleeding from cuts and wounds; stem decoction given to treat cough. Seeds are antibacterial. Leaves juice along with milk given to cure blood dysentery.