Acacia rossei Yellowdine wattle – adhesive precursors for synthesis of useful compounds Agathis australis tree Copal gum timber for boat building Anacardium humile Monkey nut tree Gum – mainly galactose 5, flavonoids, alkaloids in the leaves Astragalus gummifer Milk vetch Gum tragacanth cosmetics, aromatherapy, food: edible coating improving shelf life Bauhinia purpurea Orchid tree Edible gum 5, pharm Bauhinia variegata Purple orchid tree Gum 5, 6, animal fodder Bixa orellana Lipstick tree Bark – water-soluble gum 8 Boswellia serrata Indian frankincense Fragrant gums or resins that are burned as incense varnish Butea monosperma Flame of the forest Butea gum or ‘Bengal kino’ 5, 8 Ceratonia siliqua Carob Carob bean gum pharmaceuticals, food Cistus ladanifer labdanum covered with sticky exudate of fragrant resin; gum cistus fixative Combretum erythrophyllum Hiccup nut Gum exuded by the plant prevents hot glue from setting while it cools vermifuge, timber Commiphora myrrha Myrrh gum pharmaceuticals Commiphora schimperi Glossy-leaved corkwood good surfactant; detergent manufacture 3, pharmaceuticals utilis Milk tree, souva All of the plant are rich in white and sweet latex food Ferula communis Giant fennel Gum ammoniac, incense, edible gum pharmaceuticals
Ferula tingitana giant Tangier fennel Medical gum resin ammoniacum from root pharmaceuticals Liquidambar styraciflua American sweetgum Gum from bark, liquid amber or copalm balsam. Styrax is used to make chewing gum cosmetics, pharmaceuticals Liquidambar formosana Chinese sweet gum Gum resin, excreted from the wounds of the tree, chewed like chewing gum timber Mammea americana Mammee apple Gum from bark 5, insecticide Myoporum platycarpum sandalwood Resin substituted for pitch and sealing wax timber Opopanax chironium Sweet myrrh Opopanax: rare costly resin, incense pharmaceuticals Parthenium argentatum Guayule Resin for glue, industrial 7, biofuel, particleboard orientalis Oriental spruce Spruce gum food Pinus caribaea Pitch pine Gum resin 5, 7, timber Styrax benzoin Sumatran benzoin benzoin resin, obtained by wounding tree food, pharmaceuticals Xanthorrhoea australis Grass tree Resin for varnish, lacquer, incense adhesive * Numbers refer to tables 1–8. Tannins Tannins are used primarily for manufacturing leather but also have applications as dyestuffs, corrosion inhibitors, to promote flow of liquids in pipes, and as pharmaceutical products. Plants containing tannins in reasonable quantities are listed in Table 5. Tannins were formerly used to manufacture inks and for producing adhesives. Table 5 Plants containing tannins Species Common name Effect Other uses Acacia dealbata Silver wattle Bark: 16–36% tannins 1, 4, 6
Garcinia lateriflora Bolivian mangosteen Seeds contain 8–9% oil pharmaceuticals Gevuina avellana Chilean hazel Oil rich in linolenic and ecosaenoic acid 5, food, cosmetics Laurus nobilis Bay leave 28% oil; lauric acid 54% 3, condiment Lecythis ollaria Paradise nut Seed 63% oil; oil potent haemostatic agent; 5–10% selenium in oilcake 5, seed edible Limnanthes douglasii Meadow foam Seed oil yield 30%; eicosanoic acid 1 Lunaria annua Honesty plant 30–38% oil; rich in nervonic and erucic 1, pharmaceuticals Melia azedarach Chinaberry Oil suitable for illumination; oleic acid 48.6–69.0%, palmitic acid and stearic acid 13.4–27.5% insecticide Moringa oleifera Drumstick tree Seed oil 43%; 70% oleic acid, cooking oil 1, 11, plant growth enhancer, food, biofuel, animal feedstock, Nephelium lappaceum Rambutan Seed oil 39%: oleic and arachidic acid major fatty acids - 36% 3, 6, pharmaceuticals Nitraria schoberi Nitre bush Seed oil: linoleic acid 62%, palmitic, oleic and myristic acids pharmaceuticals, food, influence synthesis of silver & gold nanoparticles Pangium edule Football tree Oil good for cooking oil (after heat treatment), oleic acid 45%, linoleic 39%; biodiesel (very low cloud and pour edible fruit (after cooking)
point), soap and illuminant Pappea capensis Jacket plum Seeds rich in edible, non-drying & viscous oil (about 74%) used for making soaps and oiling guns 1, pharmaceuticals, Pistacia chinensis Chinese pistachio Seed oil 35% used for biodiesel; oleic acid 47.32%, linoleic acid 31.58%, 5, 8, food Ricinodendron heudelotii Groundnut tree Seed kernel 47% oil w/w; drying, usable in varnish and soft soap; waterproofing; stearic 48–56%; linoleic acid 25–30% – cooking oil and margarine 8, food, pharmaceuticals Shorea robusta Sal 14.8% oil also used as illuminant and vegetable fat; seed 14% fat; 35–45% stearic acid and oleic acid replacing plastic; oilcake 50% starch, animal feed, preparing canned food, good timber Stokesia laevis Stokes aster Seed 27–44% oil; 64–79% vernolic acid coating industries, plasticisers and stabilisers * Numbers refer to tables 1–8. Terpenes/latex Acacia resins are usually mixtures of diterpenes. These lipid-soluble materials are used in a number of minor applications, primarily as adhesives that might be useful for manufacturing wood products. Plants containing terpenes are listed in Table 7. Some diterpenes may serve as relatively versatile precursors for synthesis of other groups of useful compounds. The most useful derivative from the terpenoids is natural rubber (from guayule, dandelion). Some industrial materials are classified as ‘strategic’ or critical to national defence. Natural rubber is one of these materials. 45%
7 Plants containing terpenes/latex Species Common name Effect Other uses* Parthenium argentatum Guayule Rubber for tyres, latex for medical gloves, wetsuits 4, biofuel, particleboard orientalis Spruce gum Turpentine is obtained from the bark and branches 4, edible Pinus caribaea Pitch pine 20% turpentine can be manufactured from the oleoresin 4, 5, timber cembra Swiss pine 20% turpentine obtained from oleoresin pine nuts Pinus pinaster Maritime pine Turpentine obtained from the resin 2, rosin Strophanthus preussii Poison arrow Latex of the plant is used for coagulating the latex of Funtumia elastica when making rubber pharmaceuticals Taraxacum Russian dandelion Roots – rubber tea, coffee Willughbeia coriacea Borneo rubber Inferior quality rubber food * Numbers refer to tables 1–8. Dyes A dye is a coloured substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is applied. Plants containing dyes are listed in Table 8. The dye applied in an aqueous solution requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fibre. Natural dyes are dyes or colourants derived from plants, invertebrates or minerals. The majority of natural dyes are vegetable dyes from plant sources — roots, berries, bark, leaves and wood — and other organic sources, such as fungi and lichens. 8 Plants containing dyes
Catharanthus roseus Madagascar periwinkle Anthelmintic ajamalicine, serpentine & reserpine Calycanthus floridus Carolina allspice Insect repellent camphor, pregeijerene Cistus ladanifer Labdanum Insecticide labdanum Combretum erythrophyllum Hiccup nut Deworming dogs apigenin, kaempferol Cymbopogon martinii Palmarosa grass Anthelmintic against nematodes, antifungal & mosquito repellent geraniol Cymbopogon nardus Blue citronella Insect repellent; alternative to commercial antibiotics for aquaculture citronellal Ferula tingitana Tangier fennel Insecticide silphion, tingitanol Gaultheria fragrantissima Fragrant wintergreen Anthelmintic against hookworms methyl salicylate Hedysarum coronarium Sulla Anthelmintic (grazed) antibloating, high quality forage Mammea americana Mammee apple, South American apricot Insecticide mammein Pachyrhizus erosus Mexican yam Insecticide rotenone Pangium Football fruit Treatment of external skin parasites rynocardin Pappea capensis Jacket plum Purgative for cattle tannins, saponins cembra Swiss pine Anthelmintic pinene, phellandrene pinaster Maritime pine Anthelmintic terpenes Sapindus saponaria Wingleaf soapberry Improve ruminal volatile acids profile, microbial efficiency & duodenal flow of microbial protein in sheep saponins Sassafras albidum Sassafras Insect repellent safrole
Boronia megastigma Brown boronia Perfume essential oil – flowers Boswellia serrata Indian frankincense Incense gums and resins (US$250/kg) Calycanthus floridus Carolina allspice Perfume essential oil – flowers, leaf extract Caryocar glabrum Soapwood Cosmetics seed oil Chimaphila umbellata Pipsissewa Perfume flavonoids Cistus ladanifer Labdanum Fixative for perfume leaf oil Commiphora myrrha Myrrh Perfume, incense resin from dry tree sap (US$250/kg) Commiphora schimperi Glossy-leaved corkwood Perfume, incense essential oil, gum Cyperus rotundus Nutgrass Perfume essential oil from root Eriodictyon californium Yerba mate Skin repair polyphenols, leaf 1% caffeine Eucalyptus macarthurii Camden woolybutt Perfume leaf oil Ferula communis Giant fennel Incense gum, inflorescence oil Gaultheria fragrantissima Fragrant wintergreen Perfume, hair oil essential oil Gevuina avellana Chilean hazel Cosmetic, sunblock seed oil Homoranthus virgatus Honey bush Perfume essential oil Hyssopus officinalis Hyssop Perfume essential oil – leaves Limnanthes douglasii Meadow foam Carrier/base oil seed oil Liquidambar styraciflua American sweet gum Perfume resin Moringa oleifera Drumstick tree Perfume from flowers, oil as cosmetic base 1, 6, food, plant growth enhancer, animal feed