Hydnocarpus wightiana
Encyclopedia
Hydnocarpus wightiana or Chaulmoogra is a tree in the Achariaceae
family. The oil from its seeds has been widely used in Indian medicine and Chinese traditional medicine for the treatment of leprosy
. It entered early Western medicine in the ninteenth century before the era of sulfones and antibiotics for the treatment of several skin diseases and leprosy
. The oil was prescribed for Leprosy as a mixture suspended in gum or as an emulsion
.
analysis has shown the oil to contain the following fatty acids - hydnocarpic acid, chaulmoogric acid, gorlic acid, lower cyclic homologues
, myristic acid
, palmitic acid
, stearic acid
, palmitoleic acid
, oleic acid
, linoleic acid
and linolenic acid
.
compound. It acts by being an antagonist of biotin
. The oil was used intravenously or intramuscularly in the early part of the twentiety century against leprosy. An ethyl ester
of the oil was prepared by Burroughs Wellcome and marketed in the early 1920s. This was also used intravenously for leprosy patients often producing local reactions. The oil was also often obtained directly from India by several doctors in Africa, such as the Great Rift valley
. The doctors would locally prepare ethyl esters to treat their patients. In June 1927, Burroughs Wellcome released the commercial preparation, sodium hydnocarate marketed as Alepol, which produced lesser disagreeable symptoms of pain, swelling, irritating cough and blocking of the veins. In May 1928, doctors reported cure of leprosy in some patients after treatment with alepol
The oil contains 5′-methoxyhydnocarpin an amphipathic weak acid . Although a minor component in the oil with no antimicrobial activitiy on its own, it plays a role in preventing multidrug resistance
among some bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus
. It potentiates the action of berberine
by preventing its removal from within bacteria thus leading to accumulation of berberine in the cells. Several berberis medicinal plants producing berberine also synthesize an inhibitor of the multidrug resistance pump of a human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. Berberine alkaloids, which are cationic antimicrobials produced by a variety of plants, are readily extruded by multidrug resistance pumps. They are constituents of several native american
traditional medicine
preparations. By extracting and using hydnocarpic acid only, western medicine could not utilise the action of the other ingredients of the oil which have been now shown to have synergistic antimicrobial activity.
In view of its anti-mycobacterial
activity, it has also been tried on other conditions caused by mycobacteria such as tuberculous laryngitis
.
Achariaceae
Achariaceae is a family of flowering plants, formerly consisting of 6 species in 3 genera of herb and shrubs endemic to southern Africa. More recently, the APG II system has greatly expanded the scope of the family by including many genera previously classified in the Flacourtiaceae. Molecular...
family. The oil from its seeds has been widely used in Indian medicine and Chinese traditional medicine for the treatment of leprosy
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
. It entered early Western medicine in the ninteenth century before the era of sulfones and antibiotics for the treatment of several skin diseases and leprosy
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
. The oil was prescribed for Leprosy as a mixture suspended in gum or as an emulsion
Emulsion
An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible . Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids. Although the terms colloid and emulsion are sometimes used interchangeably, emulsion is used when both the dispersed and the...
.
Physical chararecteristics and composition
The oil is semi-solid at room temperature and does not have a strong odour. Gas-liquid chromatographyGas-liquid chromatography
Gas chromatography , is a common type of chromatography used in analytical chemistry for separating and analysing compounds that can be vaporized without decomposition. Typical uses of GC include testing the purity of a particular substance, or separating the different components of a mixture...
analysis has shown the oil to contain the following fatty acids - hydnocarpic acid, chaulmoogric acid, gorlic acid, lower cyclic homologues
Cyclic homology
In homological algebra, cyclic homology and cyclic cohomology are homology theories for associative algebras introduced by Alain Connes around 1980, which play an important role in his noncommutative geometry...
, myristic acid
Myristic acid
Myristic acid, also called tetradecanoic acid, is a common saturated fatty acid with the molecular formula CH312COOH. A myristate is a salt or ester of myristic acid....
, palmitic acid
Palmitic acid
Palmitic acid, or hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature, is one of the most common saturated fatty acids found in animals and plants. Its molecular formula is CH314CO2H. As its name indicates, it is a major component of the oil from palm trees . Palmitate is a term for the salts and esters of...
, stearic acid
Stearic acid
Stearic acid is the saturated fatty acid with an 18 carbon chain and has the IUPAC name octadecanoic acid. It is a waxy solid, and its chemical formula is CH316CO2H. Its name comes from the Greek word στέαρ "stéatos", which means tallow. The salts and esters of stearic acid are called stearates...
, palmitoleic acid
Palmitoleic acid
Palmitoleic acid, or -9-hexadecenoic acid, is an omega-7 monounsaturated fatty acid with the formula CH35CH=CH7COOH that is a common constituent of the glycerides of human adipose tissue. It is present in all tissues, but generally found in higher concentrations in the liver...
, oleic acid
Oleic acid
Oleic acid is a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid found in various animal and vegetable fats. It has the formula CH37CH=CH7COOH. It is an odorless, colourless oil, although commercial samples may be yellowish. The trans isomer of oleic acid is called elaidic acid...
, linoleic acid
Linoleic acid
Linoleic acid is an unsaturated n-6 fatty acid. It is a colorless liquid at room temperature. In physiological literature, it has a lipid number of 18:2...
and linolenic acid
Linolenic acid
Linolenic acid can refer to either of two octadecatrienoic acids:*α-Linolenic acid, an ω-3 fatty acid found in many vegetable oils. The unmodified term linolenic acid most commonly refers to this substance.*γ-Linolenic acid, an ω-6 fatty acid...
.
Medical use
The active ingredient that produces antimicrobial activity has been indentified as hydnocarpic acid, a lipophilicLipophilic
Lipophilicity, , refers to the ability of a chemical compound to dissolve in fats, oils, lipids, and non-polar solvents such as hexane or toluene. These non-polar solvents are themselves lipophilic — the axiom that like dissolves like generally holds true...
compound. It acts by being an antagonist of biotin
Biotin
Biotin, also known as Vitamin H or Coenzyme R, is a water-soluble B-complex vitamin discovered by Bateman in 1916. It is composed of a ureido ring fused with a tetrahydrothiophene ring. A valeric acid substituent is attached to one of the carbon atoms of the tetrahydrothiophene ring...
. The oil was used intravenously or intramuscularly in the early part of the twentiety century against leprosy. An ethyl ester
Ester
Esters are chemical compounds derived by reacting an oxoacid with a hydroxyl compound such as an alcohol or phenol. Esters are usually derived from an inorganic acid or organic acid in which at least one -OH group is replaced by an -O-alkyl group, and most commonly from carboxylic acids and...
of the oil was prepared by Burroughs Wellcome and marketed in the early 1920s. This was also used intravenously for leprosy patients often producing local reactions. The oil was also often obtained directly from India by several doctors in Africa, such as the Great Rift valley
Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley is a name given in the late 19th century by British explorer John Walter Gregory to the continuous geographic trench, approximately in length, that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in South East Africa...
. The doctors would locally prepare ethyl esters to treat their patients. In June 1927, Burroughs Wellcome released the commercial preparation, sodium hydnocarate marketed as Alepol, which produced lesser disagreeable symptoms of pain, swelling, irritating cough and blocking of the veins. In May 1928, doctors reported cure of leprosy in some patients after treatment with alepol
The oil contains 5′-methoxyhydnocarpin an amphipathic weak acid . Although a minor component in the oil with no antimicrobial activitiy on its own, it plays a role in preventing multidrug resistance
Multidrug resistance
Multiple drug resistance or Multidrug resistance is a condition enabling a disease-causing organism to resist distinct drugs or chemicals of a wide variety of structure and function targeted at eradicating the organism...
among some bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus aureus is a facultative anaerobic Gram-positive coccal bacterium. It is frequently found as part of the normal skin flora on the skin and nasal passages. It is estimated that 20% of the human population are long-term carriers of S. aureus. S. aureus is the most common species of...
. It potentiates the action of berberine
Berberine
Berberine is a quaternary ammonium salt from the protoberberine group of isoquinoline alkaloids. It is found in such plants as Berberis Berberine is a quaternary ammonium salt from the protoberberine group of isoquinoline alkaloids. It is found in such plants as Berberis Berberine is a quaternary...
by preventing its removal from within bacteria thus leading to accumulation of berberine in the cells. Several berberis medicinal plants producing berberine also synthesize an inhibitor of the multidrug resistance pump of a human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. Berberine alkaloids, which are cationic antimicrobials produced by a variety of plants, are readily extruded by multidrug resistance pumps. They are constituents of several native american
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
traditional medicine
Traditional medicine
Traditional medicine comprises unscientific knowledge systems that developed over generations within various societies before the era of modern medicine...
preparations. By extracting and using hydnocarpic acid only, western medicine could not utilise the action of the other ingredients of the oil which have been now shown to have synergistic antimicrobial activity.
In view of its anti-mycobacterial
Mycobacterium
Mycobacterium is a genus of Actinobacteria, given its own family, the Mycobacteriaceae. The genus includes pathogens known to cause serious diseases in mammals, including tuberculosis and leprosy...
activity, it has also been tried on other conditions caused by mycobacteria such as tuberculous laryngitis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.