Helicteres isora
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|image= HelicteresIsora.jpg
|image_caption = Flower
|genus = Helicteres
|species = isora
|authority = L.
|synonyms = *Helicteres baruensis var. ovata DC.
- Helicteres chrysocalyx Miq. ex Mast.
- Helicteres corylifolia Buch.-Ham. ex Dillwyn
- Helicteres grewiaefolia DC.
- Helicteres isora var. glabrescens Mast.
- Helicteres isora var. microphylla Hassk.
- Helicteres isora var. tomentosa Mast.
- Helicteres macrophylla Wight ex Wight & Arnold
- Helicteres ovata var. fructus-regis Lam.
- Helicteres ovata var. isora-murri Lam.
- Helicteres roxburghii G. Don
- Helicteres versicolor Hassk.
- Isora corylifolia Schott & Endl.
- Isora grewiaefolia (DC.) Schott & Endl.
- Isora versicolor Hassk.
- Ixora versicolor Hassk.
|synonyms_ref = {{Cite web|url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-2843218|title = Helicteres isora L. — the Plant List}}
}}
Helicteres isora, sometimes called the Indian screw tree, is a small tree or large shrub found in southern Asia and northern Oceania. It is usually assigned to the family Malvaceae,{{cite web|url=http://www.malvaceae.info/Classification/overview.html|title=Classification of Malvaceae: Overview|last=Hinsley|first=S.R.|date=2006|publisher=malvaceae.info|access-date=2019-07-17}} but it is sometimes assigned to the family Sterculiaceae. The red flowers are pollinated mainly by sunbirds, butterflies, and Hymenoptera.{{cite journal|author=Atluri, J. B., Rao, S. P. and Reddi, C. S.|title= Pollination ecology of Helicteres isora Linn. (Sterculiaceae)|journal=Curr. Sci.| year=2000| volume=78| pages=713–718| url=http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Downloads/article_id_078_06_0713_0718_0.pdf}}Warrier, P. K., Nambiar, V. P. K., & Ramankutty, C. (1994). Indian medicinal plants: A compendium of 500 species (Vol. 3). Orient Blackswan. 132-135Ahuja BS. Medicinal plants of Saharanpur (1965), Vedicbooks.net, 40-41Trivedi PC, Ethanobotany,2002; Sur, RR and Halder AC; 146-168 In the 19th century fibers from the bark were used to make rope and sacks, although nowadays the tree is harvested for the fruits and roots which are used in folk medicine.{{Cite journal|last1=Cunningham|first1=A.B.|last2=Ingram|first2=W.|last3=Brinckmann|first3=J.A.|last4=Nesbitt|first4=M.|date=2018|title=Twists, turns and trade: A new look at the Indian Screw tree ( Helicteres isora )|journal=Journal of Ethnopharmacology|language=en|volume=225|pages=128–135|doi=10.1016/j.jep.2018.06.032|pmid=29944892|s2cid=49430100 }}
Common names
- Sanskrit - Avartani, avartphala
- Hindi - Marorphali (मरोड़ फली ), bhendu, jonkphal
- English - Indian screw tree, East Indian screw tree, deer's horn
- Marathi - Kewad, muradsheng (मुरुड शेंग)
- Bengali - Antamora (আঁতমোড়া)
- Gujarati - Maradashingh
- Kannada - Yedmuri
- Tamil - {{Transliteration|ta|valampuri}} (வலம்புரி)
- Telugu - {{Transliteration|te|valambiri}} (వలంబిరి); {{Transliteration|te|vadambiri}} (వడంబిరి)
- Malayalam - {{Transliteration|ml|Idampiri valampiri}} (ഇടംപിരി വലംപിരി|ഇടംപിരി വലംപിരി)
- Thai - S̄amunpra pai ka bid (สมุนไพรปอกะบิด)
- Sinhala - Liniya (ලීනිය){{Cite web|url=http://www.instituteofayurveda.org/plants/plants_detail.php?i=1276&s=Family_name|title = Ayurvedic Plants of Sri Lanka: Plants Details}}
Other vernacular names include mochra, mudmudika, kurkurbicha, sinkri, valumbari, yedamuri, pita baranda, balampari, guvadarra, pedamuri, ishwarmuri, murmuriya, and vurkatee.{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mBB_aRjQIo0C&pg=PA132 |title = Indian Medicinal Plants: A Compendium of 500 Species|isbn = 9788125003021|last1 = Warrier|first1 = P. K.|year = 1993}}Kirtikar KR, Basu BD. (1995) Indian medicinal plants. Vol. 1. Dehradun, India: International book distributors; 371–2 In Indonesia it is called buah kayu ules or ulet-ulet on Java.Satake, T., Kamiya, K., Saiki, Y., Hama, T., Fujimoto, Y., Kitanaka, S., ... & Umar, M. (1999). Studies on the Constituents of Fruits of Helicteres isora L. Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin -Tokyo-, 47, 1444–1447. Odia: Modi modika( ମୋଡି ମୋଡ଼ିକା)
Description
H. isora is a small tree or large shrub, five to eight metres in height. It has grey bark and alternately arranged, hairy, ovate leaves with serrate margins. Its flowers are brick red or orange-red, and its fruits are green when raw, brown or grey when dried, and twisted, with a screw at its pointed end. Seeds of the plant are black or brown and are highly polished, roughly rhomboid, and rectangular or triangular. Pollinators of the flower include the jungle babbler, the golden-fronted leafbird, the ashy drongo, and the white-bellied drongo.{{cite journal|last1=V|first1=Santharam|title=Visitation Patterns of birds and butterflies at Helicteres isora Linn. (Sterculiaceae) clump|journal=Current Science|date=25 Feb 1996|volume=70|pages=316–319|url=http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Downloads/article_id_070_04_0316_0319_0.pdf}}
File:Helicteres isora dried fruits.jpg|Dried fruits of H. isora
File:(Helicteres isora) East Indian screw tree seed at Kambalakonda 05.JPG|Fruits of H. isora at Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary, Visakhapatnam
File:Hisora-fruits-on cm scale.jpg|Dried, ruptured fruits of H. isora (with centimetre scale)
File:Helicteres isora-Indian screw tree 02.jpg|flower
File:Helicteres isora-Indian screw tree 08.jpg|flowers
Distribution
Economic importance
Phytochemistry
H. isora is a rich source of antioxidants, carbohydrates, proteins, fibre, calcium, phosphorus, and iron.Gayathri, P., Gayathri Devi, S., & Sivagami Srinivasan, S. S. (2010). Screening and Quantitation of Phytochemicals and Nutritional Components of the Fruit and Bark of Helicteres isora. Hygeia journal for drugs and medicines, 2(1), 57-62. Active phytoconstituents include gallic acid, caffeic acid, vanillin, and p-coumaric acid.Jain Amita, Sinha Prakriti; Desai Neetin S.; (2014) Estimation of flavonoid, Phenol content and antioxidant potential of Indian screw tree (Helicteres isora L.); International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research (4):1320–1330.Raaman, N., & Balasubramanian, K.(2012) Antioxidant and anticancer activity of Helicteres isora dried fruit solvent extracts. Journal of Academic and Industrial Research (1), 148-152. Cucurbitacin b and isocucurbitacin b have been isolated from the roots.Bean, M. F., Antoun, M., Abramson, D., Chang, C. J., McLaughlin, J. L., & Cassady, J. M. (1985). Cucurbitacin B and isocucurbitacin B: cytotoxic components of Helicteres isora. Journal of Natural Products, 48(3), 500-500. Additionally, Satake et al. (1999) isolated rosmarinic acid and their derivatives; isoscutellarein and their derivatives; D-glucopyranosyl isorinic acid with rosmarinic acid; helisterculins A and B; and helisorin.
Medicinal value
The fruits and roots of H. isora are used in traditional medicine systems of Asia, Iraq and South Africa, where they are credited with having value in treatment of a wide variety of conditions, including gastrointestinal disorders, diabetes, cancer, and infections. There appear to have been no scientific investigations of these beliefs. However, laboratory studies have confirmed that both bacteria and cancer cells may survive less well in the presence of extracts of the fruits.{{Cite journal|last=Pradhan|first=Madhulika|date=2008|title=In-vitro cytoprotection|journal=Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology|volume=1|pages=450–452}}{{Cite journal|last=Shiram|first=V|date=2010|title=Antibacterial and antiplasmid activities of Helicteres isora L.|journal=Indian Journal of Medical Research|volume=132|pages=94–99}} Animal studies have shown that extracts of the roots can improve glucose tolerance in diabetic rats.{{Cite journal|last1=Venkatesh|first1=Sama|last2=Madhava Reddy|first2=B.|last3=Dayanand Reddy|first3=G.|last4=Mullangi|first4=Ramesh|last5=Lakshman|first5=M.|date=2010|title=Antihyperglycemic and hypolipidemic effects of Helicteres isora roots in alloxan-induced diabetic rats: a possible mechanism of action|journal=Journal of Natural Medicines|language=en|volume=64|issue=3|pages=295–304|doi=10.1007/s11418-010-0406-9|pmid=20238178|s2cid=26989028|issn=1340-3443}}{{Cite journal|last1=Venkatesh|first1=Sama|last2=Dayanand Reddy|first2=G.|last3=Reddy|first3=Y.S.R.|last4=Sathyavathy|first4=D.|last5=Madhava Reddy|first5=B.|date=2004|title=Effect of Helicteres isora root extracts on glucose tolerance in glucose-induced hyperglycemic rats|journal=Fitoterapia|language=en|volume=75|issue=3–4|pages=364–367|doi=10.1016/j.fitote.2003.12.025|pmid=15158996}}