Aleurites moluccana (L.) Willd.: general characteristics, pharmacology and phytochemical

• Autor(a) principal: Fukuda de Castilho, Pamella
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Outros Autores: Pires de Oliveira, Kelly Mari, Gomes da Silva Dantas, Fabiana
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Evidência - Ciência e Biotecnologia - Interdisciplinar
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.unoesc.edu.br/evidencia/article/view/21528
• topic: Noz-da-Índia; Plantas medicinais; Atividades biológicas; Noz-da-Índia; Medicinal plants; Biological activities

Aleurites moluccana, belonging to the Euphorbiaceae family, is native to Indo-Malaysia but has been introduced in several countries and in Brazil it has adapted well to the South and South-west. It is popularly known by several names, such as: “Castanha Purgativa”, “Castenheira”, “Nogueira da Índia” and “Noz-da-Índia”. As for its morphology, it is considered a medium sized tree and contains  fruits with large seeds of rough and oily aspect. Its favorable climate is tropical, however, it also develops in subtropical and semiaridregions, as the soil is able to settle in muds, sandy, slopes and even ravines. The adaptation of this plant to various conditions is one of the explanations of its wide geographical distribution. A. moluccana leaves, bark, trunk, sap and seeds are traditionally used for food, ornamentation and housing. In addition, A. moluccana has great prominence in folk medicine, being used in the treatment of ulcers, conjunctivitis, inflammation, cicatrization and analgesia. In this sense, this plant has become the objective of studies on its chemical components in order to find these secondary metabolites that have these pharmacological activities.