''Gmelina arborea'', (in English beechwood, gmelina, goomar teak, Kashmir tree, Malay beechwood, white teak, yamane ), locally known as gamhar, is a fast-growing deciduous tree in the family

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory ...

Distribution and habitat

Gmelina arborea Brahmagiri WLS AJT Johnsingh

''Gmelina arborea'' grows naturally throughout India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and in southern provinces of China. It is found at altitudes from sea level to . Since the 1960s, it has been introduced extensively as fast-growing

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

trees in Brazil, Gambia, Honduras, Ivory Coast, Malaysia, Malawi, Nigeria, the Philippines, and Sierra Leone. It is also planted in gardens and avenues.

Utilization of the species

The Lion Throne, the most important, and last surviving, of the eight royal thrones of Myanmar, now in the National Museum in Yangon, is carved from ''Gmelina arborea'' wood.

Chemistry

Lignan The lignans are a large group of low molecular weight polyphenols found in plants, particularly seeds, whole grains, and vegetables. The name derives from the Latin word for "wood". Lignans are precursors to phytoestrogens. They may play a role ...

s, such as 6" - bromo - isoarboreol, 4-hydroxysesamin, 4,8-dihydroxysesamin, 1,4-dihydroxysesamin (

gummadiol Gummadiol is a lignan hemiacetal. It can be isolated from the heartwood of ''Gmelina arborea ''Gmelina arborea'', (in English beechwood, gmelina, goomar teak, Kashmir tree, Malay beechwood, white teak, yamane ), locally known as gamhar, is a fa ...

), 2-piperonyl-3-hydroxymethyl-4-(α-hydroxy-3,4-methylenedioxybenzyl)-4-hydroxytetrahydrofuran and the 4-O-glucoside of 4-epigummadiol, can be isolated from the heartwood of ''Gmelina arborea''. The parent compounds are

arboreol Arboreol is an epoxylignan. Arboreol can be transformed by acid catalysis into gmelanone Gmelanone is a lignan found in the heartwood of ''Gmelina arborea''. Arboreol can be transformed by acid catalysis In acid catalysis and base catalysis, ...

gmelanone Gmelanone is a lignan found in the heartwood of ''Gmelina arborea''. Arboreol can be transformed by acid catalysis In acid catalysis and base catalysis, a chemical reaction is catalyzed by an acid or a base. By Brønsted–Lowry acid–base t ...

. Umbelliferone 7-apiosylglucoside can be isolated from the root. Five constituents, isolated from the heartwood of ''G. arborea'', (+)-7′-O-ethyl

, (+)- paulownin, (+)-

gmelinol Gmelinol is a lignan. (+)-Gmelinol can be isolated from the heartwood of ''Gmelina arborea''. This compound, along with four other chemicals also found in the same species, (+)-7′-O-ethyl arboreol, (+)- paulownin, (+)-epi eudesmin and (−)-β-s ...

, (+)-epi eudesmin and (−)-

β-sitosterol β-sitosterol (beta-sitosterol) is one of several phytosterols (plant sterols) with chemical structures similar to that of cholesterol. It is a white, waxy powder with a characteristic odor, and is one of the components of the food additive E499 ...

, show antifungal activity against ''

Trametes versicolor ''Trametes versicolor''also known as ''Coriolus versicolor'' and ''Polyporus versicolor''is a common polypore mushroom found throughout the world. Meaning 'of several colors', ''versicolor'' reliably describes this fungus that displays a varie ...

''.Antifungal activity of constituents from the heartwood of Gmelina arborea: Part 1. Sensitive antifungal assay against Basidiomycetes. F. Kawamura, S. Ohara and A. Nishida, Holzforschung, June 2005, Volume 58, Issue 2, Pages 189–192,

References

*GAMHAR (''Gmelina arborea''): Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Dehradun
Crop index at the Purdue University

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q311345

arborea Arborea is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy, whose economy is largely based on agriculture and cattle breeding with production of vegetables, rice, fruit and milk (notably the local milk product Arborea). Histo ...

Flora of China Flora of tropical Asia Plants used in Ayurveda Symbols of Meghalaya