''Ochrosia oppositifolia'' grows as a small to medium-sized tree up to tall, with a trunk diameter of up to . Its flowers feature a creamy to white
corolla. Its habitat is coastal forest, bush or open areas to altitude, rarely inland. Local medicinal uses include as a
carminative A carminative, also known as carminativum (plural carminativa), is a herb or preparation intended to either prevent formation of gas in the gastrointestinal tract or facilitate the expulsion of said gas, thereby combatting flatulence.
Name
The wo ...
and in high doses as an
abortifacient
An abortifacient ("that which will cause a miscarriage" from Latin: ''abortus'' "miscarriage" and '' faciens'' "making") is a substance that induces abortion. This is a nonspecific term which may refer to any number of substances or medications, ...
.
''Ochrosia oppositifolia'' is native to regions from the
Seychelles
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...
through tropical Asia to the Pacific.
[
Oppositines are ]vasorelaxant
Vasodilation is the widening of blood vessels. It results from relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls, in particular in the large veins, large arteries, and smaller arterioles. The process is the opposite of vasoconstriction, ...
beta-carboline
β-Carboline (9''H''- pyrido ,4-''b'' ndole) represents the basic chemical structure for more than one hundred alkaloids and synthetic compounds. The effects of these substances depend on their respective substituent. Natural β-carbolines prima ...
s isolated from ''Ochrosia oppositifolia''.
References
oppositifolia
Plants used in traditional African medicine
Chagos Archipelago
Trees of Seychelles
Trees of Indo-China
Trees of Malesia
Trees of Papuasia
Trees of the Pacific
Plants described in 1783
{{Apocynaceae-stub