''Tetradium ruticarpum'' is a tree that comes from China and Korea. It was previously classified in the genus '' Euodia'' as ''Euodia ruticarpa''. The fruit is usually used, denoted sometimes as ''fructus''. It has a strong bitter taste, and is used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and is a recognized herb in Kampo. Both the former genus name and the species name are often misspelled, and the plant usually appears in sources dealing with traditional Chinese medicine as "''Evodia(e) rutaecarpa''".

Production

Cultivation

''Tetradium ruticarpum'' is grown mainly in China.

Harvesting

The fruit is picked. It may be consumed as food.

Traditional medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...

the herb is described as a fruit.

Kampo

''Tetradium ruticarpum'' is called in Japanese, used in ''Goshuyu-tou'' and ''Unkentou'' ( :ja:温経湯). These are Kampo (漢方) preparations of mixed herbs, the former named after this plant. The mixture is noted for having a high concentration (132.6 to 706.3 mmol/100 g) of antioxidants, where the other constituents of the mixture rank lower.

Contraindications

Allergic reactions have occasionally been reported in users of medicinal preparations of the plant.

Biochemical analysis

There has been relatively little scientific study of ''Tetradium ruticarpum'' except for antioxidant capacity of one of its mixtures. Notable compounds in ''T. ruticarpum'' include:

alkaloids Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar st ...

: * rutecarpine, an

indole alkaloid Indole alkaloids are a class of alkaloids containing a structural moiety of indole; many indole alkaloids also include isoprene groups and are thus called terpene indole or secologanin tryptamine alkaloids. Containing more than 4100 known differe ...

that is a COX-2 inhibitor * 0-hydroxyrutaecarpine *

evodiamine Evodiamine is a chemical compound extracted from the plant genus ''Tetradium'', which has been shown to reduce fat uptake in mouse studies. It is suspected that its mechanism of action is similar to that of capsaicin. As such, it has been include ...

, a possible thermogenic agent and stimulant, named after the former name of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

* dehydroevodiamine * synephrine, an adrenergic receptor agonist * 1-methyl-2-n-nonyl-4(1H)quinolone * evocarpine * dihydroevocarpine

flavonoids Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...

: * isorhamnetin-7-O-rutinoside * diosmetin-7-O-β-d-glucopyranoside In rats, the half-lives of most of these compounds was found to be relatively short, between 0.5 - 2 hours.

Variants

There are a few variants: * var. officinalis * var bodinieri (Dode) Huang

References

* * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q10919698 Zanthoxyloideae Flora of China Flora of Korea