Sengkerlit (Aglaia tenuicaulis) — Edible Plant

Summary

Aglaia tenuicaulis is a species of plant in the family Meliaceae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and possibly the Philippines.

Description

A tree. It grows 10-15 m tall. The trunk is 10 cm across. Plants are separately male and female. The fruit is a flattened round shape and yellow to brown. It is 1.5-3 cm long by 2.5 cm wide. There are 2 seeds.

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw. A sweet flavour. The yellow or orange-brown, subglobose fruit can be 15 - 30mm long and up to 25mm wide, containing up to 2 seeds that are each surrounded by a translucent, sweet flesh.

Traditional Uses

The flesh around the seeds is eaten.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

The genus 'Aglaia' is the only source of the group of about 50 known representatives of compounds that bear a unique cyclopenta[b]tetrahydrobenzofuran skeleton. These compounds are more commonly called rocaglate or rocaglamide derivatives, or flavaglines, and most have been found to have potent insecticidal properties, antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial or anthelmintic bioactivity. Several of them exhibit pronounced cytotoxic activity against a range of human cancers. Since the first representative in this group was only discovered in 1982, this is one of the few recent examples of a completely new class of plant secondary metabolites of biological promise (see B. G. Wang et al., Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 32: 1223-1226. 2004; L.W. Chaidir et al., J. Nat. Prod. 64: 1216-1220. 2001).

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. It grows up to 1,000 m above sea level.

Where It Grows

Asia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, SE Asia, Singapore,

Cultivation

A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Other Uses

The genus 'Aglaia' is the only source of the group of about 50 known representatives of compounds that bear a unique cyclopenta[b]tetrahydrobenzofuran skeleton. These compounds are more commonly called rocaglate or rocaglamide derivatives, or flavaglines, and most have been found to have potent insecticidal properties, antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial or anthelmintic bioactivity. Several of them exhibit pronounced cytotoxic activity against a range of human cancers. Since the first representative in this group was only discovered in 1982, this is one of the few recent examples of a completely new class of plant secondary metabolites of biological promise (see B. G. Wang et al., Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 32: 1223-1226. 2004; L.W. Chaidir et al., J. Nat. Prod. 64: 1216-1220. 2001). The sapwood is a pale brown or a pale pinkish-brown.