This is the climax family of Sapindales with a number evolutionary reduction in flower characters.
Distinguishing features
Resins, tannins and or gums, intrastaminal disc, unilocular ovary and drupaceous fruit.
This is mostly a tropical family containing 875 species included in 70 genera.
Useful plants
A. General uses
The family is a rich repository of medicines, edible nuts, resins, lacquer and tannins.
Fruits and Nuts
1.Anacardium (ana = inverted; cardium = heart, alluding to the heart shape of the swollen edible pedicel of fruit) A. occidentale Linn. is the source of Cashew nut. The swollen pedicel is used for making beverages like “Feni” in Goa and the nut shell yields valuable lipids of use in medicine. Cashew nut shell liquid is a mixture of phenolic compounds with aliphatic side chains, and these are 70% anacardic acid, 5% cardanol, and 18% cardol [57] . It is used as a raw material to high value specialty chemicals. C.N.S.L. has innumerable applications in polymer based industries such as friction linings, paints and varnishes, laminating resins, rubber compounding resins, cashew cements, polyurethane based polymers, surfactants, epoxy resins, foundry chemicals and intermediates for chemical industry. Fungicides, pesticide, insecticide, brake linings, paints and primers, foundry chemicals, lacquers, cements, specialty coatings and resin. The application of CNSL component in bacteriostatic antibiotics is recently gaining attention. It is also an alternative fuel for diesel engine.
2.Mangifera (manga is the name of the fruit in South Indian languages and therefore Mangifera is the plant bearing mango). Mangifera indica Linn. is the source of the fruit, mango.
3.Pistacia (pistake in Greek means pistachio nut) P. vera is the source of pistachio nuts.
P.lentiscus Linn. P. cabulica Stocks yield mastic, a resin used for varnish.
The resin gets collected in the cavities of the inner bark and exudes naturally; the exudation is often enhanced by incisions. The solidified resin is available in the form of yellow brittle tears or plates. Mastic contains less than 2% volatile oil and so sometimes counted as a hard resin. The volatile oil consists chiefly of d-pinene and the resin is of triterpene acids like masticadienoic acid. Also present in the resin are triterpene alcohols such as tucallol. One of the oldest and expensive resins, mastic is used to prepare a. pale varnish employed for painting, lithography and perfumery. In medicine it is used as a pharmaceutic aid.
4. Spondias (10) S. dulcis Sonn., S. mombin Linn. and S. purpurea Linn. yield fruits Otaheite Mombin and Spanish plum respectively.
Otaheite is the fruit of Spondias dulcis (S.cytheria) oval in shape, 6–9 cm (2.4–3.5 in) long, are borne in bunches of 12 or more on a long stalk. turn golden-yellow as they ripen. may be eaten raw; the flesh is crunchy and a little sour. it has a pineapple-mango flavor. The flesh is golden in color, very juicy, vaguely sweet, but with a hint of tart acidity. The fruit is made into preserves and flavorings for sauces, soups, braised and stews.
Spanish plum (Spondias purpurea) was grown widely from Mexico to the northern region of South America. The fresh fruit has a very pleasant taste and its consumption is increasing. It is a valuable but economical raw material for the preparation of soft drinks, preserves and syrups and is also eaten as a dried fruit.
5.Rhus (classical Latin name for R. coriaria – 200) R. coriaria Linn., R. glabra Linn., R. typhinaLinn., R. copallina Linn. etc give Sumac from leaves, which is a source of tannin
Sumac The dry leaves of Rhus glabra L., R. typhina L. and R. copalhna L., natives of N. America, are extensively used as tanning materials. The amount of tannins present in the leaves varies from 10 to 35%. The principal tannin component is hepta/nona-O-galloyl-D-glucose as in the case of Chinese tannin. Sumac tannin is used in soft leather industry.The galls produced in the leaves of Rhus chinensis Mill (R. semialata) due to the attack of Aphis chinesis yield the chinese tannin of commerce.
Toxicodendron vernicifluum (formerly Rhus verniciflua[1]), also known by the common name Chinese lacquer tree,[1][2][3] is an Asian tree species of genus Toxicodendron native to China and the Indian subcontinent, and cultivated in regions of China, Japan and Korea.
Sap, containing urushiol (an allergenic irritant), is tapped from the trunk of the Chinese lacquer tree to produce lacquer. This is done by cutting 5 to 10 horizontal lines on the trunk of a 10-year-old tree, and then collecting the greyish yellow sap that exudes. The sap is then filtered, heat-treated, or coloured before applying onto a base material that is to be lacquered. Curing the applied sap requires "drying" it in a warm, humid chamber or closet for 12 to 24 hours where the urushiol polymerizes to form a clear, hard, and waterproof surface. In its liquid state, urushiol can cause extreme rashes, even from vapours. Once hardened, reactions are possible but less common.Products coated with lacquer are recognizable by an extremely durable and glossy finish. Lacquer has many uses; some common applications include tableware, musical instruments, fountain pens,[6] jewelry, and bows for archery.
6. Schinopsis (similar to Schinus: Schinus is from Gk schinos, the name used for Pistacia lentiscus)S. lorentzii Engl. and S. balansae Engelm. yield Quebracho wood which is one of the important sources of tannin.
Quebracho (Schinopsis spp)
Considered as the most important tanstuff of America, quebracho is obtained from two species of Schinopsis ; S. lorertzii Engl. and S. balansae Englm, two native South American trees. The wood contains 40-60% tannins. This is one of the quickest acting tans and is used for all types of leathers. The wood of this plant is one of the hardest timbers.
B. Medicinal plants
1. Semecarpus anacardium Linn. (Bhilawa, Marking Nut)
This tree is a native of Asian and Australian tropics. The nut contains a variety of phenols like bhilawanol, anacardic acid, cardol, catechol, anacardol, semecarpol and a fixed oil. Bhilawanol is a catechol derivative with a C15H37 side chain, and this chain, due to the lipid nature, helps the compounds to be absorbed through the skin. The resulting colour may be due to the oxidation of catechols to orthoquinones, which in turn get polymerised to coloured
complexes. The resinous juice extracted from the nut is used to remove rheumatic pains, aches, sprains and for any sort of venereal complaint or leprosy. In small doses it is a stimulant and narcotic.
Recently it is found out that is that anacardic acids, cardols, and cardanols display varying levels of anticancer activity, but differ in effectiveness against specific cell lines and a chloroform extract of the Semecarpus anacardium nut has shown anti-tumor activity against various experimental cancer cells, e.g., B16 melanoma and leukemia L-1210 cells.26 In a more recent study, Sowmyalakshmi et al.27 found that hexane and chloroform fraction extracts of the Siddha medicine Semecarpus Lehyam (SL) were effective at reducing viability and increasing apoptosis of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines.
C. Biopesticides
1. Anacardium occidentale Linn (Kaju, Cashew nut)
Cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) is an efficientmosquito larvicide. It enhances the antimosquito activity of kerosene or high speed diesel oil. Anumber of new pesticides are prepared from the phenolic components of CNSL.
2. Schinus molle Linn. (Brazilian pepper tree)
This is a small aromatic tree, a native of Brazil & Peru. All parts of the tree are rich in an
essential oil containing limonene, 3 carene, phellandrene, thujene, pinene, sabinine etc.
Leaves & fruits are repellants to aphids
3. S. terebinthifolius Raddi, also known as pepper tree, is used similarly
D. Natural Dyes
1. Cotinus coggygria Scop. (Rhus cotinus Linn.-Tunga)
The Leaves of this plant, a native of Mediterranean and China, yield fisetin, a flavone, as the principal coloring matter, occurring as a salt of tannic acid. Also present are methyl gallate and tannins like leucofisetinidin (a flavan-3, 4-diol). It is used for dyeing wool and an
orange or scarlet color to leather. Also used for coloring foodstuffs.
2. Lannea coromandelica Merr. (Odina woodier Roxb.-Jingini, Wodier)
This is a deciduous tree of 20m, a native of India. The bark contains tannin, gum and a good amount of potassium carbonate. The fruit on boiling in water containing a little salt, gives a grey dye. The bark, used in combination with Phyllanthus emblica and Artocarpus (in equal proportions) when steeped in water for 15-20 days yields a orange dye, which gives the yarn a charcoal grey color. The bark of Lannea is also used in combination with barks ofCareya arborea and Eugenia jambolana in a similar way.
3. Mangifera indica Linn. (Am, Mango)
Mango, one of the important fruit trees of India, is a large tree native to India. The bark contains a xanthone-6-glucoside, mangiferin, and 16-20% of tannins and yields a coloring
matter which produces yellow shades on cotton, silk and wool. With turmeric and lime it produces a rose-pink color. Bark extract yields an ochre-yellow dye. The leaves yield green and yellow colors. The bark is used as an auxiliary also. The dried immature fruit is used as a mordant in dyeing with safflower and in place of acids in dyeing silk and wool. The dye is extracted in water and is used for topping turmeric dyed materials to improve fastness and with a little alum to get a greenish yellow color. It is also used to develop green color on indigo dyed materials.
Mammen Daniel
