Biancaea sappan

Biancaea sappan is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is native to tropical Asia. Common names in English include sappanwood and Indian redwood.[2] Sappanwood is related to brazilwood (P. echinata), and was originally called "brezel wood" in Europe.

Biancaea sappan
Leaves and fruits
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Biancaea
Species:
B. sappan
Binomial name
Biancaea sappan
(L. 1753) Tod. 1875
Synonyms
  • Caesalpinia sappan L. 1753

Disease: Twig dieback (Lasiodiplodia theobromae)[3]

This plant has many uses. It has antibacterial and anticoagulant properties. It also produces a valuable reddish dye called brazilin, used for dyeing fabric as well as making red paints and inks. Slivers of heartwood are used for making herbal drinking water in various regions, such as Kerala, Karnataka and Central Java, where it is usually mixed with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. The heartwood also contains juglone (5-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone), which has antimicrobial activity.[4] Homoisoflavonoids (sappanol, episappanol, 3'-deoxysappanol, 3'-O-methylsappanol, 3'-O-methylepisappanol[5] and sappanone A[6]) can also be found in B. sappan.

The wood is somewhat lighter in color than brazilwood and other related trees. Sappanwood was a major trade good during the 17th century, when it was exported from Southeast Asian nations (especially Thailand) aboard red seal ships to Japan.

  • Biancaea sappan leaves flower buds
  • Biancaea sappan fruits
  • Bark

References
  1. World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1998). "Caesalpinia sappan". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1998: e.T34641A9880683. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T34641A9880683.en.
  2. "sanscrit :Patranga:Caesalpinia sappan L." Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved Jul 6, 2016.
  3. "CAB Direct".
  4. Lim, M.-Y.; Jeon, J.-H.; Jeong, E. Y.; Lee, C. H.; Lee, H.-S. (2007). "Antimicrobial Activity of 5-Hydroxy-1,4-Naphthoquinone Isolated from Caesalpinia sappan toward Intestinal Bacteria". Food Chemistry. 100 (3): 1254–1258. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2005.12.009.
  5. Namikoshi, Michio; Nakata, Hiroyuki; Yamada, Hiroyuki; Nagai, Minako; Saitoh, Tamotsu (1987). "Homoisoflavonoids and related compounds. II. Isolation and absolute configurations of 3,4-dihydroxylated homoisoflavans and brazilins from Caesalpinia sappan L". Chemical & Pharmaceutical Bulletin. 35 (7): 2761. doi:10.1248/cpb.35.2761.
  6. Chang, T. S.; Chao, S. Y.; Ding, H. Y. (2012). "Melanogenesis Inhibition by Homoisoflavavone Sappanone a from Caesalpinia sappan". International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 13 (8): 10359–10367. doi:10.3390/ijms130810359. PMC 3431864. PMID 22949866.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Sapan Wood". Encyclopædia Britannica. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

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