Cenderai Tree

Overview

Microcos tomentosa has its native range is south China to west and central Malesia. The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of fibre and wood. The raw fruit is edible. The fibrous bark can be used to make ropes. The wood is light in weight, strong and elastic. It is used for indoor construction and is suitable for making tool handles, agricultural implements and sporting goods. The wood is also used for fuel and to make charcoal.

Vernacular Names

Grewie paniculée (French), Senderai (Malay), Cò ke (Vietnamese).

Agroecology

Found in evergreen forest. Moist deciduous and evergreen forests; in Java and Malaysia it is very common but scattered in secondary forest; at elevations from sea level to 600 metres.

Morphology

• Stem - the bole can be up to 40 cm in diameter, often branching from low down and often fluted.
• Fruit - a globose to ellipsoid drupe with a hairy, leathery skin, it is 10-15 mm long and 5-10 mm wide.

Cultivation

Generatively propagated by seed.

Chemical Constituents

Triterpenoids, steroids, sesquiterpenoids, alkaloids, saponin, flavonoid, phenolic compounds, friedelin, 3-friedelinol, -sitosterol, stigmasterol, syringaldehyde, E-ferulaldehyde, scopoletin, oleanolic acid, 3 -O-trans-ferulyl-2,23-dihydroxy-olean-12-en-28-oic acid, dan 6 -O-hexadecanoyl-D-glucosyl-sitosterol.

Traditional Medicinal Uses

• A decoction of the roots is used in the treatment of coughs.
• In northeastern Thailand, its root and stem are used as an ingredient in herbal decoctions to treat jaundice, while in the south its leaves are employed to treat herpes simplex and herpes zoster.
• In Bangladesh, the plant has been used to treat inflammation, respiratory disorders, fever, and diarrhea.
• Its extracts were shown to possess antibacterial, antidiarrheal, and cytotoxic activities