Delonix regia (Gulmohar) – A Review

 

Bhagyashri C. Patel, Sandhya R. Chavhan, H.P. Suryawanshi*, R. A. Ahirrao

P.G.College of Pharmaceutical Science and Research, Chaupale, Nandurbar,(MS) India

 INTRODUCTION

The genus Delonix belongs to the Fabaceae family, which is subdivided into the Caesalpinioideae subfamily. This genus contains trees that are indigenous to East Africa and Madagascar. The Poinciana species (D. regia) is the most well-known. The name of the genus comes from the Greek words "deros," which means "obvious," and "onyx," which means "claw," alluding to the petals.[1] Delonix stands tall, unarmed. Ten declinate, long-exerted, free stamens are present. Anther homogeneous and filaments below villose. Sub sessile ovary with many ovules. A truncate, ciliolate stigma and filiform style are present. The seedpod is dehiscent, woody, elongated, and flat. Transverse and oblong seeds are used.[2] Native to East Africa, the genus comprises blooming trees whose leaves are used to cure newborn pneumonia and bronchitis as well as rheumatism and stomach ailments in traditional Indian medicine.[3,4]

History:

Madagascar is where the tree originated. Today, it may be found in most tropical and subtropical regions of the world. In tropical India's wet and dry regions, it is more commonly planted as an avenue tree and garden tree. Despite being extensively grown in tropical regions since the 1800s, scientists were unaware of Delonix Regia's original environment until the 1930s.Botanist Wensel Bojer finds it in its native Madagascar in the early 1800s. It was brought to Singapore in the year 1840. [5, 6]

Different Species of Gulmohar: [7]

D. decay (Flamboyant Tree)

D. decaryi (Flamboyant Tree)

D. elata (White Gul Mohur)   

D. floribunda (Poinciana)

D. leucantha (Poinciana)        

D. pumila (Poinciana)

D. regia (Flamboyant)

D. regia 'Kampong Yellow' (Flamboyant Tree)

D. regia 'Smathers Gold' (Royal Poinciana)

 

Table No.1: Delonix Regia's Indian Synonyms [8, 9]

Language	Name
Hindi	Waykaran, Samrsro, Sanesro, Sandeshra
Kannada	Kempukenjiga, Nirangi, Vatanarayana
Marathi	Sanchaila, Sankasura
Sanskrit	Siddesvara
Tamil	Perungondrai, Vadanarayanan, Varatti
Telugu	Chinna seribiseri, Chitti keshwaramu
Bengali	Krishnachura, Chura, Radha

           

Table No.2: Delonix Regia’s International Synonyms [10]

Language	Name
Amharic	Dire Dawa Zaf
Arabic	Goldmore
Burmese	Seinban
Creole	Poinciana Royal
English	Flamboyant, Flame Tree, Flame Of The Forest, Gold Mohar,Gulmohar,Julu Tree, Peacock Tree, Royal Poinciana
French	Flamboyant, Poinciana Royal
Hindi	Gulmohar
Spanish	AcaciaRoja,Clavellino,Flamboyant,FlorDe Payo,Framboyan,Guacamaya,Josefina,Morazan,Poinciana
Swahili	Mjohoro,Mkakaya
Thai	Hang Nok Yung Farang
Vietnamese	Phuong
Yoruba	Sekeseke

           

 

Taxonomical Classification: [11]

Domain: - Eukaryota

Kingdom: - Plantae

Subkingdom: - Viridaeplantae

Phylum: - Tracheophyta

Subphylum: - Euphyllophytin

Class: -Spermatopsida

Subclass: - Rosidae

Super order: - Rosanae

Order: - Fabales

Family: - Leguminosae

Subfamily: - Caesalpinioideae

Tribe: - Caesalpinieae

Genus: - Delonix

Specific: - epithet regia - (Hook.) Raf.

Botanical name: - Delonix regia (Hook.) Raf.

 

Table No.3: Delonix Regia’s Flowering Season [12]

                                               

Botanical Description:

Gulmohar is a flowering ornamental tree. Generally speaking, Gulmohar trees are 10-15 (maximum 18) metres tall. All of the stems are woody, whether they are spreading, ascending, erect, or decumbent. Young twigs and stems have minimal or no elaboration. Large, angled, and buttressed trunk that faces the base. [13–14]

Seeds:

Seeds 30-45, hard, greyish, shiny, 2 cm long, oblong, very similar in shape to date seeds, with bony seed coat. Mottled laterally. Weight about 0.4g. [15]

Figure 01: Seeds of Delonix Regia

Leaf:

Compound leaves have a pinnate form and are distinguished by their brilliant, alternating green colour. They have two pinnate. Twenty to forty pairs of primary leaflets, each further subdivided into ten to twenty pairs of secondary leaflets, adorn each 30- to 50-centimeter-long leaf. [16]

Figure 02: Leaf of Delonix Regia

Branches:

Broad umbrella-shaped branches, lateral branches having a diameter larger than the tree's height. [16]

Figure 03: Branch of Delonix Regia

Bark:

Lenticels abound in its smooth, grey-brown, somewhat cracked bark. Light brown colour within bark. [17]

Figure 04: Bark of Delonix Regia

Fruit (pods):

Green and pliable while young, they become dark brown and become hard, woody, and measure 30 to 50 cm in length, 3.8 cm in thickness, and 5-7.6 cm in width before breaking briefly. The seed chambers are divided horizontally and subsequently split into two halves without dehiscing. [17]

Figure 05: Fruit of Delonix Regia

Root:

Flat. [18]

Figure 06: Root of Delonix Regia

 

Flowers:

One large, white-striped petal, five large, reddish orange petals. Four spreading scarlet or orange-red petals, up to 8 cm long; a fifth upright petal, referred to as the standard, is slightly larger and has spots of yellow and white. The other petals are all comparable in size and colour. The fifth sepal is thick, green on the outside, crimson inside, and has a golden rim. It is sharply pointed, finely hairy, and measures roughly 2.5 cm in length when the flower opens. Five stigmas, ten crimson stigmas. The 1.3 cm long, hairy, unicellular ovary of the pistil is hairy. Roughly three centimetres in length. [19, 20, 21 22]

Fig.No.7: Flower of Delonix Regia

Phytoconstituents:

i. Stem bark:

Flavanoids, alkaloids, Saponins, sterols, stigmasterol, carotene, hydrocarbons phytotoxins, beta sitosterol, lupeol, p-methoxybenzaldehyde, iso lupeol, carotene, phenolic acids. [23, 24]

ii. Root bark:

Glycosides, tannins, alkaloids, sterols, terpenoids and carbohydrates. [25]

iii.Flowers:

Flavanoids,tannins,alkaloids,saponins,steroids,carotenoids[lycopene,phytoene,beta carotene,prolycopene,neolycopene],phenolic acid[gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, salicylic acid, transcinammic acid and chlorogenic acid], anthocyanins [cyanidin-3-glucoside and cyanidin-3-gentiobioside and beta sitosterol.[23,26,27]

iv. Leaves:

Leupol, phenolic acids [gallic acid], protocatechuic acid and salicylic acid] and beta sitosterol. [26, 27]

v. Seeds:

Saponins and galactomannons. [27, 28]

Propagation:

Delonix Regia Propagation Altitude 0-2000 m, Mean Annual Temperature 14-26 deg C, Mean Annual Rainfall, Well-drained Soils (clay to sandy, however sandy soils are preferred), Full Sun >700 mm and works well in subtropical and tropical climates. Seeds are the most prevalent method of propagation. Hard, woody testa seeds are ideal since they require a long time to germinate. While it typically takes 12–349 days for seeds to germinate, they can remain in the soil for up to two years without doing so. In order to break this dormancy, seeds are gathered, boiled in hot water for at least twenty-four hours, and then sown in nursery beds without shade. The seeds need five to ten days to germinate. Plants that are 20 to 25 cm tall can be transplanted, as they grow quickly. Natural regrowth occurs frequently. Cuttings are another way that trees can be multiplied. [29]

Pharmacological Profile:

i.Anti-diabetic activity:

A study using a leaf methanol extract shown a substantial oral hypoglycemic effect in mice with induced hyperglycemia. [30]

ii. Antibacterial activity:

Delonix regia possesses the ability to combat bacteria. S. epidermis and S. subtitles are the most vulnerable bacteria. The aqueous extracts are less effective than the methanol extracts. [30]

iii. Anti-Diarrheal Activity:

In rats with charcoal-induced motility tests, prostaglandin, and artificially produced diarrhoea, ethanol extract of D. regia exhibited dose-dependent antidiarrheal activities. To assess the anti-diarrheal efficacy in vivo, induce enter pooling. [30]

iv. Cytotoxic and Hepatoprotective Activity:

The results of the study indicated that an ethanolic extract of D. regia separated four flavonoids (quercitrin, quercetin, rutin, and iso quercitrin), three sterols (Ãϸ-sitosterol, stigmasterol, and its 3-O-gucoside), and an amino acid. This investigation's findings demonstrated cytotoxic action. By scavenging free radicals using flavonoids, D. regia also shown hepatoprotective effects. [30]

v. Antibacterial Activity:

In antimicrobial screening, a methanolic extract of D. regia demonstrated substantial inhibition of S. paratyphi growth and moderate inhibition of S. aureus, S. typhi, and S. dysenteriae. Additionally, D. regia inhibited C. albicans and S. cerevisiae. [30]

vi. Anti-Inflammatory Activity:

Using rat paw edoema models generated by carrageenan and cotton pellet granuloma, the study demonstrated the anti-inflammatory action of D. regia leaves. The study's findings demonstrated a strong anti-inflammatory effect. [30]

vii. Wound-Healing Activity:

To investigate the impact on wound healing, flower extracts of Delonix regia were produced in both ethanolic and aqueous forms. Wistar albino rats served as the test subjects. The two types of wound models were excision and incision. The rate of wound contraction, the length of the epithelization phase, the tensile strength, and the measurement of the skin's hydroxy proline content were used to evaluate the healing process. The healing process is markedly enhanced by the ethanolic and aqueous extracts. [31]

viii. Gastrointestinal-Protective Activity:

In an experimentally produced ulcer model, the ethanolic extract of the Delonix regia flower was prepared and its potential for gastro protection was examined. Numerous factors were observed, including the ulcer index, the PH of the gastric juice, the percentage of protection in each model, the stomach volume, the free acidity, and the total acidity in the model of gastric ulceration caused by pylorus ligation. The ethanolic extract of Delonix regia exhibited Gastroprotective effects in a model that was dependent on dosage. [32]

ix. Anthelmintic Action:

Three different concentrations of the Delonix regia flower extract—25, 50, and 100 mg/ml—were taken of the aqueous and methanolic forms. It was reported that the worms' paralysis and death times have been determined. As the normal medication, piperazine citrate (10 mg/ml) was given, and distilled water was taken as the control. While the methanolic extract has the most anthelmintic activity, both the aqueous and methanolic extracts exhibit significant anthelmintic activity. [33]

x. Larvicidal Activity:

When the extracts of Delonix regia were tested against Culax quinquefasciatus larvae in their third and fourth in stars, they proved to be efficacious at greater concentrations. Extracts from the flowers of Delonix regia shown a marked decrease in the percentage of eggs hatching. [34]

xi. Antioxidants Activity:

The radical scavenging effect on the DPPH [1, 1- diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl] free radical was used to measure the radical scavenging activity of leaf and floral extracts. In tubes with labels, 3 milliliters of DPPH solution (0.004% methanol) was combined with 1 milliliter of various extract concentrations. A UV-visible spectrophotometer was used to detect the optical density at 517 nm after the tubes were incubated in the dark for 30 minutes at room temperature. [35]

Uses:

i. Leaves:

As A Purgative and In Rheumatism. Delonix Regia flowers are used to treat dysmenorrhea [36, 37]

ii.Seed:

The seed is used in cases of inflammation, "ear ache," and chest complaints. It is also carminative, purifying, and enhancing the blood. [38]

iii.Bark:

Used To Treat A Variety Of Illnesses, Including Wound Healing, Rheumatic Joint Pain, and Gastric Issues. [39]

iv.Stem:

The Delonix Regia Stem Was Added to the Conversion Process as a Food and Fuel Source. [40]

v.Over Plant:

The Delonix Regia plant is used to treat a variety of conditions, including pneumonia, Anaemia, inflammation, bronchitis, joint pain, and diabetes. [41]

Table No.4: Traditional Uses of Different Parts of D. Regia

Part	Uses
Bark	Antiperiodic, Febrifuge [42]`
Plant	Rheumatism, Spasmogenic [42] , Cathartic, Flatulence [44] , Emetic, CNS Depressant and In the Treatment of Anemia and Fever [45]
Flowers	Anthelmintic[42] , Insecticidal [43] , Gynecological Disorders or Dysmenorrhoea, Febrifuge, Inflammation, Diarrhoea [46-49]
Leaves	Bronchitis and Pneumonia in Infants [50] , Anti-Diabetic [51] , Gastric Problems, Body Pain, and Rheumatic Joints Pain [52]
Root	Abdominal Pain [53]

 

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Delonix regia is a decorative plant found worldwide. Both traditional and therapeutic uses exist for its plant parts. Numerous therapeutic properties of Delonix regia have been demonstrated by recent research, including antioxidant, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, wound-healing, antiarthritic, larvicidal, antimalarial, antiemetic, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antidiarrheal, antihemolytic, diuretic, and anthelmintic activity. Gulmohar is important economically as well.

 

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