INTRODUCTION:

The Artocarpusheterophyllus Lam. is a species of tree of themulberry family Moraceae, known by othernames jackfruit. Artocarpus species are evergreen ordeciduous small to largemonoecious trees; with all parts containwhite latex Leaves are spirally arranged or alternate, simple.

Inflorescence is unisexual, flowers arenumerous and are densely packed together, embedded in thereceptacle, the perianth enclosing a single ovary or stamen, usuallymixed with abundant stalked inter floral bracts; male head withperianths tubular and bi lobed or perforate above to 2-4-partite, stamens short to long exerted; female heads with perianths tubularthin walled below and enclosing ovary, thick walled above witha narrow lumen containing the style; perianths persisting and partiallyor completely fixed with one another to form syncarp, ovaryunilocular, style apical to lateral, simple or bifid.¹

It is a large, evergreen tree, 10-15m in height, indigenous to the evergreen forestsat altitude of 450-1,200m and cultivatedthroughout the hotter parts of India²andalso found in central and eastern Africa, southeastern Asia, the Caribbean,Florida, Brazil, Australia, Puerto Rico and many Pacific islands³. The plants of Artocarpus species have been used by traditional folk medicine in Indonesia against inflammation, malarial fever, stomachache, ulcers, diarrhoea, dysentery, abscesses, defective urinary secretion, skin disease ^4,5 and asthma ^6.

Plant Profile:^7,8

Synonyms:Artocarpus integer, Artocarpusintegrifolius

Common Names:Jackfruit, Jak-Fruit,Jak, Jaca

In Malaysia and the Philippines: nangka;

In Thailand : khanun;

In Cambodia : khnor;

In Laos : mak mi or may mi;

In Vietnam : mit

TAXONOMICAL CLASSIFICATION:

Artocarpusheterophyllus Lam.

Kingdom : Plantae-Plants

Subkingdom :Tracheobionta-Vascular plants

Superdivision :Spermatophyta-Seed plants

Division :Magnoliophyta-Flowering plants

Class : Magnoliopsida-Dicotyledons

Subclass : Hamamelidae

Order : Urticales

Family : Moraceae - Mulberry family

Genus : Artocarpus J.R. Forst. & G. Forst.

Species : Artocarpusheterophyllus Lam. - Jackfruit

Description:

The tree is handsome and stately, 30 to 70 ft. (9-21 m) tall, with evergreen, alternate, glossy, somewhat leathery leaves to 9 in (22.5 cm) long, oval on mature wood, sometimes oblong or deeply lobed on young shoots. All parts contain a sticky, white latex. Short, stout flowering twigs emerge from the trunk and large branches, or even from the soil-covered base of very old trees. The tree is monoecious: tiny male flowers are borne in oblong clusters 2 to 4 in (5-10 cm) in length; the female flower clusters are elliptic or rounded. Largest of all tree-borne fruits, the jackfruit may be 8 in to 3 ft (20-90 cm) long and 6 to 20 in (15-50 cm) wide, and the weight ranges from 10 to 60 or even as much as 110 lbs (4.5-20 or 50 kg). The "rind' or exterior of the compound or aggregate fruit is green or yellow when ripe and composed of numerous hard, cone-like points attached to a thick and rubbery, pale yellow or whitish wall. The interior consists of large "bulbs" (fully developed perianths) of yellow, banana-flavored flesh, massed among narrow ribbons of thin, tough undeveloped perianths (or perigones), and a central, pithy core. Each bulb encloses a smooth, oval, light-brown "seed" (endocarp) covered by a thin white membrane (exocarp). The seed is 3/4 to 1 1/2 in (2-4 cm) long and 1/2 to 3/4 in (1.25-2 cm) thick and is white and crisp within. There may be 100 or up to 500 seeds in a single fruit. When fully ripe, the unopened jackfruit emits a strong disagreeable odor, resembling that of decayed onions, while the pulp of the opened fruit smells of pineapple and banana⁸.

Phytochemistry:

The Artocarpusheterophylluscontains various chemical constituents as several flavones colouring matters, morin, dihydromorin, cynomacurin, artocarpin, isoartocarpin, cyloartocarpin, artocarpesin, oxydihydroartocarpesin, artocarpetin, norartocarpetin, cycloartinone and artocarpanone⁹. The heart wood on analysis yields moisture 6.7%, glucosides 38.0%, lipids 0.7%, albumin 1.7% and cellulose 59.0 %¹⁰. The plant also contains free suger (sucrose), fatty acids, ellagic acid and some essential Amino acids like Arginine, Cystine, Histidine, Leucine, Lysine, Metheonine, Theonine, Tryptophan etc¹¹. Bark from main trunk contains betullic acid and two new flavone pigments, cycloheterophyllin (C₃₀H₃₀ O₇)¹². Triterpenic compounds like cycloartenyl acetate, cycloartenone are also reported¹³. Heterophylol,a phenolic compound with novel skeleton was obtained from Artocaipusheterophyllus¹⁴. There is only 3.3% tannin in the bark, which is occasionally made into cordage or cloth. The leaves and stem show the presence of sapogenins, cycloartenone, cycloartenol, β-sitosterol¹⁵ and tannins, they show estrogenic activity. A root contains β-sitosterol,ursolic acid, Betulinic acid and cycloartenone¹⁶.

Jacalin, the major protein from the Artocarpusheterophyllus seeds, is a tetrameric two-chain lectin combining a heavy chain of 133 amino acid residues with a light β chain of 20-21 amino acid residues. It is highly specific for the O-glycoside of the disaccharide Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen (Galβ1- 3GalNAc), even in its sialylated form. This property has made jacalin suitable for studying various O-linked glycoproteins, particularly human IgA1¹⁷. Jacalin's uniqueness in being strongly mitogenic for human CD4⁺ T lymphocytes has made it a useful tool for the evaluation of the immune status of patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus HIV-1¹⁸. Two novel 2', 4', 6'--trioxygenatedflavanones, heteroflavanones A and B were isolated from the root bark of Artocarpusheterophyllus. Their structures were elucidated as 5hydroxy-7,2’,4',6’—tetra methoxyflavanone and 8-(γ,γ-dimethylallyl)5-hydroxy-7,2',4',6'-tetramethoxyflavanone^19,20. Three phenolic compounds were characterized as artocarpesin [(5, 7, 2', 4'-tetrahydroxy-6-β-methylbut-3-enyl) flavone], norartocarpetin (5,7,2', 4’-tetrahydroxyflavone) and oxyresveratrol (Trans- 2,4,3',5'-tetrahydroxystilbene) by spectroscopic methods and through comparison with data reported in the literatures²¹. The anti-inflammatory effects of these isolated compounds were evaluated by determining their inhibitory effects on the production of proinflammatory mediators in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells. These three compounds exhibited potent anti-inflammatory activity²².

The composition of carotenoids of A.heterophyllusis carotenes β-carotene, α - carotene, β-zeacarotene, α-zeacarotene and β-carotene-5, 6-epoxide and a dicarboxylic carotenoid, crocetin were identified²³.

Jackfruit contains vitamin A, vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, calcium,potassium, iron, sodium, zinc, and niacin among many othernutrients. Jackfruit has a low caloric content²⁴.Another benefit of eating jackfruit is that it is a good source ofvitamin C²⁵.Jackfruit also contains phytonutrients such as lignans, isoflavones, andsaponins²⁶.

Traditional uses:

The leaves are useful in fever, boils, wounds and skin diseases. The young fruits are acrid, astringent, and carminative. The ripe fruits are sweet, cooling, laxative, aphrodisiac and also used as a brain tonic. The seeds are, diuretic, and constipating. The wood is nervine, anti diabetic, sedative and is useful in convulsions²⁷.The latex is useful in dysopia, ophthalmic disorders and pharyngitis and also used as antibacterial agent²⁸. The ash of Jackfruit leaves is used in case of ulcers. The dried latex yields artostenone, convertible to artosterone, and a compound with marked androgenic action. Mixed with vinegar, the latex promotes healing of abscesses, snakebite and glandular swellings²⁹. The root is a remedy for skin diseases and asthma. An extract of the root is taken in cases of fever and diarrhea. The bark is made into poultices. Heated leaves are placed on wounds. The wood has a sedative property and its pith is said to be abortifacient. Latex is used as an anti-inflammatory agent³⁰.

Pharmacology:

The summary of finding of the pharmacological investigations of ArtocarpusHetrophyllus are presented below. Although many activities of the plant has been identified so far, a lot more activities can still be explored and utilized in a therapeutic manner.

Antidiabetic activity and antihyerlipidemic activity:

The aqueous leaves extract of Artocarpus Heterophylluswhen supplied to diabetic rats for 21 daysshow reduction in serum glucose, total cholesterol, and increased the level of high density lipoprotein indicating antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic property³¹

The anti-diabetic activity of flavonoid fraction of hot water extract of Artocarpusheterophyllusleaves and the hypoglycemic effect of the flavonoid fraction (49%) is higher than that of tolbutamide (27.0%)³².

Theantidiabetic and antioxidant activity of aqueous fruit extract of AtrocarpusHetrophyllus.Studies show the fruit hasantidiabetic activitymeasured by inhibition of haemoglobinglycation.³³

Hypoglycaemic and Hypolipidaemic Effects of an Ethylacetate Fraction of ArtocarpusheterophyllusLeaves and the extract showanti diabetic activity when compared with a standard drug Glibenclamide and it also show antihyperlipidaemic activity³⁴

The potential hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activities of Artocarpusheterophyllus(jack fruit) leaf extracts of both 70% ethanol extract and n-butanol extracts. From the study it is concluded that ethanolic and butanolic extract exert anti diabetic and antihyerliedimicactivity through an antioxidative pathway that might be referred to their flavonoid contents³⁵

TheIn Vitro Anti diabetic Activity methanolic extracts of bark of Cinnamomumzeylanicum , leaves of Piper betle, leaves of Artocarpusheterophyllus and fruit of Artocarpusaltilis.The results of the work indicate that the selected plants possessed considerable invitro anti diabetic activity³⁶

Analgesic and Immunomodulator activity:

The Analgesic and Immunomodulator activity ofmethanolic and aqueous leaves extract of ArtocarpusheterophyllusLam .studies indicate that the methanolicextract of the leaves of plant possess analgesic and immunomodulator activity which is justified by Eddy's hot plate and Swimming endurance test.³⁷

Antioxidant activity:

antidiabetic and antioxidant activity of aqueous fruit extract of AtrocarpusHetrophyllus .Studies show that fruit has antioxidant activity which is measured by hydroxl radical and hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity, and chellating effect of ferrous iron³³

Thecomparative evaluation for in vitro Antioxidant activity from Artocarpusheterophyllus Lamk and alanitesaegyptiacaL.The antioxidant activity is 12.34 % for acetone extract from the seed of Artocarpuswhereas, chloroform extract of the sameshowed 14.87% inhibition.³⁸

The antioxidant potential of ethanolic extract of bark of Artocarpusheterophyllus. DPPH radical scavenging assay and Superoxideradical scavenging assay were performed using ascorbic acid as standard. Hydroxy radical scavenging assay, Nitric radical assay and Hydrogen peroxide assay were studied with curcumin as standard.Reducing power assay was carried out with BHT as standard.Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant capacity was also investigated.The results of different in vitro antioxidant activity assays indicated that the bark extract possessed appreciable free radical scavenging effects.³⁹

Antibacterial activity:

The crude methaolic extracts of the stem and root, barks, stem and root heart-wood, leaves, fruits and seeds of Artocarpusheterophyllusand their subsequent partitioning with petrol, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and butanol gave fractions that exhibited a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity. The butanol fractions of the root bark and fruits were found to be the most active⁴⁰. Methanolic extracts of 13 plants were studied for their antibacterial activity against cariogenicbacteria. Among them,the extract of artocarpusheterophyllusshowedthe most intensive activity .²⁸

The Artonin E has been isolated from artocarpusrigidablume showed antimicrobial activity against Escheria Coli and Bacillus Subtillis. Therefore this compound has possibility to be used as antibiotic⁴¹Investigation on the antibacterial effect of nanosized particles of Jackfruit seed against E.coliand B.megateriummicrobes reveals the efficacy of jackfruit seed nanoparticles as an antibacterial agent⁴².

Wound healing activity:

The study indicates that the ethyl acetate extract of the leaves of A.heterophyllus possesses potential wound healing activity on ex-vivo porcine skin wound healing model⁴³.

Cardio protective activity:

The study indicates that the ethyl acetate extract of the leaves of A.heterophylluspossesses potential cardio protective activity on the lactose induced arrhythmia of the Daphnia heart without any toxicity and mortality⁴⁴.

Anti-ulcer activity:

The studies suggest that the methanolic extract of the leaves of artocarpushetrophyllus show antiulcer activity by inhibition of indomethacin-induced gastric ulceration, decreasing concentration of acid in gastric content and increasing pH of gastric contents⁴⁵

Hemagglutination Activity:

The proteins (lectins)isolated from seeds and testa of Artocarpusheterophyllus showed significant hemagglutination activity. The lectins have antioxidant property and anti-inflammatory effects also. They showed hemagglutination activity in presence of bacteria⁴⁶.

Anti-Cancer Property:

Methanolic extract of Artocarpusheterophyllusseeds were studied for its cytotoxic activity against A549, Hela and MCF-7 cell lines and showed excellent toxicity on cancer cells and was nontoxic to normal cells.⁴⁷

CONCLUSION:

The present review discusses the significance of Artocarpushetrophyllus asa valuable source for medicinally important compounds besides its edible fruit which is a store house of minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and other nutrients. The medicinal importance of the herb as discussed aboveevidently prove that the plant is one of the most promising commercial botanical with earlier reported to possess a lot of therapeutic values.The jackfruit still isa rather an untapped source for many biological activities; however, at the same time it also opens up new avenues for novel therapeutics for fighting dreaded disease.

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Received on 11.11.2017 Modified on 28.11.2017

Res. J. Pharmacology and Pharmacodynamics.2018; 10(1): 24-28.

DOI: 10.5958/2321-5836.2018.00005.8