INTRODUCTION:

Artocarpus is a genus of approximately 60 trees and shrubs of Southeast Asian and Pacific origin, belonging to the mulberry family, Moraceae. The name Artocarpus is derived from the Greek words artos ("bread") and karpos ("fruit"). This name was coined by Johann Reinhold Forster and J. Georg Adam Forster¹.It is native to humid sub-Himalayan regions of India, South China and South-East Asia. It is cultivated in Uttar Pradesh, Bengal, Khaki Hills and Western Ghats². Artocarpus lacoocha Roxb. (Hindi: Dahu, Barhal, Beng: Dahu, Sans: Lacoocha, Eng: Monkey Jack) is a large deciduous tree reaching 15-18m in height with a spreading head bark roughly, gray, young shoot thin densely clothed with a soft grey, tawny and rusty to mentum. Leaves coriaceous, 10-30 by 5-15 cm, oblong, elliptic or sub ovate. The unripe fruit is hot, sour, sweet, causes tridosa impotency, loss of appetite, blood complaint. The ripe fruit is sour sweet, tonic to liver. The seed are good purgative for children (Yunani)³.

Scientific Classification:

Scientific Name : Artocarpus lacoocha.

Common Name : Launch, Barhal, Dahu, Myauklok, Hat lom, Hat non.

Synonym : Artocarpus cumingianavar, Artocarpus mollies Miq., Artocarpus ovatus Blanco.

Family: Moraceae

Kingdom: Plantae

Division: Tracheophyta

Class: Magnoliophyta

Order: Rosales

Genus: Artocarpus

Vernacular Names:-Monkey jack(English); Lakuchi (Indian);Dheu; Badhal; Dahe, Barhal (Hindi); Naka-renu (Kannada); Tinippalavi (Tamil); Lakuchamu (Telugu)⁴.

Morphology:-

Artocarpus lacoocha is a large deciduous tree reaching 15-18 m in height with a spreading head.

Leaves: Leaves alternate, 10-25 cm long, elliptical, pointed and leathery.

Flower : Flowers unisexual-male and female flowers in separate spherical heads but on the same tree. Male flowers are yellow-orange while the female are reddish.

Fruit : Fruit is a sincere (the entire female inflorescence forms a fruit), irregularly rounded, green when young, turning yellow at the time of maturity, later brown. The size differs but the diameter is typically 5-10 cm while fruit weights 200-350 g. The number of seeds/fruit varies accordingly, but typically there are 10-30 per fruit.

Seed : Seeds irregular and vary in size like the fruits. At maturity, most seeds are about one cm long, more or less flattened and pointed at the embryo end, the seed-coat is thin and white. The seeds contain sticky white latex³.

Geographic Distribution :

Artocarpus species are mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia. Artocarpus heterophyllus (jack fruit) is believed to be originated in the rain forests of India. Artocarpus lacoocha is widely distributed in the tropical regions of south and south-east Asia, mainly Nepal, Srilanka, India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand. In Thailand the plant is commonly called as 'Ma-haad'⁴.

Chemical Constituents :

The heartwood contains artocarpin, nor-artocarpin, norcycloartocarpin, cycloartocarpin, resorcinol, and oxyresveratrol, β-sitosterol.

ETHANOPHARMACOLOGICAL USES :

Artocarpus lacoocha Roxb (Syn: A. lacucha Buch.-Ham.) is a member of the family Moraceae and is cultivated in Uttar Pradesh, Bengal, Khasi Hills and Western Ghats. It is called Monkey Jack in English and in Ayurveda it is called Lakuch, Kshudra Panas, Granthiphala and Pitanaasha. Bark when applied externally, draws out purulent matter; heals boils, cracked skin and pimples. Seeds are purgative, haem-agglutinating. Anti-bacterial A.lacoocha possessed several similar properties such as blood type agglutination⁴. Oxyresveratrol, isolated from heartwood of A. lacoocha has shown moderate anti-herpes simplex virus activity and anti-HIV activity against a wild type human immune deficiency virus type 1³.

Nutritional Value of Lacoocha :

A 1993 nutritional analysis quoted in the book, “Nutritive Value of Indian Foods” lists the nutritional composition of monkey jack as follows:

73 Kcal

90g Moisture

2g Protein

1g Fat

1g Mineral

3g Fiber

67mg Calcium

25mg Phosphorous.

TRADITIONAL MEDICINAL USES :

Lacoocha is one of the only fruits with so few traditional medicinal applications. In fact, the book, “Indian Herbal Remedies” explains how one of the most famous Indian sages, Sushruta, discarded lacoocha as a medicine. According to him and to other Indian healers, lacoocha retarded sperm growth and “disturbed body functions.” Many practitioners regard lacoocha as difficult to digest and as a metabolic disruptor.

However, some traditional remedies do incorporate the fruit and the plant derivatives: when combined with goat milk and other herbs, lacoocha may treat dysentery, arthritic swelling, prevent skin diseases and clean wounds. Indian healers apply its bark topically to draw out poisons from the body. The stems are also a potent vermifuge, used to eradicate tapeworms. The bark in powder form is applied to sores to draw out purlement matter. The seed and bark of the plant are reported to be effective in the treatment of stomach and liver disease⁵.

Genus Artocarpus Various Species in India:-

The genus Artocarpus belongs to the family Moraceae which comprises of about 60 genera and over 1000 species. Many of these species are used as a source of food and in traditional medicinal practices. Artocarpus species are known for its large edible fruit with high nutritive values. The important species belonging to this genus are Artocarpus heterophyllus, Artocarpus altilis, Artocarpus hirsutus, Artocarpus lacoocha and Artocarpus camansi⁴. All Artocarpus species are laticiferous trees or shrubs that are composed of leaves, twigs and stems capable of producing a milky sap. The fauna type is monoecious and produces unisexual flowers¹.

Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. (Jack Fruit):

Synonym: Artocarpus brasiliensis Ortega., Artocarpus maximus Blanco., Artocarpus nanca Noronha (nom inval.).

Chemical Constituents:

Jackfruit seeds are rich in protein. The fruit is also rich in vitamin B₆, potassium, calcium, and iron.

Biological Activity :

Chemical Analysis and Nutritional Assessment of Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. (Jack Fruit) Defatted Seeds used as Additive in Feed for Clariasgariepinus post juveniles⁶.

Artocarpus Altilis (Breadfruit):-

Synonym: Artocarpus communis, Artocarpus incises.

Chemical Constituents: flavonoids, stilbenoids, arylbenzofurons and Jacalin, a lectin.

Biological Activities:-

Anti-tubercular,Anti-plasmodial, Anti-atherogenic, Anti-atherosclerotic, Skin Lightening Agent, Antioxidant Agent, Anthelmintic⁷.

Artocarpus camansi (Breadnut):

Synonym: Chataigne or castaña in the Caribbean, pana de pepita, kamansi in the Philippines, and kapiak in New Guinea⁸.

Artocarpus hirsutus Lam.:-

Synonym: Aini, Aini-maram, Aani, Anhili, Anjili, Hebbalasu⁹.

Artocarpus integer Spreng :

Synonym: Artocarpus champeden (Thunb.) Merr., Artocarpus polyphema Pers¹⁰.

Artocarpus nobilis Thwaites:-

Synonym: Artocarpus pubescent Moon, Saccus nobilis Kuntze

Chemical Constituent:

Artocarpus nobilis contains prenylated flavonoids, xanthonoids in its root bark, geranylated phenolic compounds in its fruits, geranylchalcones in its leaves and pyranodihydrobenzoxanthones isolated from the bark¹¹.

Pharmacological Activity:-

1) Anti-diarrheal activity :

The study revealed that, the methanolic extract of the Artocarpus lacoocha leaves at dose of 100 and 200mg/kgb.w, shows significant anti diarrhoel activity in Castrol oil induced diarrhea in animals. The extract reduced the frequency and severity of diarrhea in test animals¹²..

2) Anti-inflammatory Activity :

The methanolic extract of Artocarpus lacoocha leaves exhibited significant anti-inflammatory effects at 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd hour and also 200 mg / kg dose showed 64.90 % inhibition on comparision to indomethacin (69.86 %)¹¹.

3) Analgesic Activity :

The methanolic extract of Artocarpus lacoocha leaves showed significant analgesic activity against indomethacin. The oral administration (both dose of 100 and 200mg / kg b.w,) of Artocarpus lacoocha leaves extract significantly (P<0.05) inhibited (29.63 % and 57.41 %) writhing response respectively¹¹.

4) Anti-bacterial activity:-

The anti-bacterial activity of methanolic extract of Artocarpus lacoocha fruit pericarp was tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa by agar well diffusion method. In this study, the extract has shown inhibition of test bacteria in a concentration dependent manner. Among bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus was found to be more susceptible to extract followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It appears that, the overall bacteria were found to be sensitive to extract¹².

5) Cytotoxic Activity:-

The methanolic extract of Artocarpus lacoocha was tested for cytotoxic activity by using brine shrimp lethality bioassay method. Artocarpus lacoocha leaves extract displayed strong toxicity potentially. LC₅₀value of the extract was very potent 2.83 ± 0.11µg/ml respectively^11.

6) Anthelmintic Activity:-

The anthelmintic activity of the methanolic extract of Artocarpus lacoocha fruit pericarp exhibited marked anthelmintic effect by causing paralysis followed by death of worms and the effect was found to be dose dependent¹².

7) Insecticidal Activity :

Different concentrations of methanolic extract of Artocarpus lacoocha fruit pericarp was evaluated against second and third instar larvae of Aedesaegypti. The larvae were found concentration dependent. Among larvae, second instar larvae were shown to be more susceptible than third instar larvae¹².

8) Antioxidant Activity :

Antioxidant activity of different concentrations of methanolic extract of Artocarpus lacoocha fruit pericarp and Ascorbic acid was evaluated by DPPH free radical assay. The extract exhibited marked antioxidant activity by scavenging DPPH (free radical) and converting into DPPHH and the activity was found to be dose dependent. The scavenging activity of ascorbic activity was greater than that of methanolic extract. The IC₅₀ of extract and ascorbic acid was found to be 49.42 and 06.09 µg/ml respectively¹³.

9) Pancreatic lipase Inhibitory Activity:-

Inhibitory activity of different concentrations of methanolic extract of Arocarpus lacoocha fruit pericarp on chicken pancreatic lipase was determined using olive oil as the substrate. It was found that the activity of lipase was drastically affected when incubated with the extract¹.

REFERENCE:

1. https://en.wikipedi a.org/wiki/Artocarpus

2. Prashith Kekuda. T.R., Raghavendra. H.L., Mallikarjun. N., Venugopal. T.M, Anil Kumar. H.S. Investigated the Elemental Composition, Anticariogenic, Pancreatic Lipase Inhibitory and Cytotoxic Activity of Artocarpus Lacoocha Roxb Pericarp. International Journal of Drug Development and Research, Volume 4(1): 330 -336, January-March 2012.

3. Piyush Gowtam and Ramesh Patel. Artocarpus lacoocha Roxb: An overview. European Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, volume 1(1):10-14, 2014.

4. Akhil Hari, Revikumar. K.G, Divya. D. Artocarpus: A Review of its Phytochemistry and Pharmacology, Journal of Pharma Search, Volume 9 (1): 7 -12, 2014.

5. http://www.fruitsinfo.com/lakoocha-fruit.php#Nutritional-Value

6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackfruit

7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breadfruit

8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artocarpus_camansi

9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artocarpus_hirsutus

10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artocarpus_integer

11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artocarpus_nobilis

12. Mst. LuthfunNesa, Shirajum Munira, Anamika Sultana Bristy, Md. Monirul Islam, Habibullah Chayan et al., are studied the Cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, CNS depressant, antidiarrhoeal activities of the methanolic extract of the Artocarpus Lacoocha leaves. World Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Volume 3(2): 167-174; 2015.

13. Supwatchara Singhatong, Donrawee Leelarungrayub and Chaiyavat Chaiyasut. Antioxidant and toxicity activity of heartwood extract Artocarpus lacoocha Roxb. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research, Vol. 4(10): 947-953, 18 May, 2010.

Received on 03.10.2016 Modified on 26.10.2016

Res. J. Pharmacology & Pharmacodynamics.2016; 8(4): 181-184.

DOI: 10.5958/2321-5836.2016.00033.1