ANCISTROCLADUS

'Ancistrocladus' is a poorly known genus of about 20 species in the monogeneric family Ancistrocladaceae.
These are palaeotropical climbing twining plants, found in lowland to submontane, wet to seasonal evergreen or swamp forests, with eleven species occurring in tropical Africa and at least five species in West India, SE Asia, Borneo and Taiwan.
The sparingly branched, sympodial stem is complex and can exceed 10 cm diameter. It is along one side attached to the tree with grapnels (short, hooked lateral thorns, formed from modified stem apices), opposite to the leaves.
Their leaves are borne in dense, evergeeen rosettes. They are entire, have short petioles and lack stipules. They have a single wax-secreting trichome in the epidermal pits and glands on the abaxial surface. The flowers are small with a basally connate corolla, that are imbricate or rolled up lengthwise. The fruit is a nut with often wing-like accrescent sepals.
Scientific interest in this genus has grown considerably because the canopy liana ''Ancistrocladus korupensis'' is considered a potential anti-AIDS source by the National Cancer Institute. Its ingredient michellamine B, an acetogenic napthyl isoquinoline alkaloid, contained in mature leaves, is the active principle. Also korupensamine E is a new antimalarial drug extracted from the same plant.
''Ancistrocladus abbreviatus'' has been used on traditional medicine in Ghana, as treatment against measles and fever. The active ingredient is ancistrobrevine D, an alkaloid extracted from this plant.
''Ancistrocline'', an alkaloid derived from ''Ancistrocladus tectorius'', is used against dysentery.
Many other alkaloids are still being found in the other species.

Contents

Species

References

Species

★ ''Ancistrocladus abbreviatus'' Airy Shaw

★
★ ''Ancistrocladus abbreviatus'' subsp. ''lateralis'' Gereau

★ ''Ancistrocladus attenuatus'' Dyer (Myanmar)

★ ''Ancistrocladus barteri'' Scott-Elliot (Guinea)

★ ''Ancistrocladus congolensis'' J. Léonard (Congo)

★ ''Ancistrocladus ealaensis'' J. Léonard (Congo)

★ ''Ancistrocladus extensus'' Wall. ex Planch. (Cambodia)

★ ''Ancistrocladus grandiflorus'' Cheek (Cameroon)

★ ''Ancistrocladus griffithii'' Planch.

★ ''Ancistrocladus guineensis'' Oliv. (Nigeria)

★ ''Ancistrocladus hainanensis'' Hayata. (Hainan, China)

★ ''Ancistrocladus hamatus'' (Vahl) Gilg (Sri Lanka)

★ ''Ancistrocladus heyneanus'' Wall. ex J. Graham (India)

★ ''Ancistrocladus korupensis'' D.W. Thomas & Gereau (Cameroon)

★ ''Ancistrocladus letestui'' Pellegr. (Gabon)

★ ''Ancistrocladus likoko'' J. Léonard (Congo)

★ ''Ancistrocladus pentagynus'' Warb.

★ ''Ancistrocladus pinangianus'' Wall. ex Planch.

★ ''Ancistrocladus robertsoniorum'' J. Léonard (Kenya)

★ ''Ancistrocladus sagittatus'' Wall. ex Planch.

★ ''Ancistrocladus stelligerus'' Wall. ex DC.

★ ''Ancistrocladus tanzaniensis'' Cheek & Frim. (Tanzania)

★ ''Ancistrocladus tectorius'' (Lour.) Merr. (Thailand)

★ ''Ancistrocladus uncinatus'' Hutch. & Dalziel (Nigeria)

★ ''Ancistrocladus wallichii'' Planch.

★ ''Ancistrocladus'' sp. (proposed name : ''Ancistrocladus benomensis'') (Malaysia)

References

★ anti-AIDS source

★ Revision of Ancistrocladus Wall. (Ancistrocladaceae), Taylor, Charlotte M., Gereau, Roy E. , and Walters, Gretchen M., , , Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 2005

★ Cheek, M. (2000a). A synoptic revision of ''Ancistrocladus'' (Ancistrocladaceae) in Africa, with a new species from western Cameroon. Kew Bulletin