Gaharu

Gaharu
Scientific Name	Aquilaria agallocha Roxb
Synonyms	Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk, A. malaccense, Agalochum malaccense
Family	Thymelaeaceae

{slider=Common Name}

Agarwood

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{slider=Chemical Content}

Leaf and bark methanol extracts contain alkaloids, anthroquinones, triterpenoids, tannins, fixed oils and fats and glycosides whereas saponins, fixed oils and fats, alkaloids and triterpenoids were found in the aqueous extracts (Dash M., et al 2008).The oil contained octacosane, naphthalene, caryophyllene oxide, cadinene (Bhuiyan MNI., et al 2009).

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{slider=Traditional Uses}

To treat imfalmmation, arthritis, vomiting, cardiac disorders, cough, asthma, leprosy, anorexia, headache and gout

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{slider= Pharmacology}

Anti-inflammatory:

The oil obtained by hydro-distillation from woods showed significant reduction of edema in carrageenan induced rat paw edema model maximum at 3 hr for AAO 50 mg/kg, AAO 100 mg/kg and diclofenec 10 mg/kg (% reduction in paw volume 58.59%, 62.11% and 68.94% respectably) and membrane stabilizing action on human red blood cell membrane at concentration of 100, 250 and 500 mcg/ml showed 39.66%, 62.94% and 78.50% which are comparable with standard diclofenec (Rahman et al 2012).

Anti anaphylaxis

The aqueous extract of Aquilaria agallocha stems importantly contributes to the treatment of anaphylaxis and may be useful for other allergic diseases(Kim Y.C., et al 1997).

Antimicrobial:

The methanol extract of the leaf gave the highest zone of inhibition against B. subtilis (19 mm) (Dash M., et al 2008).

Antioxidant Activity:

Studies showed that a strong antioxidant effect of ethyl acetate extract of AA in a concentration range of 500-3500 µg/ml. However pro-oxidant activity was observed at higher concentrations of these compounds (Miniyar P.B. et al, 2008).

Hepaprotective Activity

The hepatoprotective activity was evaluated by estimated serum hepatic enzyme levels and hisopathological study of liver tissues of rats. Ethanolic extract of Aquilaria agallocha leaves (EEAA) at dose 200 mg/kg and 400mg/kg body weight were administered orally for 10 days in rats and compared with standard silymarin (100 mg/kg) orally. The results showed significant decrease in serum ALT, AST and ALP levels treated groups which were increased due to CCl4 induced liver damage are comparable with standard drug. Histopathological study of liver tissue ravels the hepatoprotective activity of EEAA (Vakati K. et al., 2013)

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{slider=Reference}

Bhuiyan MNI., J. Begum, M. N. H. Bhuiyan (2009). Analysis of essential oil of eaglewood tree (Aquilaria agallocha Roxb.) gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Bangladesh Journal of Pharmacology. Vol 4(1).http://www.banglajol.info/bd/index.php/BJP/article/viewArticle/851.

Dash M., JK Patra, PP. Panda (2008). Phytochemical and antibicrobial acreening of extracts of Aquilaria agallocha Roxb.African Journal of Biotechnology, Vol 7 (20).http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajb/article/view/59366

Kim Y.C., E.H. Lee., Y.M. Lee, H.K. Kim, B.K. Song, E.J. Lee, H.M. Kim (1997). Effect of the aqueous extract of Aquilaria agallocha stems on the immediate hypersensitivity reactions. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. Vol 58 (1), Pg 31-38.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/

Miniyar P.B., Chitre T.S., Deuskar H.J., Karve, SS., Jain K.S. (2008). Antioxidant activity of ethayl acetate extract of Aquilaria agallocha on nitrite- induces methaemoglobin formation. Intenational Journal of Green Pharmacy. Vol 2 (1) pg 116-117.http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/

Rahman H., K. Vakati, M.C. Eswaraiah (2012). In-vivo and In vitro Anti Inflammatory activity of Aquilaria agallocha Oil. Internationa Journal of Basic Medical Sciences and Pharmacy, Vol 2 (1).http://www.ijbmsp.org/index.php/IJBMSP/article/view/5

Vakati K. H. Rahman, M.C. Eswariah, A.M. Dutta (2013). Evaluation of hepatoprotective activity of ethanolic extract of Aquilaria agallocha leaves (EEAA) against CCl4 induced hepatic damage in rat. Scholars journal of Applied Medical Sciences, 1 (1), Pg 9-12.http://saspublisher.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/SJAMS-119-12.pdf

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