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Dragon Blood 2
Dragon Blood 2
com
Review
University School of Biotechnology, GGS Indraprastha University, K. Gate, Delhi 110006, India
Department of Biology & Microbiology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota 57007, USA
Received 25 May 2007; received in revised form 10 October 2007; accepted 11 October 2007
Available online 22 October 2007
Abstract
Dragons blood is one of the renowned traditional medicines used in different cultures of world. It has got several therapeutic uses: haemostatic,
antidiarrhetic, antiulcer, antimicrobial, antiviral, wound healing, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, etc. Besides these medicinal applications, it is used as a coloring material, varnish and also has got applications in folk magic. These red saps and resins are derived from a number of
disparate taxa. Despite its wide uses, little research has been done to know about its true source, quality control and clinical applications. In this
review, we have tried to overview different sources of Dragons blood, its source wise chemical constituents and therapeutic uses. As well as, a
little attempt has been done to review the techniques used for its quality control and safety.
2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Dragons blood; Croton; Dracaena; Daemonorops; Pterocarpus; Therapeutic uses
Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.1. Mythology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2. Historical uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.3. Ethnomedicinal uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sources of Dragons blood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1. Croton spp. (Euphorbiaceae) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.1. Chemical constituents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.2. Bioactivities and therapeutic uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2. Daemonorops spp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.1. Chemical constituents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.2. Bioactivities and therapeutic uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3. Dracaena spp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3.1. Chemical constituents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3.2. Bioactivities and therapeutic uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.4. Pterocarpus spp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Quality control and safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Conservation needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
0378-8741/$ see front matter 2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jep.2007.10.018
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1. Introduction
Plants are used worldwide for the treatment of diseases and
novel drugs continue to be developed through research from
these plants. There are more than 20,000 species of higher plant,
used in traditional medicines and are reservoirs of potential new
drugs. As the modern medicine and drug research advanced,
chemically synthesized drugs replaced plants as the source of
most medicinal agents in industrialized countries. Nevertheless
plants are an important source of lead compounds. However, in
developing countries, the majority of the worlds population cannot afford pharmaceutical drugs and use their own plant based
indigenous medicines.
Dragons blood is a deep red resin, which has been used
as a famous traditional medicine since ancient times by many
cultures. The term Dragons blood refers to reddish resinous
products, usually encountered as granules, powder, lumps or
sticks used in folk medicine. Dragons blood has been used for
diverse medical and artistic applications. It has astringent effect
and has been used as a hemostatic and antidiarrhetic drug.
The origin of Dragons blood is believed to be from Indian
Ocean island of Socotra, now part of Yemen (Angiosperm
Phylogeny Group, 1974). However, there exists a great degree
of confusion regarding the source and identity of Dragons
blood. Several alternative sources of Dragons blood from
Canary Islands, Madeira, and South East Asia and also from
East and West Africa have been identified (Alexander and
Miller, 1995). Dragons blood was a name applied to many
red resins described in the medical literature, e.g. East Indian
Dragons blood (from the fruit of Daemonorops draco (Willd.)
Blume), Socotran or Zanzibar Dragons blood (exudates of
Dracaena cinnabari Balf. f.), Canary Dragons blood (exudates
formed from incisions of the trunk of Dracaena draco (L.) L.),
West Indian Dragons blood (exudates of Pterocarpus draco
L.), Mexican Dragons blood (resin of Croton lechleri Mull.
Arg.) and the Venezuelan Dragons blood (resin of Croton
gossypifolium Vahl) (Sollman, 1920).
Mabberley (1998) suggests that Dragons blood was produced originally from Dracaena cinnabari, later from Dracaena
draco and more recently from Daemonorops spp. Zheng et
al. (2004a,b,c) confirms this view and suggests Pterocarpus spp., Daemonorops draco and Croton spp. as substitutes
for Dracaena spp. Thus, the term Dragons blood in general is used for all kinds of resins and saps obtained from
four distinct plant genera; Croton (Euphorbiaceae), Dracaena
(Dracaenaceae), Daemonorops (Palmaceae), and Pterocarpus
(Fabaceae).
1.1. Mythology
According to a Greek myth, Landon, the hundred-headed
dragon, guardian of the Garden of the Hesperides (the nymph
daughters of Atlas, the titan who holds up earth and heaven)
was killed by either Hercules (in his quest) or Atlas (as punishment) while bringing back three golden apples from the garden,
depending upon the version of the myth. Landons red blood
flowed out upon the land and from it sprung up the trees known
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364
Table 1
Botanical sources and common names of Dragons blood
Species
Plant family
Geographical origin
Vernacular names
Croton spp.
Euphorbiaceae
Palmaceae
Dracaenaceae
Zanzibar drop
Fabaceae
365
port across guinea pig ileum when added to the serosal bath
in Ussing chambers and thus may prove to be a cost-effective
treatment for gastrointestinal ulcers (Miller et al., 2000). Use of
latex of Croton lechleri has also been reported in the treatment
of different types of diarrhoea (Ubillas et al., 1994; Carlson
and King, 2000). SP-303, a heterogeneous proanthocyanidin
oligomer of Croton lechleri was found to inhibit in vivo cholera
toxin-induced fluid secretion and in vitro cAMP-mediated Cl
secretion and thus may provide a useful broad-spectrum antidiarrhoeal agent (Gabriel et al., 1999). Evaluation of safety and
efficacy of orally administered SP-303 was done for the symp-
Fig. 1. Structure of some of the compounds reported from different sources of Dragons bloods.
366
Fig. 1. (Continued )
367
Fig. 1. (Continued )
368
Fig. 1. (Continued )
369
Fig. 1. (Continued ).
370
Table 2
Chemical constituents reported from Croton spp.
Compound name
Croton draco Schltdl. & Cham.
1-Hydroxyjunenol; 2,3-dihydrovomifoliol; 3,4,5-tri
methoxycinnamyl alcohol; 9(11)-dehydrokaurenic
acid; 9-dehydrovomifoliol; hardwikiic acid;
p-hydroxybenzal-dehyde; p-methoxybenzoic acid;
scopoletin; taspine (1)
Croton urucurana Baill.
Sonderianin (2)
Acetyl aleuritolic acid
-Sitosterol; -sitosterol-O-glucoside; campesterol;
catechin; gallocatechin; stigmasterol
12-Epi-methyl-barabascoate (3);
15,16-epoxy-3,13(16)-clerodatriene-2-one (4)
Fucoarabinogalactan (CU-1)
Croton lechleri Mull. Arg.
Taspine (1)
3 ,4-O-Dimethylcedrusin (7)
Procyanidin B-1 and B-4 (27)
Catechin; epigallocatechin; epicatechin; gallocatechin
Catechin (4--8)-gallocatechin (4--6) gallocatechin;
catechin (4--8)-gallocatechin (4--8)-gallocatechin;
gallocatechin (4--6)-epigallocatechin; gallocatechin
(4--8)-epi-catechin; gallocatechin
(4--8)-gallocatechin (4--8)-epi-gallocatechin
Benzofuran-5-yl,2-3-dihydro:2-(3-dimethoxy-phenyl)
7-methoxy-3-methoxy-carbonyl-propan-1-oic acid
methyl ester; benzofuran-5-yl,2-3-dihydro:2-(4hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-7-methoxy-3-methoxycarbonyl-propen-1-oic acid methyl
ester
-Sitosterol; bincatriol; crolechinol (10); crolechinic acid
(11); daucosterol; hardwickiic acid
1,3,5-Trimethoxybenzene
2,4,6-Trimethoxyphenol
3,4-Dimethoxybenzyl alcohol; 3,4-dimethoxy phenol;
4-hydroxyphenethyl alcohol and its acetate;
-sitostenone; sitosterol--d-glucopyranoside
Korberin A (5); korberin B (6)
4-O-Methylcedrusin (8)
SP-303 (MW = 2200 Da)
Catechin-(4--8)-epigallocatechin
Ethyl acetate; ethyl propionate; 2-methyl butanol;
2-methylbutyl acetate; propyl acetate; 3-methybutyl
acetate; eucalyptol; 1-butyl acetate;
3-methyl-2-pentanol
Isoboldine (13); norisoboldine (12); magnoflorine (14)
SB-300 (MW = 3000 Da)
Bioactivity
References
Murillo et al. (2001)
Antibacterial activity
Antibacterial activity, Analgesic
activity
Analgesic activity
Antibacterial activity
Antiviral activity
Antidiarrhoeal activity
in the rate of wound repair on topical application of the Croton lechleri sap to skin wounds of mice and found taspine as
the cicatrizant (wound healing) principle. A significant increase
in numbers of migrating cells in an in vitro test for wounding of human fibroblasts also suggested role of taspine for
wound healing (Vaisberg et al., 1989). From the sap of Peru-
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Table 3
Chemical constituents reported from Daemonorops draco (Willd.) Blume
Compound name
Bioactivity
References
Dracorhodin (17)
Apoptic activity
2,4-Dihydroxy-5-methyl-6-methoxychalcone;
2,4-dihydroxy-6-methoxychalcone;
5-methoxy-7-hydroxyflavan (15)
Nordracorhodin (16); nordracorubin (18)
(2S) 5-Methoxy-6-methylflavan-7-ol (21)
(2S)-5-Methoxyflavan-7-ol (22);
5,7-dimethoxy-6-methylflavan
Abietic acid; dehydroabietic acid; isopimaric acid; pimaric
acid; sandaracopimaric acid
Secobiflavanoid
Dracorubin (19)
Polysaccharide (MW = 25,000)
Dracoalban; dracoresene; dracoresinotannol
Dammaradienol
Dracooxepine
Dracoflavan A
2,4-Dimethoxy-3-methylphenol; dracoflavan B1; B2; C1;
C2; D1; D2
1,6-Germacradien-5-ol; benzoic acid; bicyclogermacrene;
cis-9,10-dihydrocapsenone; germacrene-d; -copaene;
-cubebene; -humulene; -caryophyllene; -cubebene;
-elemene; -cadinene
4,6-Dihydroxy-2-methoxy-3-methyldihydrochalcone
Antiplatelet effects
Anticoagulant activity
Antiviral activity, Anti-inflammatory
activity, cytotoxic activity
Anti-inflammatory activity
(ATCC 14884), Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6633), Bordetella bronchiseptica (ATCC 4617), Micrococcus luteus (ATCC 9341),
Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 29737), Staphylococcus epidermidis (ATCC 12228), Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 10031),
Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027), Streptococcus faecalis
(MTCC 8043), and Aspergillus niger (MTCC 1344). Recently,
Mothana et al. (2006) also reported antiviral activity of methanol
extract of resin of Dracaena cinnabari against Herpes simplex
virus and Human influenza virus.
Thus, Dracaena resin could be a rich source of antimicrobial
agents with possibly novel mechanisms of action. Interestingly,
resin from Dracaena cochinchinensis has been produced by
infection with Fusarium and Cladosporium spp. (Wang et al.,
1999). In another study done by Jiang et al. (2003), inoculation
of fungi Fusarium 9568D in abiotic branch and wood of Dracaena cochinchinensis resulted in emergence of red resin from
the inoculation points after 45 months incubation. The emerged
resin was found to resemble the natural resin by UV-IR spectra
analysis.
2.3.2.2. Antitumor and cytotoxic activity. Vachalkova et al.
(1995) studied carcinogenicity of three homoisoflavanoids and
four flavanoids isolated from the resin of Dracaena cinnabari.
Al-Fatimi et al. (2005) reported cytotoxic activity of resin of
Dracaena cinnabari from Yemen against human ECV-304
cells. Dracaena draco has been found to be a rich source of
cytotoxic steroidal saponins. Darias et al. (1989) reported,
for the first time, the use of sap of Dracaena draco as an
anticarcinogen. Steroidal saponins, (25R)-spirost-5-en-3-ol
3-O-{O--l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 2)--d-glucopyranoside}
and
(23S,24S)-spirosta-5,25(27)-diene-1,3,23,24-tetrol
1-O-{O-2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl--l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 2)-l-arabinopyranosyl}24-O--d-fucopyranoside, isolated from
the aerial parts of Dracaena draco are reported to show potent
cytostatic activity against HL-60 cells with IC50 value being
1.3 and 2.6 g/ml, respectively compared with etoposide (IC50
0.3 g/ml) used as a positive control (Mimaki et al., 1999).
Gonzalez et al. (2003) also reported new steroidal saponins,
Draconin A and Draconin B with cytotoxic activities against
HL-60 cells from bark of Dracaena draco. The mechanism of
these compounds cytotoxicity was also evaluated and found
to be via activation of apoptotic process. Recently a new
cytotoxic steroidal saponin, Icogenin, has been isolated from
Dracaena draco. Icogenin also inhibited growth of HL-60 cells
by induction of apoptosis (Hernandez et al., 2004). Dioscin,
from Dracaena draco also displayed cytotoxic activity similar
to Icogenin.
2.3.2.3. Analgesic activity. Liu et al. (2004) observed that both
Dragons blood resin (D. cochichinensis) and loureirin B could
suppress TTX-S voltage-gated sodium currents depending upon
dose, which could be reason for its analgesic effect. Later,
Liu et al. (2005) studied the effects of Dragons blood and
its component loureirin B on tetrodotoxin-sensitive (TTX-S)
and tetrodotoxin-resistant (TTX-R) sodium currents in trigeminal ganglion (TG) neurons using the whole-cell patch-clamp
technique and found that both Dragons blood and loureirin
B suppressed two types of peak sodium currents depending
373
Table 4
Chemical constituents reported from Dracaena spp.
Compound name
Bioactivity
References
Antioxidant activity
Analgesic activity
Antifungal activity
374
Table 4 (Continued )
Compound name
25(R,S)-Dracaenosides EH; M; OQ; dracaenosides
IL; R; 25(S)-dracaenoside N;
25(R,S)-spirost-5-en-3-ol
3-O--l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1,2)-[-l-rhamno
pyranosyl-(1,4)]--d-glucopyranoside;
25(R,S)-spirost-5-en-3-ol 3-O--l-rhamnopyranosyl(1,2)--l-glucopyranosyl-(1,3)]--d-glucopyranoside;
26-O--d-glucopyranosyl
25(R,S)-furost-5-en-3,22,26-triol
3-O--l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1,2)-[-d-glucopyranosyl
(1,3)]--d-glucopyranoside; 26-O--d-glucopyranosyl
25(R,S)-spirost-5-en-3,22,26-triol
3-O--l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1,2)-[-lrhamnopyranosyl-(1,4)]--d-glucopyranoside
7,4 -Dihydroxyflavone (23);
7,4 -dihydrohomoisoflavanone (26);
7,4 -homoisoflavane (25); 10,11-dihydroxydracaenone
C; dracaenogenin A and B
1-(4 -O--d-Glucopyranosyl)benzyl-ethan-2-ol;
3,4-dihydoxy-1-allylbenezene-4-O--lrhamnopyranosyl-(1 6)-O--d-glucopyranoside;
1-hydroxy-3,4,5-trimethoxy benzene-1-O--lapiopyranosyl-(1 6)-O--d-glucopyranoside;
lophenol; -sitosterol; stigma-5, 22-diene-3-ol;
tachioside
Dracaena draco (L.) L.
7,4 -Dihydrohomoisoflavanone (26);
7,4 -homoisoflavane (25)
7-Hydroxy-3-(4-hydroxybenzyl)chroman-4-one
7-Hydroxy-3-(4-hydroxybenzyl)chroman
(2S)-4 ,7-Dihydroxy-3 -methoxy-8-methylflavan;
(2S)-4 ,5-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-8-methylflavan
10-Hydroxy-11-methoxydracaenone
3,4,5-Trimethoxycinnamyl alcohol
4,4 -Dihydroxy-2 -methoxychalcone (9)
(23S)-Spirost-5,25(27)-diene-1,3,23-triol
1-O-{4-O-acetyl--l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 2)--larabinopyranoside}(45);
(23S)-spirost-5,25(27)-diene-1,3,23-triol
1-O-{O--l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 2)--larabinopyranoside}
(46);(23S,24S)-spirosta-5,25(27)-diene-1,3,23,24tetrol
1-O-{O-(4-O-acetyl--l-rhamnopyranosyl)-(1 2)-l-arabinopyranoside} (47);
(23S,24S)-spirosta-5,25(27)-diene-1,3,23,24-tetrol
1-O-{O-2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl--l-rhamnopyranosyl(1 2)--l-arabinopyranosyl}24-O--dfucopyranoside (48); (25R)-spirost-5-en-3-ol
3-O-{O--l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 2)--dglucopyranoside} (33);
spirost-5,25(27)-diene-1,3-diol
1-O-{O--l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 2)--larabinopyranoside}(34);
(23S)-spirost-5,25(27)-diene-1,3,23-triol
1-O-{O--l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 2)-O-[-dxylopyranosyl-(l 3)]--l-arabinopyranoside}(35);
26-O--d-glucopyranosyl-22-O-methylfurosta5,25(27)-diene-l,3,22,26-tetrol
1-O-{O--l-rhamnopyranosyl-(l 2)-O--larabinopyranoside}(36)
(23S,24S)-Spirosta-5,25(27)-diene-1,3,23,24-tetrol
1-O-{O--l-rhamnopyranosyl}-(1 2)--larabinopyranoside}
(43)
Bioactivity
References
Zheng et al. (2004a,b,c)
Cytostatic activity
375
Table 4 (Continued )
Compound name
(2S)-4 ,7-Dihydroxy-8-methylflavan; 3-(4-hydroxy
benzyl)-5,7-dimethoxychroman;
5,7-dihydroxy-3-(4-hydroxybenzyl)-chromone;
5,7-dihydroxy-3-(4-hydroxy benzyl)-chroman-4-one;
7-hydroxy-3-(4-hydroxybenzyl) chromone;
isoliquiritigenin; liquiritigenin; xenognosin
Loureirin C (24)
(2S)-3 ,7-Dihydroxy-4 -methoxy-8-methylflavan
7-Hydroxy-3-(4-hydroxybenzyl)-8-methoxychroman;
3-(4-hydroxybenzyl)-7,8-methylendioxychroman
()-7,4 -Dihydroxy-3 -methoxyflavan
2,4,4 -Trihydroxydihydrochalcone
Methyl protodioscin (39); draconin C (42); draconin A
(40); draconin B (41)
()-3 -Hydroxy-4 -methoxy-7-hydroxy-8-methylflavan;
3-O-[-l-rhamnopyranosyl(1 4)-dglucopyranosyl] diosgenin (38); 4-allylcatecol;
-sitosterol; diosgenin (31); isoliquiritigenin;
sitoindoside i; trans--apo-8 -carotenal; dioscin (37)
(2S)-4 ,7-Dihydroxy-3 -methoxyflavan;
(2S)-4 ,7-dihydroxy-3 -methoxyflavan; diosgenone
(32); shonanin; syringaresinol; icogenin (44)
Dracoflavylium
Dracol; icodeside
Bioactivity
References
Gonzalez et al. (2000)
Chemoprotective effects
Apoptic activity
Cytotoxic activity
Cytotoxic activity
Cytotoxic activity
Number given in parentheses corresponds to the structure of that compound given in Fig. 1.
the bark and gradually harden. No major studies have been done
on this source of Dragons blood. Trimble (1895), studied resin
from Pterocarpus draco L. and obtained 34.85% tannins from
this resin.
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4. Conservation needs
Dragons blood is used in traditional medicine for diverse
applications. Overexploitation of sources of Dragons blood
is a matter of concern as is the case of Croton lechleri, in
Peru and Ecuador. Because of the overexploitation and trade,
it was identified as potentially threatened amongst the 22
species in the Workshop of Specialists in Ethnobotany and
Economic Botany held in 1997 (http://www.traffic.org/ecuador/
executivesummary.html). Dracaena cinnabari was also listed
as vulnerable in the IUCN red list of threatened species (Miller,
2004). Dracaena draco was reported as vulnerable species on the
Canary Islands due to overexploitation of the trees for Dragons
Blood in the middle ages (Lucas and Synge, 1978). It was also
cited in IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (2006). Predominantly, resin of Daemonorops draco is the principal source of
commercially harvested Dragons blood. Plant cell, tissue and
organ culture could be an alternative approach for economic production of Dragons blood plants and the secondary metabolites
they produce.
5. Conclusion
Although Dragons blood has proved to be popular alternative or complementary medicine used in the treatment
of many diseases, clinical trial evaluation of these claims
using currently accepted protocols is needed. One such
potential new drug for AIDS-related diarrhoea is, Crofelemer developed originally by Shaman Pharmaceuticals
from Croton lechleri. Since 2001, Crofelemer has been
purchased by the American pharmaceutical company, Napo
Pharmaceuticals and is currently undergoing clinical trials
(http://www.aumag.org/lifeguide/WWSeptember05.html,
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/d/dragon20.html,
http://www.drugs.com/npp/dragon-s-blood.html#ref3).
This resin offers huge potential and we need to investigate whether purified compounds isolated from Dragons blood
may have better therapeutic potential as compared to crude
extract. Since there is considerable variation in the chemical
composition among various samples of Dragons Blood, quality
control/assurance needs to be established for the traditional medical trade. This review is an effort to highlight the potential and
problems related to the sources and possibilities of isolating new
pharmaceutically active molecules, using traditional knowledge
in our search, for new and effective dugs molecules.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Prof. Ulrike Lindequist, Institute of
Pharmacy, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University, Germany for her
thorough revision of this review and providing us with her invaluable suggestions. We acknowledge the financial support from
AICTE (8023/RID/NPROJ/RPS-38/2004-05).
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