Annona reticulata

Scientific name: Annona reticulata L.

Synonym: Annona excelsa Kunth

Synonym 2: Annona longifolia Sessé & Moc.

Botanical family: ANNONACEAE

Vernacular names

(In territories with significant traditional TRAMIL use)

Haiti:

cachimán
coeur de boeuf

Dominican Republic:

mamón

Other vernacular names

candongo
mamón

Cuba:

chirimoya

Haiti:

kacheman
kacheman ou gwo kacheman
kachiman
kachiman/mamón
mamón

Geographical distribution

From Mexico to South America, widely cultivated in all the tropical regions.

Botanical description

Tree of up to 13 m in height. Single, alternate, membranaceous, lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, acute to acuminate leaves, 10 to 20 cm long and 2 to 5 cm wide. Short, lateral, internodal inflorescences, with few yellowish green flowers; pedicels 1.6-2.4 cm long, outer petals 1.5-2.5 cm. Syncarpous, subglobose fruit, reddish when ripe, up to 12 cm in diameter, yellowish, sweet or tasteless and aromatic flesh; numerous, black, shiny seeds.

Voucher(s)

Germosén-Robineau,5,JBSD
Veloz,3005,JBSD

emotional shock

leaf, decoction sometimes with salt, orally^1-2

For sezisman (emotional shock):
prepare a decoction with 30 g of fresh leaves in 4 cups (1 litre) of water, with or without 1 teaspoon (5 milligrams) of salt, boil for 5 minutes in an covered vessel. Leave to cool, strain (filter) and drink 1 cup 3 to 4 times a day.

Preparations must never be stored for more than 24 hours, even if refrigerated.

According to the information available:

The use for sezisman (emotional shock) is classified as REC based on the significant traditional use documented in the TRAMIL surveys, the toxicity and validation studies and the scientific information published.

Because of the documented risk of neurotoxicity^3-5 of the tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids and annonacin6 present in the leaf that have been associated with the appearance of atypical Parkinsonism^3-6, avoid prolonged consumption (longer than one year).

Not for use during pregnancy, breastfeeding or in children under 12 years.

TRAMIL Work¹⁷
The 50% decoction from fresh leaves with salt (average dose of 10.1 g/kg/24 h, during 5 days) was administered orally to Wistar rats (10 animals, 5 of each sex), with a control group (6 animals, 3 of each sex) that received distilled water in the repeated dose acute toxicity model. The animals were observed constantly during the first 12 hours and then every 24 hours, during the 14 consecutive days of observation. In the first 24 hours piloerection was recorded, and only one animal showed weight loss from the second week until the end of the experiment. There were no deaths, and in the necropsy there was no evidence of organ damage, and therefore the extract studied did not present toxicity.

TRAMIL Work¹⁴
The aqueous extract (decoction) from frozen leaves (2 g/kg), administered orally in 10 albino mice on 5 consecutive days per week (90 days), did not cause mortality or obvious signs of toxicity. There were no changes in body weight other than the expected increases, nor were there any statistically significant changes in blood glycaemia or haematocrit values.

TRAMIL Work¹⁶
The aqueous leaf extract (decoction, 100 and 200 mg/kg expressed in mg of dry plant) intraperitoneally in male and female mice, did not present mortality, nor any sign of toxicity in the 14 consecutive days of observation. The LD₁ > 200 mg/kg.

The aqueous extract of dried leaves (1-5 g/kg) orally in mice showed no toxic effect in the acute toxicity test¹⁸.

The hydroalcoholic extract 50% of aerial parts via the intraperitoneal route in mice had a LD₅₀ equal to 375 mg/kg¹⁹.

The aqueous leaf extract (infusion) from plants of the Annonaceae family contains 90% (approximately 2 mg/cup)⁸ of the benzyl-tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids (Be-TIQ), tetrahydroprotoberberine (THPB) and acetogenins, which showed neurotoxicity on nerve cells in vitro³. The consumption of the fruits and herbal teas with a daily or weekly frequency (more than 2 years) has shown an epidemiological association with the appearance of atypical parkinsonian syndromes in humans³.

No data are available to recommend medicinal use during pregnancy, breastfeeding or in children.

TRAMIL Work⁷
Preliminary phytochemical selection (leaf)

alkaloids: + saponosides: -
steroids/terpenoids: -
phenolic compounds: +
flavonoids: - tannins: -
quinones: -

The whole plant is rich in tannins, contains a resin^8-9, dopamine and 6 tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids have been reported^4,10.

The leaf contains sesquiterpenes: cardinol, ∂-elemol and eudesmol¹¹diterpenes and benzyl-tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids, tetrahydroprotoberberine (THPB), and acetogenins (3): annoreticuin-9-one, squamone, solamin, annomonicin and rolliniastatin¹².

Astilibin flavonoid and β-sitosterol have been isolated from the leaf and stem¹³.

TRAMIL Work¹⁴
The freeze-dried aqueous extract (decoction) from frozen fresh leaves (2 g/kg), administered 5 consecutive days per week (90 days) orally in 10 albino mice, caused a decrease in anteroposterior prehensile activity and the alarm reflex from day 20, which was maintained until day 55 of the treatment.

TRAMIL Work¹⁵
The aqueous extract (decoction) from dried leaves intraperitoneally in mice using two methods: the psychogalvanic reaction, which corresponded to an increase in palmar conduction followed by an emotive stimulation (light stimulus) and the habit test, in doses up to 2.5 g/kg did not show any sedative activity. However, with the 0.1 mg/kg dose a significant habit-delaying action was observed corresponding to a central stimulant effect.

TRAMIL Works¹⁶
The aqueous extract (decoction) from dried leaves (from 100 to 800 mg/kg expressed as dry plant weight) was administered via the intraperitoneal route in mice with the ladder method to measure the psychotropic activity; with the pentobarbital-induced sleep potentiation method and with the analgesic activity method using the Writhing test, did not present sedative activity.

Pharmacopoeia

Ed.3

References

1 WENIGER B, ROUZIER M, 1986
Enquête TRAMIL. Service Oecuménique d’Entraide SOE, Port au Prince, Haïti.

2 WENIGER B, 1987-88
Encuesta TRAMIL. enda-caribe, Santo Domingo, Rep. Dominicana.

3 CAPARROS-LEFEBVRE D, ELBAZ A, 1999
Possible relation of atypical parkinsonism in the French West Indies with consumption of tropical plants: a case-control study. The Lancet 354(9175):281-286.

4 FORGACS P, DESCONCLOIS JF, MANSARD D, PROVOST J, TIBERGHIEN R, TOCQUER J, TOUCHE A, 1981
Dopamine and tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids of Annona reticulata L., Annonaceae. Plant Med Phytother 15:10-15.

5 CHAMPY P, 2004
Étude chimique et biologique des neurotoxines d’Annona muricata L. (Annonaceae) pouvant être impliquées dans la survenue des parkinsonismes atypiques en Guadeloupe. Doctorat de l’Université Paris-Sud 11, France.

6 LANNUZEL A, MICHEL PP, GLINGER GU, CHAMPY P, JOUSSET A, MEDJA F, LOMBE A, DARIOS F, GLEYE C, LAURENS A, HOCQUEMILLER R, HIRSCH EC, RUBERG M, 2003
The mitochondrial complex I inhibitor annonacin is toxic to mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons by impairment of energy metabolism. Neuroscience 121(2):287-296.

7 WENIGER B, SAVARY H, SATURNE A, 1986
Tri phytochimique relatif à 4 plantes TRAMIL. Laboratoire de chimie des substances naturelles, Faculté de médecine et de pharmacie, Université d’Etat d’Haïti, Port au Prince, Haïti.

8 WATT J, BREYER-BRETWIJK M, 1962
The medicinal and poisonus plants of southern and eastern Africa. 2nd ed. Edinburgh, UK: Livingstone Ltd.

9 PARIS R, MOYSE H, 1981
Précis de matière médicale. Paris, France: Ed. Maloine.

10 YANG TH, CHENG MY, 1987
The alkaloids of Annona reticulata L II. Taiwan Yao hsueh 39(3):195-201.

11 OGUNTIMEIN B, 1987
The terpenoids of Annona reticulata. Fitoterapia 58(6):411-413.

12 CHANG FR, WU YC, DUH CY, WANG SK, 1993
Studies on the acetogenins of Formosan annonaceous plants. II. Cytotoxic acetogenins from Annona reticulata. J of Nat Products 56(10):16881694.

13 OGUNWANDE IA, EKUNDAYO O, OLAWORE NO, KASALI AA, 2006
Essential Oil of Annona reticulata L. Leaves from Nigeria. J of Essential Oil Research 18(4):374-376.

14 GARCIA GM, COTO MT, GONZALEZ CS, PAZOS L, 1996
Toxicidad crónica en ratones, del extracto acuoso de hojas frescas de Annona reticulata. Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio de Ensayos Biológicos LEBi, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.

15 MARCY R, 1987
Annona reticulata et Annona muricata, recherche d’une activité sédative. Rapport TRAMIL, Université de Rouen, France.

16 ROLLAND A, SOULIMANI R, MARTIN A, MARCHAL E, YOUNOS C, FLEURENTIN J, 1988
Recherche de quelques activités pharmacologiques traditionnelles d’Annona muricata et d’Annona reticulata chez l’animal. Rapport TRAMIL. Université de Metz, France.

17 LOPEZ M, MOREJON Z, MARTINEZ MJ, BACALLAO Y, FUENTES V, 2009
Toxicidad aguda oral a dosis repetidas de decocción al 50% de hojas frescas de Annona reticulata L. Informe TRAMIL. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas “Dr. Salvador Allende”, Laboratorio Central de Farmacología, C. Habana, Cuba.

18 CACERES A, LOPEZ B, GONZALEZ S, BERGER I, TADA I, MAKI J, 1998
Plants used in Guatemala for the treatment of protozoal infections. I. Screening of activity to bacteria, fungi and American trypanosomes of 13 native plants. J of Ethnopharmacology 62(3):195-202.

19 BHAKUNI DS, DHAR ML, DHAR MM, DHAWAN BN, GUPTA B, SRIMALI RC, 1971
Screening of Indian plants for biological activity. Part III. Indian J Exp Biol 9:91-102.

Disclaimer

The information provided is for educational purposes only for the benefit of the general public and health professionals. It is not intended to take the place of either the written law or regulations. Since some parts of plants could be toxic, might induce side effects, or might have interactions with certain drugs, anyone intending to use them or their products must first consult with a physician or another qualified health care professional. TRAMIL has no responsibility whatsoever towards the user for any decision, action or omission made in relation to the information contained in this Pharmacopoeia.

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Annona reticulata

Vernacular names

Haiti:

Dominican Republic:

Cuba:

Haiti:

Geographical distribution

Botanical description

Voucher(s)

Pharmacopoeia

References

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