Mammea americana

Scientific name: Mammea americana L.

Botanical family: CALOPHYLLACEAE

Vernacular names

(In territories with significant traditional TRAMIL use)

mamey

Geographical distribution

Native to tropical America and the West Indies, commonly cultivated in the tropics.

Botanical description

Tree of up to 20 m in height. Opposite leaves, elliptic to elliptic- ovate, 8 to 16 cm, leathery, rigid and shiny, rounded at the apex. Single flowers, axillary, fragrant; calyx 8 to 10 mm; white petals, obovate, up to 2 cm Drupe globose, apiculate, 5 to 8 cm in diameter, with yellow or reddish mesocarp, sweet, with few seeds.

Voucher(s)

Jiménez,698,JBSD

Veloz,3113,JBSD

The fruit of Mammea americana is a food of relatively widespread human consumption.

For lice : mix 50 grams of seed powder (shelled) in 5 litres of water and leave to macerate for 2 hours. Add one teaspoon (2 g) of soap (non-detergent). This mixture is used to wash and rub the scalp.

For rheumatism: wash the leaves and apply to the skin of the affected area. Cover with a dressing or clean cloth and repeat 3 or 4 times a day.

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

According to the information available:

Topical use of the seeds for lice and the leaves for rheumatism is classified as REC based on the significant traditional use documented in the TRAMIL surveys and the toxicity studies.

The use of this resource for rheumatism must be considered complementary to medical treatment, unless contraindicated.

Not for use during pregnancy, breastfeeding or in children under 5 years.

TRAMIL Works¹⁹

The crushed fresh leaves and 1 ml of the fresh leaf preparation (10.57 g) liquefied in 20 ml of water (528.5 mg/ml), in topical application on the depilated backs of the New Zealand male rabbits for 4 consecutive days, did not show evident cutaneous irritation.

TRAMIL Work²⁰

The aqueous seed extract (maceration, 0.28 g/ml of plant material 4 hours/day over 5 cm²), topically in 3 New Zealand rabbits for 5 consecutive days, model of dermal irritation in injured skin and in healthy skin, 10 days of observation, did not cause irritation.

There is no information available documenting the safety of medicinal use in children, during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

The leaf contains carbohydrates: pinitol² and isoprenoids: solanesol³.

The seed contains coumarins: mesuagin, seselin derivatives, mammea-coumarin derivatives⁴, 4-hydroxyxanthone, euxanthone⁵, mammeigin^6-7, isomammein⁸, neomammein⁹, 1,5- and 2-hydroxyxanthone¹⁰; diterpenes: mammeol⁷; miscellaneous: succinic acid and sucrose¹⁰.

The whole plant contains coumarins: mammein^11-13.

TRAMIL Work¹⁴

The freeze-dried aqueous extract (decoction, 0.135 g/ml) from dried leaves (0.5, 2 and 3.33 mg/10 µl/ear), was applied topically to both sides of the right ear of Hsd:ICR mice (6 females and 6 males), a model of inflammation induced by the application of tetradecanoylphorbol acetate (TPA) (0.125 mg/ml) for 4 hours. The negative control received acetone (10 µl/ear) and the positive control group was treated with indomethacin (25 mg/ml). A statistically significant inhibition of the inflammation was recorded in the group treated with 36.41% inhibition compared to the negative control group; no statistically significant difference was recorded with the positive control group.

TRAMIL Work¹⁵

The aqueous seed extract (maceration, 280 g/l; 22.8 g/l of solid material after freeze-drying) showed statistically significant activity against Acromyrmex octospinosus: contact insecticide and repellent (1 ml/10 ants) as well as insecticide by ingestion (0.5 g/day/10 ants).

The whole plant shows insecticidal activity on Aedes aegypti¹⁶; the seed is larvicidal on Laphygma sp and Plutella sp¹⁷.

There are numerous references in the literature to the insecticidal and larvicidal activity of extracts and compounds obtained from the plant¹⁸.

Pharmacopoeia

Ed.3

References

GERMOSEN-ROBINEAU L, GERONIMO M, AMPARO C, 1984

Encuesta TRAMIL. enda-caribe, Santo Domingo, Rep. Dominicana.

PLOUVIER V, 1964

L-inositol, L-quebrachitol, and D-pinitol in some botanical groups. The presence of shikimic acid in Mammea americana. CR ACAD SCI 258(10):2921-2924.

SASAK W, CHOJNACKI T, 1973

Long chain polyphenols of tropical and subtropical plants. Acta Biochim Pol 20:343- 350.

GAMES DE, 1972

Identification of 4-phenyl and 4-alkylcoumarins in Mammea americana L., Mammea africana G. Don. and Calophyllum inophyllum by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Tetrahedron Lett 31:3187-3190.

FINNEGAN R, PATEL J, BACHMAN P, 1966

Constituents of Mammea americana L. V (1). Some simple monoand di- hydroxyxanthones. Tetrahedron Lett 49:6087-6092.

FINNEGAN R, MERKEL K, BACK N, 1972

Constituents of Mammea americana L. VIII: Novel structural variations on the mammein theme and antitumor activity of mammein and related coumarin and phloroglucinol derivatives. J Pharm Sci 61(10):1599-1603.

FINNEGAN R, MUELLER W, 1965

Constituents of Mammea americana L. IV. The structure of mammeigin. J Org Chem 30(7):2342-2344.

CROMBIE L, GAMES D, HASKINS N, REED G, 1972

Extractives of Mammea americana L. Part IV. Identification of new 7,8-annulated relatives of the coumarins Mammea A/AA, A/AB, B/AA B/AB, and new members of the 6-acyl family A/BB, B/AB, and B/AC. J Chem Soc Perkin Trans 18:2248-2254.

FINNEGAN R, MERKEL K, 1972

Constituents of Mammea americana L. IX. Oxidation of mammein and mammeisin. J Pharm Sci 61(10):1603-1608.

FINNEGAN R, PATEL J, 1972

Constituents of Mammea americana L. Part X. The isolation of some monoand dihydroxyxanthones. Observations on the synthesis of 1,5-; 3,5-; 1,6-; and 1,7- dihydroxyxanthone. J Chem Soc Perkin Trans I 15:1896-1901.

DJERASSI C, EISENBRAUN E, FINNEGAN R, GILBERT B, 1960

Naturally occurring oxygen heterocyclics. VII. The structure of mammein. J Org Chem 25:2164-2169.

YANG H, JIANG B, REYNERTSON KA, BASILE MJ, KENNELLY EJ, 2006

Comparative analyses of bioactive Mammea coumarins from seven parts of Mammea americana by HPLC-PDA with LC-MS. J Agric Food Chem 54(12):4114-4120.

DU L, MAHDI F, JEKABSONS MB, NAGLE DG, ZHOU YD, 2011

Natural and semisynthetic mammea-type isoprenylated dihydroxycoumarins uncouple cellular respiration. J Nat Prod 74(2):240-248.

PAZOS L, COTO T, GONZALEZ S, 2006

Antiinflamatorio, tópico, en ratón, de la decocción de hoja de Mammea americana. Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio de Ensayos Biológicos LEBi, Escuela de Medicina Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.

BOULOGNE I, 2010

Recherche d’activités insecticides par contact (Test Contact toxicity), par ingestion (Ingestion Bioassay) et insectifuge (Repellent Test) de la macération aqueuse de graine de Mammea americana L. Travail TRAMIL. Université des Antilles et de la Guyane/ INRA, UR1321, ASTRO, Petit-Bourg, Guadeloupe.

SIEVERS AF, ARCHER WA, MOORE RH, MC GOVRAN BR, 1949

Insecticidal tests of plants from tropical America. J Econ Entomol 42(3):549-551.

PLANK HK, 1944

Insecticidal properties of mamey and other plants in Puerto Rico. J Econ Entomol 37(6):737-739.

GRAINGE M, AHMED S, 1988

Handbook of plants with pest-control properties. New York, USA: John Willey & Sons. p178.

GARCIA GM, COTO MT, GONZALEZ S, OCAMPO R, PAZOS L, 2000

Irritabilidad dérmica del extracto acuoso de hoja fresca de Mammea americana. Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio de Ensayos Biológicos LEBi, Escuela de Medicina, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.

PAZOS L, LEON E, 2012

Irritación dérmica, dosis repetida, piel lesionada y piel sana, porción de semillas de Mammea americana. Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio de Ensayos Biológicos, LEBi, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.

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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