K. Rashed^*

Department of Pharmacognosy, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza, Egypt

Submitted on 03 March 2025; Accepted on 24 April 2025; Published on 30 April 2025

To cite this article: K. Rashed, “Phytochemical and Biological Effects of Parkia timoriana: A Short Review,” Trans. Appl. Sci. Eng. Technol., vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 1-3, 2025.

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Abstract

Parkia timoriana (DC.) is from the Fabaceae family. It is native to the Northeastern Indian states. The plant is of high commercial importance. Decoctions of bark, fruit, and leaf parts are used to treat various diseases. Right from flowers and tender pods to mature seeds of this plant are edible, provide a good source of nutrients, and fetch a high market price during particular seasons. The plant has been reported to possess antioxidant, α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory properties, antibacterial, antidiabetic, antiproliferative, and insecticidal effects.

Keywords: Parkia timoriana; chemical compounds; plants; bioactivities

Abbreviations: STZ: streptozotocin

1. Introduction

Parkia timoriana (DC.) is a plant of the family Fabaceae, and sub-family Mimosoideae, with 31 species distributed across both the New World and the Old World tropics. It was known as “African locust bean”. Parkia is taxonomically most diverse in the rainforest of the Amazon basin, 4 species are found in Africa and Madagascar, and about 10 species in the Indo-Pacific region [1]. Parkia is a major tree legume producing human food and condiments in savannah areas. P. timoriana is a large tree with spreading branches having white to brown or light grey bark with white spots, generally found in lowland rainforests and often along streams. Its height at maturity varies approximately from 6–20 m or even more, and spreads around 6–17 m. Leaves are compound bipinnate, i.e., the mid-rib produces secondary axes which bear the leaflets. There are 14–31 pairs of pinnae and 52–71 pairs of leaflets in each pinna. P. timoriana is a little-known, nutritious, leguminous tree that grows luxuriantly in north-eastern hilly regions of India and is distributed in Southeast Asian countries like Burma, Bangladesh, Thailand, and the Malaysian region. It is an important multipurpose leguminous tree having commercial and ecological significance. This tree is distributed in tropical and subtropical zones with an altitudinal variation from 40–820 m [2]. The plant commonly grows in every house yard and forests in the Northeast states in India, such as Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, and Assam [3]. The tree is well adapted to grow in diverse agro-climatic regions, from colder hilly regions to hotter plains without any special care [4]. P. timoriana seeds are very rich in protein (albumins and globulins), minerals (potassium, iron, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus, and manganese), essential amino acids (isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, and tyrosine), and fatty acids such as oleic and linoleic acids [5]. The processing method had a major role in determining the nutritional and antinutritional components of this species. Protein content of P. timoriana was found to be 15–36% and lipid content 11–69% [6]. All the methods attempted by them significantly reduced anti-nutrients such as tannins, phytate, saponins, trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitors, and lectins, which led to an increase in protein and starch digestibility, whereas total phenolic content was increased. Nutritional quality in leaf, seed, and pods of P. timoriana, in which crude protein was significantly higher in seed (22.9%) than in leaf and pods, whereas total carbohydrate was higher in pods (23.2%). Seeds have maximum fat (29.6%), whereas crude fibre was significantly higher in leaf (5.5%) [7]. Ascorbic acid and calcium are higher in the leaf, followed by the seed and pod. Carbohydrate content in P. timoriana ranged from 59.26–67.82% in different stages of pods [8], and an increase in carbohydrate content with maturity of pods was also noticed [8]. It was reported that crude fibre content ranged from 10.16% in tender pods and 19.28% in matured pods, while seeds had 9.03% of fibre [8]. Different processing and cooking methods on seeds of P. timoriana led major increase in moisture, fat, and carbohydrate content [8]. This review showed the chemical compounds and bioactivities of the plant.

2. Phytochemicals

The presence of antinutritional factors, total free phenols, tannins, and lectins was reported by Mohan et al. [5], and these antinutritional factors can be exterminated if the seeds are properly processed by heating or cooking. An appreciable amount of tannins, flavonoids, saponins, anthocyanins, and leucoanthocyanins are reported from pods of P. timoriana [9]. L-DOPA, a non-protein amino acid, was recorded with very low quantity in this plant when compared to other leguminous crops by Mohan et al. [5], like Mucuna.

Hyperin and epigallocatechin gallate are two biomolecules isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of edible pods of P. timoriana [10]. Javanicoside A, Javanicoside A pentaacetate, Javanicoside B, and Javanicoside B hexaacetate, along with known compounds like ursolic acid and β-sitosterol, were isolated from the methanol extract of the leaf and stem bark of P. timoriana [11]. A novel mannose/glucose-specific lectin isolated from seeds of P. timoriana. Parkinol, a new compound isolated from leaves of P. timoriana, along with several other known compounds [12].

3. Biological Activities

3.1. Antioxidant effect

Pods ethanol and acetone extracts from P. timoriana recorded higher amounts of total phenolic content with 49.39 and 79.63 GAE, respectively, and flavonoid content with 4.05 and 4.35 mg/g, respectively [13]. Acetone extract of pods of the plant has shown an appreciable quantity of flavonol (5.00 mg/g), high reducing power (32.25 mg/g), and strong inhibition (IC50 = 0.23 mg dry material), which shows that the tree has a high radical scavenging effect [13]. The total antioxidant capacity of methanolic fruit extracts of P. timoriana was determined by DPPH and reducing power assays, ranging from 160.44 ± 2.26 to 157.31 ± 1.90 mg/g [14], which produced concentration-dependent values comparable to ascorbic acid control.

3.2. Antibacterial effect

Different parts of P. timoriana have the capacity to inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria as Streptococcus faecalis and Bacillus cereus. The leaf extract had a significant growth-controlling effect against pathogenic bacteria as Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholerae, Staphylococcus aureus, and B. cereus. Seed extract had a significant effect against all pathogenic bacteria except E. coli. Gold and silver nanoparticles synthesized from dried leaves of P. timoriana produced significant inhibition against S. aureus as compared to E. coli, and it might be due to the accumulation and absorption of Au and Ag NPs on the cell wall of S. aureus [15].

3.3. Antidiabetic activity

The significant reduction in blood glucose levels, which was dependent on dose and duration of the treatment and ethyl acetate sub-fraction, reduced blood glucose concentration to normal when administered with 10 mg/kg body weight for 14 days after 48 hours of streptozotocin (STZ) treatment. They also believed that the anti-hyperglycemic and hepatoprotective effects of enriched ethyl acetate sub-fraction of pods of P. timoriana could be due to the presence of hyperin and epigallocatechin gallate. Levels of plasma glucose, serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase, serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase, triglyceride, total cholesterol, and uric acid were also elevated in STZ-induced diabetic rats, which were brought to near normal following the effect of ethyl acetate sub-fractions at different doses [10].

3.4. Antiproliferative activity

Lectins isolated from the seed extracts of P. timoriana inhibited proliferation of cancerous macrophage cell lines such as P388DI and J774 with 48.13 and 67.93% respectively, and they could be used for a range of other cancer cell lines, including human needs, which should be investigated for antiproliferative response [16].

3.5. Insecticidal effects

Seed oil extract of P. timoriana possesses insecticidal properties and holds a promising agent in controlling a variety of insect pests. The percentage of mortality of aphids by seed oil extract was significantly increased with an increase in time and concentration and vice versa under laboratory conditions [17]. After four days, 100% of mortality was recorded in 2.0% of oil extract, followed by 96.66, 86.66, 76.66, and 63.33% of mortality in concentrations of 1.5, 1.0, 0.5, and 0.1% oil extract, respectively [17].

4. Conclusion

P. timoriana is considered a delicacy in the Northeastern states of India and Southeast Asian countries. Owing to its nutritious pods, wide adaptability in different soils in varied altitudes, if properly exploited, P. timoriana can be considered as a supplementary source of protein. Despite the presence of high amounts of saponin, flavonoid, and tannin, which are heat labile and can be removed through processing methods [9]. Besides its immense nutritional values, P. timoriana has been reported to have antioxidant, antibacterial, antidiabetic, antiproliferative, and insecticidal properties. Although a very few studies have been available in the literature on the effect of specific compounds from tree bean, still many functions and interactions are yet to be investigated. Further studies need to be done extensively to understand its potential for health promotion and potential drug discovery to enhance our knowledge and appreciation for the use of P. timoriana in the daily diet.

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