A review of some of the chemicals found in bellaco caspi might explain some of the many traditional uses of this tropical rainforest tree. An antitumor iridoid compound and two depside chemicals have been isolated from bellaco caspi bark. In addition, two iridoid chemicals called plumericin and isoplumericin have been found in the tree bark and the latex. These two chemicals have been reported with cytotoxic, anticancerous, antifungal and antibacterial actions in laboratory research.*

To learn more about this wonderful rainforest plant, go to the Tropical Plant Database file on Bellaco-Caspi. To see photographs of bellaco-caspi, click here. More information on bellaco caspi can also be found in the new Anti-Cancerous Guide and the Antimicrobial Guide.

Traditional Uses:* as a wound healer and broad spectrum antimicrobial (bacteria, fungi, candida); for tumors and cancer; for lymphatic cleansing, inflammation, and infections; for endometriosis, uterine fibroid tumors, menstrual irregularities and pain, ovarian cysts and ovarian inflammation; as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic for arthritis, back pain, and muscle injury

Suggested Use: Take 60 drops (2 ml) of a concentrated 1:4 tincture 2 - 3 times daily or as needed. Can also be used topically on the skin as desired. To learn how to make your own extract, please refer to the instructions on preparing tinctures at Methods for Preparing Herbal Remedies Page.
Contraindications: None reported.
Drug Interactions: None reported.

---

Third-Party Published Research*

All available third-party research on bellaco-caspi can be found at PubMed. A partial listing of the published research on bellaco-caspi updated through January 2019 is shown below:

Anti-ulcerous Actions:
Boeing, T., et al. "Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect of plumieride in dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in mice." Biomed. Pharmacother. 2018 Mar; 99: 697-703.
Baggio, C., et al. "Gastroprotective mechanisms of indole alkaloids from Himatanthus lancifolius." Planta Med. 2005; 71(8): 733-8.

Anti-inflammatory, Pain-relieving and Wound Healing Actions:
Boeing, T., et al. "Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect of plumieride in dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in mice." Biomed. Pharmacother. 2018 Mar; 99: 697-703.
Khan, S., et al. "Premature senescence of endothelial cells upon chronic exposure to TNF can be prevented by N-acetyl cysteine and plumericin." Sci. Rep. 2017 Jan; 7: 39501.
Fakhrudin, N., et al. "Identification of plumericin as a potent new inhibitor of the NF-B pathway with anti-inflammatory activity in vitro and in vivo." Br. J. Pharmacol. 2014 Apr; 171(7): 1676-86.
de Lima, R., et al. "Database survey of anti-inflammatory plants in South America: a review" Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2011; 12(4): 2692-2749.
Lucetti, D., et al. "Anti-inflammatory effects and possible mechanism of action of lupeol acetate isolated from Himatanthus drasticus (Mart.) Plumel" J. Inflamm. (Lond) 2010; 7: 60.
Saleem, M. "Lupeol, a novel anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer dietary triterpene" Cancer Lett. 2009 November 28; 285(2): 109-115.
Villegas, L., et al. "Evaluation of the wound-healing activity of selected traditional medicinal plants from Peru." J. Ethnopharmacol. 1997; 55: 193-200.
De Miranda, A. L., et al. "Anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of the latex containing triterpenes from Himatanthus sucuuba." Planta Med. 2000; 66(3): 284-286.

Immune Stimulant Actions:
Singh, J., et al. "Immunostimulatory activity of plumieride an iridoid in augmenting immune system by targeting Th-1 pathway in balb/c mice." Int. Immunopharmacol. 2017 Jul; 48: 203-210.

Antioxidant & Cellular Protective Actions:
Singh, D., et al. "Antioxidant Potential of Plumieride against CCl4-Induced Peroxidative Damage in Rats." Antioxidants (Basel). 2014 Nov; 3(4): 798-813.

Anti-spasmodic Actions:
Rattmann, Y. et al. "Effects of alkaloids of Himatanthus lancifolius (Muell. Arg.) Woodson, Apocynaceae, on smooth muscle responsiveness." J. Ethnopharmacol. 2005 Sep; 100(3): 268-75.

Antimicrobial Actions:
Prinsloo, G., et al. "Anti-HIV activity of southern African plants: Current developments, phytochemistry and future research. J. Ethnopharmacol. 2018 Jan; 210: 133-155.
Figueiredo, C., et al. "Himatanthus drasticus leaves: chemical characterization and evaluation of their antimicrobial, antibiofilm, antiproliferative activities." Molecules. 2017 May 31; 22(6).
Saengsai, J., et al. "Antibacterial and antiproliferative activities of plumericin, an iridoid isolated from Momordica charantia vine." Evid. Based Complement. Alternat Med. 2015; 2015: 823178.
Kumar, P., et al. "Anti-mycobacterial activity of plumericin and isoplumericin against MDR Mycobacterium tuberculosis." Pulm. Pharmacol. Ther. 2013 Jun; 26(3): 332-5.
Singh, D., et al. "Antifungal activity of plumericin and isoplumericin. Nat. Prod. Commun. 2011 Nov; 6(11): 1567-8.
Kuigoua, G., et al. "Minor secondary metabolic products from the stem bark of Plumeria rubra Linn. displaying antimicrobial activities." Planta Med. 2010 Apr; 76(6): 620-5.
Moreira, D., et al. "Actividades antimicrobiologicas dos stratos e fracoes obtido atraves de solventes organicos da casca da Himatanthus sucuuba do vale do Acre." Anais Do XV Seminario De Iniciacao Cientifica PIBIQ-CNPQ, 2006: Universidade Federal Do Acre, Rio Branco-Acre, Brazil.
Souza, W., et al. "Antimicrobial activity of alkaloidal fraction from barks of Himatanthus lancifolius." Fitoterapia. 2004 Dec; 75(7-8): 750-3.
Tiwari, T., et al. "Plumieride from Allamanda cathartica as an antidermatophytic agent." Phytother. Res. 2002 Jun; 16(4): 393-4.
Wood, C., et al. "A bioactive spirolactone iridoid and triterpenoids from Himatanthus sucuuba." Chem. Pharm. Bull. 2001; 49(11): 1477-1478.
De Silva, J., et al. "Triterpenic esters from Himatanthus sucuuba (Spruce) Woodson." Quimica Nova 1998; 21(6): 702-704.
Vlietinck, A., et al. "Plant-derived leading compounds for chemotherapy of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection." Planta Med. 1998 Mar; 64(2): 97-109.
Abdel-Kader, M., et al. "Bioactive iridoids and a new lignan from Allamanda cathartica and Himatanthus fallax from the Suriname rainforest." J. Nat. Prod. 1997; 60(12): 1294-7.
Hamburger, M., et al. "Traditional medicinal plants of Thailand. XVII. Biologically active constituents of Plumeria rubra." J. Ethnopharmacol. 1991 Jul; 33(3): 289-92.
Kardono, L., et al. "Cytotoxic constituents of the bark of Plumeria rubra collected in Indonesia." J. Nat. Prod. 1990 Nov-Dec; 53(6): 1447-55.
Jovel, E., et al. "An ethnobotanical study of the traditional medicine of the Mestizo people of Suni Mirano, Loreto, Peru." J. Ethnopharmacol. 1996; (53): 149-156.
Bolzani, V., et al. "Search for antifungal and anticancer compounds from native plant species of cerrado and Atlantic Forest." An. Acad. Bras. Cienc. 1999; 71(2): 181-7.
Persinos-Perdue, G., et al. " South American plants. III. Isolation of fulvoplumierin from Himatanthus sucuuba (Apocynaceae). J. Pharm. Sci. 1978; 67: 1322.
Little, J., et al. "Plumericin; an antimicrobial agent from Plumeria multiflora." Arch. Biochem. 1951; 30(2): 445-52.

Antileishmanial & Antimalarial Actions:
Vale, V., et al. "Anti-malarial activity and toxicity assessment of Himatanthus articulatus, a plant used to treat malaria in the Brazilian Amazon." Malar. J. 2015 Mar 27; 14:132.
Filho, V., C, et al. "Evaluation of antileishmanial activity of selected Brazilian plants and identification of the active principles." Evid. Based Complement.Alternat. Med. 2013; 2013: 265025.
Sharma, U., et al. "Antiparasitic activity of plumericin & isoplumericin isolated from Plumeria bicolor against Leishmania donovani. Indian J. Med Res. 2011 Nov; 134(5): 709-16.
Soares, D., et al. "Leishmanicidal activity of Himatanthus sucuuba latex against Leishmania amazonensis." Parasitol Int. 2010 Jun; 59(2): 173-7.
Castillo, D., et al. "Spirolactone iridoids might be responsible for the antileishmanial activity of a Peruvian traditional remedy made with Himatanthus sucuuba (Apocynaceae)." J. Ethnopharmacol. 2007 Jun 13; 112(2): 410-4.

Anti-Diabetic Actions:
Giacoman-Martínez, A., et al. "Triterpenoids from Hibiscus sabdariffa L. with PPAR/ dual agonist action: in vivo, in vitro and in silico studies." Planta Med. 2019 Jan 16.

Anti-Atherosclerosic Actions:
Uhrin, P., et al. "Vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation as a therapeutic target. Part 2: Natural products inhibiting proliferation." Biotechnol. Adv. 2018 Nov; 36(6): 1608-1621.
Heiss, E., et al. "Plumericin inhibits proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells by blocking STAT3 signaling via S-glutathionylation." Sci Rep. 2016 Feb 9;6:20771.

Anti-tumor & Cytotoxic Actions:
Dobhal, M., et al. "Structural modifications of plumieride isolated from Plumeria bicolor and the effect of these modifications on in vitro anticancer activity. J. Org. Chem. 2004 Sep; 69(19): 6165-72.
Guignard, E., et al. "Screening of plants found in Amazonas state for lethality towards brine shrimp." Acta Amazonica. 2003; 33(1): 93-104.
Bolzani, V., et al. "Search for antifungal and anticancer compounds from native plant species of cerrado and Atlantic Forest." An. Acad. Bras. Cienc. 1999; 71(2): 181-7.
Persinos-Perdue, G., et al. " South American plants. III. Isolation of fulvoplumierin from Himatanthus sucuuba (Apocynaceae). J. Pharm. Sci. 1978; 67: 1322.
Kardono, L., et al. "Cytotoxic constituents of the bark of Plumeria rubra collected in Indonesia." J. Nat. Prod. 1990 Nov-Dec; 53(6):1447-55.
Wood, C. A., et al. "A bioactive spirolactone iridoid and triterpenoids from Himatanthus sucuuba." Chem. Pharm. Bull. 2001; 49(11): 1477-1478.
De Silva, J. R., et al. "Triterpenic esters from Himatanthus sucuuba (Spruce) Woodson." Quimica Nova 1998; 21(6): 702-704.
Abdel-Kader, M., et al. "Bioactive iridoids and a new lignan from Allamanda cathartica and Himatanthus fallax from the Suriname rainforest." J. Nat. Prod. 1997; 60(12): 1294-7.
Hamburger, M., et al. "Traditional medicinal plants of Thailand. XVII. Biologically active constituents of Plumeria rubra." J. Ethnopharmacol. 1991 Jul; 33(3): 289-92.

MAO-Inhibition Actions:
Endo, Y. et al. "Confluentic acid and 2'-o-methylperlatolic acid, Monoamine Oxidase B inhibitors in a Brazilian plant, Himatanthus sucuuba." Chem. Pharm. Bull. 1994; 42(6): 1198-1201.

Toxicity Studies:
de Sousa, S., et al. "Effect of Himatanthus sucuuba in maternal reproductive outcome and fetal anomaly frequency in rats." Res. B. Dev. Reprod. Toxicol. 2015 Oct; 104(5): 190-5.
Rebouças Sde, O., et al. "Assessment of the genotoxic and mutagenic properties of
Himatanthus articulatus bark extracts used as phytotherapeutic drug in the Amazon." J Ethnopharmacol. 2013 May; 147(2): 474-80.
Gupta, R. et al. "Effects of plumieride, an iridoid on spermatogenesis in male albino rats. Phytomedicine. 2004 Feb; 11(2-3): 169-74.
De Oliveira Guerra, M., et al. "Screening for reproductive toxicity in rats for a decoction of Himathanthus sucuuba stem bark." J. Ethnopharmacol. 1991; 34(2/3): 195-199.