Ailanthus glandulosa Desf.
Synonym A. altissima (Mill.) Swingle
Family Simaroubaceae.
Habitat Native of China and Japan. Found in the hills of northern India up to an altitude of 2,400 m.
English Tree of Heaven, Ailanto. Ayurvedic Aralu (related sp.).
Action Bark—astringent, antispasmodic, parasiticidal, narcotic, cardiac depressant (exercises powerful depressing influence on nervous system similar to that of tobacco).
Leaves produce dermatitis; their accumulation in well-water produces chronic gastritis.
Many quassinoids and ailanthone derivatives are vermifuge and amoebicidal. Constituents of the bark and stem, particularly ailanthone, have antimalarial activity in vitro against Plasmodiumfalciparum and in mice against P berghei. (Alkaloids do not appear to have these properties.) Some quassinoids are antineoplastic, and are reported to have antileukaemic properties.
The rootbark is used in traditional Chinese medicine for dysentery and leucorrhoea. In Africa, rootbark is used in epilepsy.
