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MAGNOLIACEAE

This family consists of 230 species in 12 genera found in temperate and tropical eastern Asia and America. Oil passages are present in the tissues of the plants.

[Summary yet to be added]

Liriodendron

One species, native to eastern North America, is planted as an ornamental, reaching 60 m in height. The timber is known in commerce as Canary Whitewood. The tree is grown as a shade tree in Vancouver and is sometimes named Magnolia when offered for sale in Europe.

Liriodendron tulipifera

Tulip Tree, Yellow Poplar

Dermatitis from the wood, which was used for making pianos, was reported by Brezina in 1912 (Hausen 1973). Two patients had dermatitis of the hands and face from whitewood sawdust; in one of them, a patch test to the sawdust produced a positive reaction, negative in ten controls (Hausen 1970). Four of five individuals who were contact-sensitive to sesquiterpene lactones of Compositae species and of Frullania showed positive patch test reactions to the leaf (Mitchell 1975). The sesquiterpene lactones, liperolide and γ-liriodenolide from the leaf (Doskotch et al. 1972) and tulipinolide and costunolide from the root bark (Doskotch & El-Feraly 1969) are potentially allergenic (Mitchell and Dupuis 1971). Costunolide is probably an allergen of Saussurea (Mitchell and Epstein 1974). These findings suggest that the allergens of Liriodendron may be sesquiterpene lactones. In two cases, quinones seemed to be the allergens of the wood (Hausen, B.M. Pers. Comm. 1974).

Magnolia

80 species are found from the Himalayan mountains east to Japan, Borneo and Java and in eastern North America and the West Indies south to Venezuela. Magnolia kobus provides an essential oil, the principal constituents of which are citral, eugenol and cineol (Kariyone 1971). A phenolic compound, magnolol, is sometimes found as fine crystals in the bark of some Magnolia species (Kariyone 1972).

Magnolia grandiflora

An essential oil of perfumery has been derived from the plant (Arctander 1960). The leaves were boiled to make a dye. A dyer developed contact dermatitis of the hands from this work, subsequently of the face, possibly from exposure to the vapour. A patch test produced a positive reaction negative in controls. Patch test dermatitis appeared at the sites of contact with the cut edge and pin prick holes in the leaf indicating that damage to the leaf was necessary to release the allergenic principle (Genner and Bonnevie 1938). Five individuals who were contact sensitive to sesquiterpene lactones of Compositae species and of Frullania showed positive patch test reactions to cut pieces of the leaf of Magnolia grandiflora (Mitchell 1975). The finding that damage to the plant tissues was necessary to release the allergen was confirmed. Parthenolide, a sesquiterpene lactone, has been isolated from the leaves and stems of this species (Wiedhopf et al. 1973). Parthenolide was found to produce positive patch test reactions in individuals who were contact-sensitive to various Compositae species and sesquiterpene lactones (Mitchell and Dupuis 1971). These findings suggest that such lactones may be the allergens of Magnolia. Parthenolide is also derived from Michelia champaca of this family.

Magnolia hypoleuca

In the case of contact dermatitis described by Genner and Bonnevie (1938), a dry leaf of this plant produced a positive patch test reaction, weaker in degree than that produced by Magnolia grandiflora.

Magnolia virginiana

This species was at one time official in the US Pharmacopoeia.

Michelia

Fifty species are found in tropical Asia and China. Several species provide useful timber. In Malaysia, the fragrant flowers are used for adorning the hair and neck (Corner 1952).

Michelia champaca

Orange Chempaka, Chempaka Merah

The flowers yield Oil of Champaca of perfumery (Arctander 1960) which contains esters of benzoic acid, benzaldehyde, benzyl alcohol and isoeugenol (Budavari 1996). Four of five individuals who were contact sensitive to sesquiterpene lactones of Compositae species and of Frullania showed positive patch test reactions to Oil of Champaca (Mitchell 1975). In one of five cases the leaf produced a positive patch test reaction. The root of the plant yields parthenolide (Govindachari et al. 1964).

Michelia lanuginosa

The bark of the tree yields parthenolide and some other sesquiterpene lactones (Talapatra et al. 1973). Parthenolide has been found to produce positive patch test reactions in individuals who were contact sensitive to various Compositae species and sesquiterpene lactones (Mitchell and Dupuis 1971).

These findings suggest that such lactones may be the allergens of Michelia (Mitchell 1975).

References

• Arctander, S. (1960) Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin. Elizabeth, N.J Published by the author.
• Budavari S (Ed.) (1996) The Merck Index. An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals. 12th edn. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck & Co., Inc.
• Corner EJH (1952) Wayside Trees of Malaya, 2nd edn. Vol. 1. Singapore: VCG Gatrell, Government Printer.
• Doskotch RW and El-Feraly FS (1969) Antitumor agents II: Tulipinolide, a new germacranolide sesquiterpene, and costunolide. Two cytotoxic substances from Liriodendron tulipifera L. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 58(7): 877-880
• Doskotch, R.W., Keely, S.L. and Hufford, C.D. (1972) Lipiferolide, a cytotoxic germacranolide and gamma-liriodenolide, two new sesquiterpene lactones from Liriodendron tulipifera. Chem. Comm. 20: 1137.
• Genner, V. and Bonnevie, P. (1938) Eczematous eruptions produced by leaves of trees and bushes. Archs Derm. Syph. 37: 583.
• Govindachari, T.R., Joshi, B.S. and Kamat, V.N. (1964) Revised structure of parthenolide. Tetrahedron Letters (52): 3927.
• Hausen, B.M. (1970) Untersuchungen über Gesundheitsschädigende Holzer. Thesis, Hamburg.
• Hausen, B.M. (1973) Holzarten mit gesundheitsschädigenden Inhaltsstoffen Stuttgart. DRW-Verlags-GmbH.
• Kariyone, T. (1971) Atlas of Medicinal Plants. Osaka, Japan. Takeda Chemical Industries.
• Mitchell, J.C. and Dupuis, G. (1971) Allergic contact dermatitis from sesquiterpenoids of the Compositae family of plants. Brit. J. Derm. 84: 139.
• Mitchell, J.C. and Epstein, W.L. (1974) Contact hypersensitivity to a perfume material, Costus Absolute. Arch. Derm. 110: 871.
• Mitchell, J.C. (1975) Contact sensitivity to sesquiterpene lactones and some perfume materials. Derm. Int. 14: 301 (see p. 312).
• Talapatra, S.K., Patra, A. and Talapatra, B. (1973) Parthenolide and a new germacranolide 11,13-dehydrolanuginolide from Michelia lanuginosa. Phytochemistry 12: 1827.
• Wiedhopf RM, Young M, Bianchi E, Cole JR (1973) Tumor inhibitory agent from Magnolia grandiflora (Magnoliaceae) I: Parthenolide. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 62(2): 345

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