Family • Oleaceae - Jasminum grandiflorum Linn. - JASMINE - Su xin hua Scientific names Jasminum grandiflorum Linn. Jasminum officinale L.var. grandiflorum L. Common names Jasmin (Tag., Span.) Jasmine (Engl.) Royal jasmine (Engl.) Spanish jasmine (Engl.) Other vernacular names CHINESE: Su xin hua, Mo li hua. SPANISH: Jasmin. PAKISTAN: Chambeli, Yasmin. Botany Jasmin is a smooth, woody vine, reaching a length of 8 meters, often with pendulous branches. Leaves are odd-pinnate, 6 to 9 centimeters long, with 7 to 9 leaflets. Lower leaflets are shortly stalked, while the upper ones are stalkless and often somewhat fused; both are ovate, 1 to 2 centimeters long, and pointed at the tip. Flowers are white with faint, pinkish streaks or a purplish tinge outside, delightfully fragrant, and borne in lax, terminal inflorescences. Calyx-teeth are very slender, about 7 millimeters long. Corolla is white, with a slender tube nearly 2 centimeters long; the spreading lobes about 1.5 centimeters long. Distribution - Cultivated in Manila and other large towns for its very fragrant flowers. - Nowhere spontaneous. - Native of India. Constituents - Flowers contain a volatile oil, jasminol, and indol. - Essence also contains benzyl-acetate, linalol, indol, and a ketone called jasmone. - Ethereal extract from the leaves yield an alkaloid, jasminine. - Study reports salicylic acid and an astringent principle in the leaves. - Study yielded moderate phenols and abundant flavonoids and terpenoids. - Phytochemical screening yielded alkaloids, glycoside, flavonoid, triterpenes, saponins, tannin, resin, and salicylic acid. Additional Sources and Suggested Readings (1) A new secoiridoid from the flowers [...]

Family • Solanaceae - Solanum pseudo-capsicum Linn. Scientific names Solanum pseudo-capsicum Linn. Common names Jerusalem cherry (Engl.) Madeira winter cherry (Engl.) Christmas cherry (Engl.) Coral bush (Engl.) Botany An erect, branched and nonspiny shrub growing to a height of one meter. Leaves are alternate, oblong to lanceolate, up to 10 cm long, wavy, glossy green above. Flowers are nodal, white and solitary. Fruit is globose, yellow or reddish, up to 1 cm in diameter. Distribution In the Philippines, grown in gardens for ornamental interest. Common in commericial botanical garden in Baguio. Additional Sources and Suggested Readings (1) In vitro cytotoxic properties of O-methylsolanocapsine isolated from Solanum pseudocapsicum leaves/Santoshkumar H. Dongre et al / Indian Journal of Pharmacology / Vol. 39, No. 4, July-August, 2007, pp. 208-209 (2) Solacasine, a new steroidal alkaloid fromSolanum pseudocapsicum possessing antimicrobial activity /Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences / L. A. Mitscher et al / DOI 10.1007/BF01920766 (3) Antitumor activity of total alkaloid fraction of solanum pseudocapsicum leaves / Shrishailappa Badami et al / Phytotherapy Research / Volume 17 Issue 9, Pages 1001 - 1004 (4) Hepatoprotective Effect of the Total Alkaloid Fraction of Solanum pseudocapsicum Leaves / P. Vijayan, H.C. Prashanth et al / Summary Pharmaceutical Biology 2003, Vol. 41, No. 6, Pages 443-448 / DOI 10.1076/phbi.41.6.443.17827 (5) Volatile Components from the Roots of Solanum pseudocapsicum / A.A. Aliero, O.T. Asekun, D.S. Grierson, A.J. Afolayan. / Journal of Medicinal Food. September 2007, 10(3): 557-558. doi:10.1089/jmf.2006.230. (6) In vitro antioxidant properties of Solanum pseudocapsicum leaf extracts / S Badami, Om Prakash, SH Dongre, B Suresh / RESEARCH [...]

Family • Cuppressaceae - Juniperus chinensis L. - CHINESE JUNIPER - Yuan bai Scientific names Juniperus chinensis L. Juniperus barbadensis Thunb. Juniperus dimorpha Roxb. Juniperus sinensis J. F. Gmel. Sabina chinensis (L.) Antoine Yuan bai (Chin.) Common names Chinese juniper (Engl.) Chinese pyramid juniper (Engl.) Other vernacular names CZECH: Jalovec cinsky. DUTCH: Chinese jeneverbes. FRENCH: genévrier de Chine. GERMANY: China-Wacholder, Chinesische Wacholder, Chinesischer Sadebaum. HUN: Kínai boróka. JAPAN: Ibuki, Ibuki-byakyshin, Byakushin, Kamakura-byakushin. KOREA: Kong nam somg, Hyang-na-mu. RUSSIAN: Mozhzhevel'nik kitajskij plakuchij. SPANISH: Sabina de China, Sabina de jardin. Botany Juniper is a dioceious evergreen tree growing to a height of 15 to 20 meters. Leavers are opposite and obtuse, dark green, needle-like and spiny when young, adult ones are scale-like. Female cones are subglobose, 5 centimeters in diameter, with 2 seeds. Distribution - Cultivated and grows in Baguio gardens. - Does not thrive well the in lowlands. - Widespread in temperate countries. - Native to northeast Asia. Found in China, Mongolia, Japan, and Korea. Additional Sources and Suggested Readings   (1) Anti-Metastatic Activity of Juniperus chinensis Extract by Galectin-3 Inhibition / Lee, Keyong Ho ; Rhee, Ki-Hyeong / The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition, Volume 25, Issue ,4, 2012, pp.713-718 (2) Anti-obesity effects of Juniperus chinensis extract are associated with increased AMP-activated protein kinase expression and phosphorylation in the visceral adipose tissue of rats. / Kim SJ, Jung JY, Kim HW, Park T. / Biol Pharm Bull. 2008 Jul;31(7):1415-21. (3) Essential oil composition of Juniperus chinensis from the plains of northern India / V. K. Raina, S. K. Srivastava, [...]