Albizia Lebbeck

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NAME:  Albizia lebbeck

FAMILY: Leguminosae

COMMON NAMES: Silk flower, Lebbeck, flea tree, frywood, koko, Woman's tongue tree, Siris

LOCAL NAMES: Igbagbo, Shak shak tree

USEFUL PART(s):  Root, stem bark, leaves

GENERAL USES:

  • The leaves serves as fodder for farm animal

  • The wood is use as timber for constructions

  • The wood also serves as firewood for fuel

  • The bark can be use for soap

Geographic Distribution

  • New Guinea

  • Northern Australia

  • Nigeria

  • Ghana

  • India

WHY IS IT GREEN?

 Albizia lebbeck medicinal values include:

  • Astringent

  • Mouthwash

  • River-blindness

  • Gonorrhoea

  • Cough

  • Flu

  • Lung problems

  • Pectoral problems

  • Inflammations

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

  • Shade tree

  • Improves the soil

  • Controls erosion

FUNFUL FACT 

  • It has the name ‘Shak Shak Tree’ because of the sound the seeds make in the pod.

  • A conspicuous deciduous tree with a spreading crown with height reaching 15 - 20 metres

FURTHER READINGS

Babu, N. P., Pandikumar, P., & Ignacimuthu, S. (2009). Anti-inflammatory activity of Albizia lebbeck Benth., an ethnomedicinal plant, in acute and chronic animal models of inflammation. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 125(2), 356–360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2009.02.041

Bobby, M. N., Wesely, E. G., & Johnson, M. (2012). High performance thin layer chromatography profile studies on the alkaloids of Albizia lebbeck. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine, 2(1 SUPPL.). https://doi.org/10.1016/S2221-1691(12)60119-1

Egito, A. S., Girardet, J. M., Laguna, L. E., Poirson, C., Mollé, D., Miclo, L., … Gaillard, J. L. (2007). Milk-clotting activity of enzyme extracts from sunflower and albizia seeds and specific hydrolysis of bovine κ-casein. International Dairy Journal, 17(7), 816–825. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idairyj.2006.09.012

Perveen, S., & Anis, M. (2015). Physiological and biochemical parameters influencing ex vitro establishment of the in vitro regenerants of Albizia lebbeck (L.) Benth.: an important soil reclaiming plantation tree. Agroforestry Systems, 89(4), 721–733. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-015-9809-7

Perveen, S., Varshney, A., Anis, M., & Aref, I. M. (2011). Influence of cytokinins, basal media and pH on adventitious shoot regeneration from excised root cultures of Albizia lebbeck. Journal of Forestry Research, 22(1), 47–52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-011-0124-5

Rajesh, B., Saumya, D., Dharmajit, P., & Pavani, M. (2014). Formulation design and optimization of herbal gel containing albizia lebbeck bark extract. International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 6(5), 111–114.

Seyydnejad, S. M., Niknejad, M., Darabpoor, I., & Motamedi, H. (2010). Antibacterial activity of hydroalcoholic extract of Callistemon citrinus and Albizia lebbeck. American Journal of Applied Sciences, 7(1), 13–16. https://doi.org/10.3844/ajassp.2010.13.16

Subramonia Pillai, N., Kannan, P. S., Vettivel, S. C., & Suresh, S. (2017). Optimization of transesterification of biodiesel using green catalyst derived from Albizia Lebbeck Pods by mixture design. Renewable Energy, 104, 185–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2016.12.035

Venkatesh, P., Mukherjee, P. K., Kumar, N. S., Bandyopadhyay, A., Fukui, H., Mizuguchi, H., & Islam, N. (2010). Anti-allergic activity of standardized extract of Albizia lebbeck with reference to catechin as a phytomarker. Immunopharmacology and Immunotoxicology, 32(2), 272–276. https://doi.org/10.3109/08923970903305481

Zia-Ul-Haq, M., Ahmad, S., Qayum, M., & Ercişli, S. (2013). Compositional studies and antioxidant potential of Albizia lebbeck (L.) Benth. pods and seeds. Turkish Journal of Biology, 37(1), 25–32. https://doi.org/10.3906/biy-1204-38