Biancaea sappan

Biancaea sappan is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is native to tropical Asia. Common names in English include sappanwood and Indian redwood.^[2] It was previously ascribed to the genus Caesalpinia.^[3] Sappanwood is related to brazilwood (Paubrasilia echinata), and was itself called brasilwood in the Middle Ages.^[4]

Biancaea sappan
Leaves and fruits
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 2.3)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Caesalpinioideae
Genus:	Biancaea
Species:	B. sappan
Binomial name
Biancaea sappan (L. 1753) Tod. 1875
Synonyms
Caesalpinia sappan L. 1753

Biancaea sappan can be infected by twig dieback (Lasiodiplodia theobromae).^[5]

This plant has many uses. It has antibacterial and anticoagulant properties.^{[citation needed]} It also produces a valuable reddish dye called brazilin, used for dyeing fabric as well as making red paints and inks.^[a] Slivers of heartwood are used for making herbal drinking water in various regions, such as Kerala, Karnataka and Central Java, where it is usually mixed with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. The heartwood also contains juglone (5-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone), which has antimicrobial activity.^[7] Homoisoflavonoids (sappanol, episappanol, 3'-deoxysappanol, 3'-O-methylsappanol, 3'-O-methylepisappanol^[8] and sappanone A^[9]) can also be found in B. sappan.

The wood is somewhat lighter in color than brazilwood and other related trees. Sappanwood was a major trade good during the 17th century, when it was exported from Southeast Asian nations (especially Thailand) aboard red seal ships to Japan.

Gallery

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  Leaves, flower buds
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  Fruits
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  Bark
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  Plantlings

Notes

1. "From the Yoshimua Dye-works archive, we have learned that in 1845, the expensive safflower red was subsitituted or diluted with sappan (Caesalpinia sappan L.) and turmeric (Curcuma longa L.)."^[6]: 1

References

1. World Conservation Monitoring Centre (2018). "Biancaea sappan". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T34641A127066650. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T34641A127066650.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
2. "sanscrit :Patranga:Caesalpinia sappan L." Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved Jul 6, 2016.
3. Gagnon E, Bruneau A, Hughes CE, de Queiroz LP, Lewis GP (2016). "A new generic system for the pantropical Caesalpinia group (Leguminosae)". PhytoKeys (71): 1–160. doi:10.3897/phytokeys.71.9203. PMC 5558824. PMID 28814915.
4. Von Muralt, Malou (November 2006). "A árvore que se tornou país" [The tree that became a country]. Revista da USP (in Brazilian Portuguese). 71. Translated by Campos, Regina: 171–198. ISSN 0103-9989. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
5. "CAB Direct".
6. Arai, Masanao; Iwamoto Wada, Yoshiko (2010). "BENI ITAJIME: CARVED BOARD CLAMP RESIST DYEING IN RED" (PDF). Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings. University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021.
7. Lim, M.-Y.; Jeon, J.-H.; Jeong, E. Y.; Lee, C. H.; Lee, H.-S. (2007). "Antimicrobial Activity of 5-Hydroxy-1,4-Naphthoquinone Isolated from Caesalpinia sappan toward Intestinal Bacteria". Food Chemistry. 100 (3): 1254–1258. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2005.12.009.
8. Namikoshi, Michio; Nakata, Hiroyuki; Yamada, Hiroyuki; Nagai, Minako; Saitoh, Tamotsu (1987). "Homoisoflavonoids and related compounds. II. Isolation and absolute configurations of 3,4-dihydroxylated homoisoflavans and brazilins from Caesalpinia sappan L". Chemical & Pharmaceutical Bulletin. 35 (7): 2761. doi:10.1248/cpb.35.2761.
9. Chang, T. S.; Chao, S. Y.; Ding, H. Y. (2012). "Melanogenesis Inhibition by Homoisoflavavone Sappanone a from Caesalpinia sappan". International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 13 (8): 10359–10367. doi:10.3390/ijms130810359. PMC 3431864. PMID 22949866.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Sapan Wood". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

External links

• Media related to Biancaea sappan at Wikimedia Commons
• Data related to Biancaea sappan at Wikispecies