Camptotheca acuminata

Camptotheca acuminata

FructusCamptothecaeAcuminatae

Commoncamptotheca fruit

[alias] qianzhangshu, shuilizi and tianzishu.

[source] the fruit of Camptotheca acuminata Decne.

[plant morphology] large deciduous tree. Leaves alternate, oval oblong or oval, 7-18cm long and 5-10cm wide, apex acuminate, base rounded or broadly cuneate, entire, margin ciliated, 10-11 pairs of veins; petioles red, with sparse hairs. The flowers are monoecious, forming a spherical head; the calyx is 5-toothed; the petals are 5-green; the stamens of male flowers are 10; the ovary of female flowers is hypogynous, 1-locular, stigma is 3-lobed, and the disk is obvious. Inflorescence globose. The flowering period is August, and the fruiting period is October to November.

It grows in humid places below 1000m above sea level. It is mainly produced in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Hubei and Hunan.

[harvest] in autumn, the fruits are harvested and dried before falling off.

[character] the fruit is lanceolate, 2-2.5cm long and 5-7mm wide, with sharp apex and stigma residue; the base is narrowed, with oval concave marks on the disc and wings on both sides. The surface is brown to brownish black, slightly glossy, with longitudinal crepe, sometimes with several corner edges and black spots. It is tough and not easy to break. Its cross section is fibrous. There is one seed in it, which shrinks into thin strips. It tastes bitter.

[chemical constituents] it contains camptothecine, venoterpine, 10 hydroxycamptothecine, 10 methoxycamptothecine, betulinic acid and vincoside lactam.

Cold in nature, bitter and astringent in taste; poisonous.

[indications] anticancer, dispersing nodes, breaking blood and removing blood stasis are used in many kinds of tumors, such as gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, chorionic epithelial carcinoma, lymphosarcoma, etc.