Gen info
- Berrya is a genus of evergreen trees with fibrous bark from Southeast Asia and the Pacific region. It is valued for its timber.

Botany
Berrya cordifolia is a tree 4-6(-35) m tall, 10-20 cm d.b.h. Stipules filiform, 1-2 cm, glabrous; petiole 3.5-10 cm; leaf blade ovate to ovate-oblong, 10-20(-25) × 6-8(-14) cm, thinly leathery, very sparsely stellate pubescent, soon glabrous, lateral veins 4 or 5 pairs, base cordate, apex acuminate. Panicles to ca. 20 cm, hairy. Pedicel ca. 10 mm. Calyx 3-5-lobed, 3-5 mm, lobes triangular-ovate, hairy. Petals white or pink, filiform, 6-8 mm, becoming reflexed. Stamens 5-6 mm. Ovary hairy; style short. Capsule with persistent calyx, globose, 1-1.3 cm wide, pubescent, with 6(or 8) horizontally spreading thin wings, wings 2.5-3 × 0.7-1 cm. Seeds ca. 6 × 3 mm, with brown or yellow, caducous bristles. (Flora of China)

Berrya cordifolia is a tree growing up to 18–27 m tall, with a trunk girth 2–11⁄2 m. Bole, 9–11 m long, is clean and carries a much-branched deciduous crown. Leaves are ovate, deeply heart-shaped at base, often long-pointed, hairy when young. Leaf blade is 6–25 cm long, carried on a 2–10 cm long stalk. Buds are spherical. Inflorescence is a congested panicle, at end of end of branches or in leaf axils.
Flowers are tiny, about 8 mm across. Sepal cup is 4 mm long, irregularly splitting, often 3-lobed. Petals are usually 4 or 5, narrowly oblong, about 7 mm long, white or pale pink. (ENVIS Centre)

Distribution
- Native to the Philippines.
- Also native to Andaman Is., Bangladesh, Borneo, Christmas Is., India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam. (2)

Constituents
- Study of stem of Berrya ammonilla isolated a new orthoquinone, berryammone A (1), and four new naphthalenone derivatives, berryammone B (2), berryammone C (3), 6-O-methylberryammone C (4), and 4-O-methylberryammone C (5), together with eleven known compounds (6–16). (see study below) (5)

Properties
- Seeds contain 11% oil. Still hairs may penetrate the skin and cause painful itching.
- Study suggested antifungal, anti-inflammatory properties.

Parts used
Root bark.

Uses
Folkloric
- No reported folkloric medicinal use in the Philippines.
- Root bark used for leukoderma.
- Taken orally by Lambada people for foot pain and nervous disorder.
Others
- Wood: Heartwood is dark red-brown, with darker streaks, distinctly demarcated from whitish to pale brown sapwood. Wood surface is dull, with slightly oily feel. Freshly sawn wood has a pungent odor.
- Commercial trade: In India and Myanmar, the wood of Berrya cordifolia is commercially traded. In the 1970s, annual exports from Myanmar amounted to about 500 t (600 m3). (4)
- Construction: Used for furniture making and historical applications in shipbuilding. Suitable for light and heavy construction, flooring, mine props, cartwheels, tool handles, agricultural implements, poles, carving, turnery, paneling, paper making, etc. In the Philippines, used for making boats and native houses.
- Fiber: Bark yields a fiber of low quality.
- Others: A hot water extract of leaves has shown antifungal activity against Pythium aphanidermatus. A cold water extract showed no activity. (4)

Studies
• Anti-Inflammatory / Stem: Study of stem of Berrya ammonilla isolated a new orthoquinone, berryammone A (1), and four new naphthalenone derivatives, berryammone B (2), berryammone C (3), 6-O-methylberryammone C (4), and 4-O-methylberryammone C (5), together with eleven known compounds (6–16). Compounds 1, 3, 5, and (+)-pinoresinol (6), and betulinic acid (12) exhibited inhibition (IC50 ≤ 4.41 µM) of superoxide anion generation by human neutrophils in response to formyl-L-methionyl-L-leucyl-L-phenylalanine/cytochalasin B (fMLP/CB). Compounds 1, 2, and 5 also inhibited fMLP/CB-induced elastase release with IC50a ≤3.95 µM. (5) (related article 6)

Availability
- Wild-crafted.
- Seeds in the cybermarket.

OTHER IMAGE SOURCE: Berrya cordifolia Leaf  (modified) / Copyright © 2015 by Roel Dahonog (contact: [email protected]) [ref. DOL94172] / Non-Commercial Use / click on image to go to source page / Phytoimages.siu.edu

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Berrya cordifolia / MSM Sosef, LT Hong, S Prawirohatmodjo / Plant Resources of South-East Asia
(2)
Berrya cordifolia / KEW: Plants of the World Online
(3)
Berrya cordifolia / Wikipedia
(4)
Berrya cordifolia (PROTA) / Plant Resources of Tropical Africa
(5)
Orthoquinone and Naphthalenone Derivatives from Berrya ammonilla and Their Anti-Inflammatory Activity / Tsung-Hsien Chou, Sheng-Kan Chien, Tsong-Long Hwang et al / Plant Med, 2012; 78(09): pp 919-925 / DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1298460
(6)
Naphthalenone derivatives from Berrya ammonilla with inhibitory activity on superoxide generation and elastase release by neutrophils / J J Chen, S K Chien, T Chou et al / Planta Med, 2010; 76 - p347 /
DOI: 10.1055/2-0030-1264645

DOI: It is not uncommon for links on studies/sources to change. Copying and pasting the information on the search window or using the DOI (if available) will often redirect to the new link page. (Citing and Using a (DOI) Digital Object Identifier)