Common Name:

General Information

Aglaia vitiensis is a compact or slender, sometimes freely-branched tree; it can grow from 3 - 23 metres tall. The bole can be free of branches for up to 7 metres and up to 30cm in diameter[, ].
The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of wood.
Loss of habitat is a potential threat to the species. The plant is classified as 'Near Threatened' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Pacific - Fiji.

Habitat

Dense primary forests and the more open, secondary formations; at elevations from 30 - 1,150 metres[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Near Threatened
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	15.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The bark is used medicinally[].

The genus 'Aglaia' is the only source of the group of about 50 known representatives of compounds that bear a unique cyclopenta[b]tetrahydrobenzofuran skeleton. These compounds are more commonly called rocaglate or rocaglamide derivatives, or flavaglines, and most have been found to have potent insecticidal properties, antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial or anthelmintic bioactivity. Several of them exhibit pronounced cytotoxic activity against a range of human cancers. Since the first representative in this group was only discovered in 1982, this is one of the few recent examples of a completely new class of plant secondary metabolites of biological promise (see B. G. Wang et al., Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 32: 1223-1226. 2004; L.W. Chaidir et al., J. Nat. Prod. 64: 1216-1220. 2001)[, ].

Other Uses

The genus 'Aglaia' is the only source of the group of about 50 known representatives of compounds that bear a unique cyclopenta[b]tetrahydrobenzofuran skeleton. These compounds are more commonly called rocaglate or rocaglamide derivatives, or flavaglines, and most have been found to have potent insecticidal properties, antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial or anthelmintic bioactivity. Several of them exhibit pronounced cytotoxic activity against a range of human cancers. Since the first representative in this group was only discovered in 1982, this is one of the few recent examples of a completely new class of plant secondary metabolites of biological promise (see B. G. Wang et al., Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 32: 1223-1226. 2004; L.W. Chaidir et al., J. Nat. Prod. 64: 1216-1220. 2001)[, ].

The tree is sometimes used as a source of timber[].

Propagation

Seed -

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