Evodia

Evodia (Evodia rutaecarpa) is a seasonal tree native to northern China and Korea that bears small, reddish-brown fruit. The fruit is harvested and dried, then extracted, concentrated, and re-dried. Evodia has been used for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine for its health benefits. Evodia contains alkaloid compounds including evodiamine and rutaecarpine.1,2

Health Benefits

Evodia has been used to treat gastrointestinal disturbances, headaches, hypertension, and postpartum hemorrhage in traditional Chinese medicine.1-3 Several studies have indicated that evodiamine and rutaecarpine in Evodia may potentially have additional benefits, such as: anti-atherosclerotic, cardioprotective, and anti-cancer effects.2-5

References

  1. Wen B, Roongta V, Liu L, Moore DJ. Metabolic activation of the indoloquinazoline alkaloids evodiamine and rutaecarpine by human liver microsomes: dehydrogenation and inactivation of cytochrome P450 3A4. Drug Metab 2014 Jun;42(6):1044-54. doi: 10.1124/dmd.114. 057414. Epub 2014 Apr 2. PubMed PMID: 24696463.
  2. Heo SK, Yun HJ, Yi HS, Noh EK, Park SD. Evodiamine and rutaecarpine inhibit migration by LIGHT via suppression of NADPH oxidase activation. J Cell Biochem. 2009 May 1;107(1):123-33. doi: 10.1002/jcb.22109. PubMed PMID: 19241441.
  3. Jia S, Hu C. Pharmacological effects of rutaecarpine as a cardiovascular protective agent. Molecules. 2010 Mar 15;15(3):1873-81. doi: 3390/molecules15031873. Review. PubMed PMID: 20336017.
  4. Zhang Y, Zhang QH, Wu LJ, Tashiro S, Onodera S, Ikejima T. Atypical apoptosis in L929 cells induced by evodiamine isolated from Evodia rutaecarpa. J Asian Nat Prod Res. 2004 Mar;6(1):19-27. PubMed PMID: 14989376.
  5. Jiang J, Hu C. Evodiamine: a novel anti-cancer alkaloid from Evodia rutaecarpa. Molecules. 2009 May 18;14(5):1852-9. doi: 10.3390/molecules14051852. Review. PubMed PMID: 19471205.