Cordia curassavica (N. Jacquin) J. Roemer & J. A. Schultes, Family: Boraginaceae Synonyms: Cordia macrostachya (Jacquin) Roemer & Schultes, Varronia curassavica Jacq. Cordia curassavica has not had much research conducted on it but the research conducted is fairly recent. The plant is native to South and Central America and the Caribbean. Cordia curassavica essential oil derived from the aerial parts had activity against Aspergillus niger, Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium moniliforme (Hernandez et al., 2007). Four naphthoquinones from the roots of Cordia curassavica demonstrated activity against Cladosporium cucumerinum (Ioset et al., 2000) and against the larvae of Aedes aegypti (Ioset et al., 2000; Mohammed and Chadee, 2007) and may have insecticidal activity against plant pests. Chemical structures of cordiaquinones A and B, J and K are presented in Ioset et al., (2000). Other properties- A new drug derived from the oil extract of the plant species Cordia verbenacea was registered in 2004 and was developed entirely in Brazil. The active principle is alpha-humulene, an antiinflammatory compound. It is called Acheflan® ointment and spray and is used for the treatment of chronic tendinitis and muscle pains. Table 1. Composition of essential oil of Cordia curassavica (source Hernandez et al., 2007) Compounds % 4-Isopropyl-3,7-dimethyl-3a,3b,4,5,6,7-hexahydro-1-H-cyclopenten [1,3] cyclopropa [1,2] benzene 2.22 Cadina 4(5), 10(14) diene 7.93 Isocaryophyllene 2.39 beta-Selinene 3.79 Calamenene 3.72 4-Methyl,4-ethenyl-3-(1-methyl ethenyl)-1-(1-methyl methanol)cyclohexane 37.34 Spathulenol 11.25 5-(2,3-Dimethyltricyclo 2.2.1.02, 6-hept-3-y1)-2-methyl-2-penten-1-ol 2.48 beta-Eudesmol 19.21 Hexahydro-2,5,5-trimethyl-2H-2,4a-ethanonaphthalen-8(5H)-one 2.90 1-Methyl-, (3beta, 5alpha, 17beta)-androst-1-ene-3,17-diol 3.05 Plant description. An odorous shrub 1-3 m tall with many branches. The green ovate leaves are 5-10 cm long and rough on the upper surface but paler and hairy on the underside. The white flowers grow on erect spikes at the tips of the stems, and are followed by red fleshy fruits about 5 mm across with a single stony seed" (Swarbrick, 1997; p. 31 in http://www.hear.org/pier/species/cordia_curassavica.htm). The plant is spread by bird-dispersed seeds. The plants grow quickly in strong sunlight and can grow so thickly that no other vegetation can grow. A picture of the senescing inflorescence of Cordia curassavica by John Wood, Darwin Initiative Project 161/11/016 is available at: http://www.kew.org/science/tropamerica/neotropikey/families/Boraginaceae.htm References Balbani AP, Silva DH, Montovani JC. Patents of drugs extracted from Brazilian medicinal plants. Expert Opin Ther Pat. 2009 19(4):461-73. Hernandez T, Canales M, Teran B, Avila O, Duran A, Garcia AM, Hernandez H, Angeles-Lopez O, Fernandez-Araiza M, Avila G. Antimicrobial activity of the essential oil and extracts of Cordia curassavica (Boraginaceae). J Ethnopharmacol. 2007 111(1):137-41. Ioset JR, Marston A, Gupta MP, Hostettmann K. Antifungal and larvicidal cordiaquinones from the roots of Cordia curassavica. Phytochemistry. 2000 53(5):613-7. Michielin EM, Salvador AA, Riehl CA, Smânia A Jr, Smânia EF, Ferreira SR. Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of Cordia verbenacea extracts obtained by different methods. Bioresour Technol. 2009 100(24):6615-23. Mohammed A, Chadee DD. An evaluation of some Trinidadian plant extracts against larvae of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. J Am Mosq Control Assoc. 2007 23(2):172-6. Salazar-Aranda R, Pérez-López LA, López-Arroyo J, Alanís-Garza BA, Waksman de Torres N. Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of Plants from Northeast of Mexico. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2009 Sep 21. [Epub ahead of print] Swarbrick, J.T. 1997. Environmental weeds and exotic plants on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean: a report to Parks Australia. 101 pp. plus appendix.