Faloak (Sterculia quadrifida R.Br.) bark harvesting for curing hepatitis in Kupang City: Herbal medicine in the urban environment

Abstract

Trees in an urban environment play an important role. Studies have shown that the presence of trees can improve human physical and mental health. People in Kupang, Nusa Tenggara Timur Province, Indonesia, harvest Sterculia quadrifida R.Br. (faloak) bark for medicinal decoction for hepatitis and energy booster. Hepatitis cases in Kupang City continue to increase, from 40 cases in 2016 to 147 cases in 2017 and 220 cases in 2018. This study aimed to assess S. quadrifida bark harvesting intensity and its utilization in Kupang City. This study was conducted in five sub-districts in Kupang, namely Alak, Kelapa Lima, Kota Raja, Maulafa, and Oebobo. In each district, 20 faloak trees were selected to be observed. Parameters observed included: diameter, height, trees that were recently debarked and have recovered bark, distance from the road, and the presence of seedlings around the tree. The data were tabulated and analyzed descriptively. There were 98 trees observed because, in Kota Raja, only 18 faloak trees were found. The recently debarked trees in Kota Raja, Alak, and Maulafa were 54.12%, 49%, and 41.05%, respectively. Meanwhile, trees with recovered bark were found mainly in Kelapa Lima (50%), Oebobo (38.95%), and Kota Raja (31%). Most debarked faloak trees were those closest to roads and settlements with a diameter ranging from 10.38 to 89.17 cm. The distance from the road to the trees was 1-203 m. A large number of debarked faloak trees indicates a high demand for faloak bark.

In vitro Cytotoxic Potential of Sterculia quadrifida Leaf Extract Against Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines

“…Sterculia quadrifida is widely used in traditional medicine. For example, Siswadi et al, 21 reported that the bark of S. quadrifida was used to treat hepatitis. In addition, several studies have shown that the bark of S. quadrifida has cytotoxic activity.…”

The Effectiveness of the Local Knowledge-Based Module (LKBM) to Improve Students’ Scientific Literacy and Thinking Skills

“…Faloak is traditionally boiled, brewed, and consumed to cure various diseases, as believed (Lalong et al, 2022). For generations, Kupang society has used Faloak plants to cure hepatitis (Siswadi et al, 2016). Furthermore, this plant is used to cure dengue, wound treatment, eye pain, insect bites, hepatitis, typhus, and stamina enhancement (Uslan et al, 2020;Riwu et al, 2022).…”

“…3) The utilization of the Faloak plants as the learning material in the module is scarce. Based on the literature review conducted in several reputable journals, research regarding Faloak plants in Kupang is restricted to Faloak plants as the curing disease (Dean et al, 2019;Siswadi et al, 2021) and the anatomy and morphological aspects of the plants (Asmiati et al, 2019;Uslan et al, 2020;Jannah et al, 2022). Therefore, integrating the Faloak plant as the learning material is new and has become the originality of the current research.…”

A Phenylpropanoid Compound from the Seeds of Sterculia quadrifida and its Cytotoxic Activity

“…Moreover, recent studies have shown that S. quadrifida seeds contain potent cytotoxic compounds, which have the potential to inhibit the growth of cancer cells. For example, a study conducted by Rukayadi et al 7 identified a novel cytotoxic compound, namely 3,3',5,5'-tetramethoxybiphenyl-2,2'-diol, from the methanol extract of S. quadrifida seeds. The compound exhibited cytotoxic activity against various cancer cell lines, including human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7), human colon adenocarcinoma (HT-29), and human lung adenocarcinoma (A549) cells.…”