Gen info
- Arytera is a genus of about 28 species of trees and shrubs from the family Sapindaceae. The most widespread of the species is Arytera littoralis.
- The genus was first described in 1847 by botanist Carl Ludwig Blume.

Botany
Arytela litoralis is a monoecious, small to medium-sized tree up to 40 m tall, rarely a shrub; bole often twisted, usually branching rather low, up to 90 cm in diameter, with plank-like buttresses up to 1.6 m high; bark surface smooth or scaly, greyish-green to dark reddish or almost black. Leaves arranged spirally, paripinnate, 1-6-jugate, exstipulate; leaflets opposite or subopposite, petioluled, entire, usually with domatia in the axils of main veins. Flowers in an axillary to pseudoterminal or rarely ramiflorous panicle, functionally unisexual, usually 5-merous; calyx dentate; petals about as long as the calyx, with 2 scales at base inside; disk entire; stamens (6-)8(-10); ovary superior, 2-3-locular with 1 ovule in each cell, puberulous, style 1. Fruit a coriaceous capsule, with 1-2(-3) well-developed lobes. Seed dull brown to blackish, with an apically open yellowish arillode. Seedling with hypogeal germination; cotyledons not emergent; hypocotyl not elongated; epicotyl with a few small scales; all leaves arranged spirally, first pair of leaves with 2 leaflets, leaflets conduplicate.

A. litoralis flowers and fruits throughout the year and is probably duo-dichogamous, which means that an initial male phase is followed by a female phase which is then followed by a male phase again. The flowers are pollinated by insects, probably bees. The seeds are eaten and dispersed by birds which are attracted by the striking contrast between seed-coat and arillode. (1)

Distribution
- Native to the Philippines.
- Also native to Andaman Is., Bangladesh, Bismark Archipelago, Borneo, Cambodia, Caroline Is., China, Hainan, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Solomon Is., Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam. (2)
- Grows primarily in wet tropical biome.
- In primary and secondary forests up to 1500 m altitude.

Constituents
- Phytochemical analysis of methanolic extracts yielded saponins, tannins, flavonoids, phenols, alkaloids in flowers, leaves, and stems; triterpenoids in flowers and stems; and steroids in leaves. (3)

Properties
- Studies have suggested antibacterial and antioxidant properties.

Parts used
Leaves, aerial parts.

Uses
Edibility
- Fruits are edible, but rather sour. (1)
Folkloric
- No reported folkloric medicinal use in the Philippines.
Others
- Wood: Medium-weight to heavy hardwood, pinkish or pale red. Used for rafters in house construction and fencing; furniture, flooring, mouldings, tool handles and agricultural implements.
- Crafts: In Malaysia, used for making rough baskets.

Studies
• Antioxidant / Antibacterial / Stems, Leaves, Flowers: Study evaluated different plant parts (flower, leaves, stems) for phytoconstituents, antioxidant and antibacterial activity. Extracts showed weak antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli. Antioxidant activity was strong, which strongly correlated with TPC (total phenolic content), TFC (total flavonoid content) and IC50 value. Highest TPC and TFC were obtained from the stem extract, followed by leaves and flowers. (3)
• Antibacterial: Screening of EA, methanol, n-Hexane, and water extracts by disc diffusion method showed antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis. (5) Methanol extract of Arytera littoralis leaves exhibited 10.2 mm zone of inhibition against B. subtilis growth; ethyl acetate extract showed 7.0 mm zone of inhibition. (6)

Availability
Wild-crafted.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Arytera / PROSEA: Plant Resources of South-East Asia
(2)
Arytera litoralis Blume / KEW: Plants of the World Online
(3)
Potential bioactivity evaluation of Arytera litoralis Blume (Sapindaceae) / Praptiwi, F I Windadri, Diah Sulistiarini , N P Q Ersaliany / Biodiversitas, 2022; 23(10): pp 4977-4983 / DOI: 10.13057/biodiv/d231003
(4)
Arytera / Wikipedia
(5)
A Review on Malaysian Plants Used for Screening of Antimicrobial Activity / Mohammed Arifullah, Paritala Vikram, Lifah Husna B Abdullah Ripain et al / Annual Research & Review in Biology, 2014; 4(13): pp 2088-2132
(6)
Evaluation of antibacterial activity of flowering plants and optimization of process conditions for the extraction of antibacterial compounds from Spathiphyllum cannifolium leaves / Erlina Abdullah, Raha Ahmad Raus, Parveen Jamal / African Journal of Biotechnology, 2011; 10(81): pp 18679-18689 / ISSN: 1684-5315 / DOI: 10.5897/AJB11.2738

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)