Gen info
- Saribus rotundifolius belongs to the genus Saribus that contains about 28 known species.
- Considered the "unofficial" National Leaf of the Philippines.

Botany
Anahaw is a round-leaf fountain palm, medium-sized to large, growing between 18-27 meters high, with a slender solitary trunk about 20-25 centimeters in diameter, bearing prominent leaf scars, and clothed with beautiful grayish woven fibers in the upper part below the crown. Spiny stalks support rounded, dark, glossy green leaf blades, divided into many linear, rigid, notched lobes, held on 2-meter long shiny petioles, the leaves becoming more divided as they get older. Panicles of cream flowers in the summer are followed by spherical, bright orange-red to red drupes, 1.5-2 centimeters across, that ripen to black.

Distribution
- Native to Southeast Asia: Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Java, Moluccas.
- Popular landscaping plant.
- Cultivated as an ornamental all over the world in tropical and subtropical countries.

Constituents
- Phytochemical screening yielded saponins +++, phlobatannins +, tannins ++, anthraquinones +. cardiac glycosides ++, terpenes +++, alkaloids +, flavonoids +, deoxysugars +, phenols + (+++high, ++moderate, + trace). (1)

Properties
- Studies have suggest antioxidant and antibacterial properties.

Parts used
Leaves.

Uses
Edibility
- The bud is highly esteemed as a vegetable.
- Nuts are eaten young and green.
Folkloric
- In Benguet, leaves are crushed and applied on fresh wounds. (4)
- Decoction of leaves used to treat diarrhea. (4)
Others
- Leaves are used for thatching and wrapping foods.
- Flowers pollinated by bees; fruits attract frugivorous birds.

Studies
• Antioxidant / Antimmicrobial: Study evaluated three palm nuts (Livistonia chinensis, Saribus rotundifolius, and Areca catechu) for phytochemical content and antioxidant activity. The mature fruits were peeled and the seeds were sun-dried after which the endocarpss were removed to obtain the kernels. In the DPPH radical assay, a 2.0 mg/ml dose of S. rotundifolius exhibited 90.40% inhibition compared to standard ascorbic acid at 92.32%. On antioxidant evaluation by iron chelating ability, S. rotundifolium showed 65.0% inhibition compared to ascorbic acid with 71.3%. All the extracts exhibited significant concentration dependent antimicrobial activity. S. rotundifolius leaf extract inhibited the growth of E. coli, S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and S. typhi. (see constituents above) (1)
• Anahaw as Fiber Source for NFRP Composites: Study reports on the use of anahaw as a fiber source for reinforced polymer composites compared to traditional fiber reinforced plastics. The measured stiffness and modulus of the treated anahaw fiber-reinforced composite was found comparable to thos of commercially available particle boards and fiber boards. (5)

Availability
- Cultivated.
- Seeds in the cybermarket.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Phytoconstituents, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Livistona chinensis (Jacquin), Saribus rotundifolius (Lam.) Blume and Areca catechu Linnaeus Nuts / Emmanuel E. Essien, Bassey S. Antia, Esangubong I. Etuk / Pharmaceutical and Biosciences Journal / DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.20510/ukjpb/5/i1/147026
(2)
Saribus rotundifolius / Synonyms / The Plant List
(3)
Sorting Livingstonia names / /Maintained by: Michel H. Porcher / MULTILINGUAL MULTISCRIPT PLANT NAME DATABASE / Copyright © 1995 - 2020 / A Work in Progress. School of Agriculture and Food Systems. Faculty of Land & Food Resources. The Univers ity of Melbourne. Australia.
(4)
Ethnomedicinal Plants in Bayabas, Sablan, Benguet Province, Luzon, Philippines / Teodora D Balangcod, Kryssa D Balangcod / Electronic Journal of Biology, 2015; 11(3): pp 63-73
(5)
Mechanical Properties of NFRP Composites using Anahaw (Saribus rotundifolius) Fibers Treated with Sodium Alginate / Terence Tumovla, J K R Vito, J C R Ragasa, Renz Marion Clamor de la Cruz / 2016 International Conference on Material and Chemical Engineering (MACE 2016)