Albizzia

Chinese Name: He huan pi (mimosa bark); He huan hua (mimosa flower)
Medical Name:
Latin Name: Albizzia julibrissin Durazz.Family: Leguminosae
Origin: Bark; flower
Taste: Sweet

Quotes from Chinese historical sources

THE HERBAL CLASSIC OF SHEN-NONG: "Calms the five organs, harmonizes the will and mind, promotes happiness and a relaxed, carefree attitude."

RI HUAZI MATERIA MEDICA: "Causes the swelling of carbuncles to subside and strengthens the physique."

COMPENDIUM OF MATERIA MEDICA: "Invigorate the blood circulation, causes swellings to subside, and relieves pain."

SUPPLEMENT TO THE AMPLIFIED MATERIA MEDICA: "Albizzia promptly nourishes the vitality of women."

CORPUS OF DISCUSSION ON HERBS: "Sweet in taste, mild in smell, it promotes mental relaxation and a peaceful attitude of mind and spirit."

Western Research

Arch Pharm Res. 2003 Jun;26(6):458-62.
Antioxidant activity from the stem bark of Albizzia julibrissin.
Jung MJ, Chung HY, Kang SS, Choi JH, Bae KS, Choi JS.
Faculty of Food Science and Biotechnology, Pukyong National University, Busan 608-737, Korea.
The antioxidant activity of the stem bark from Albizzia julibrissin was evaluated for its potential to scavenge 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals, to inhibit the generation of the hydroxyl radical (*OH), total reactive oxygen species (ROS) and to scavenge authentic peroxynitrites (ONOO-). The methanol extract of A. julibrissin exhibited strong antioxidant activity in the tested model systems. Therefore, it was further fractionated using several solvents. The antioxidant activity of the individual fractions were in the order of ethyl acetate (EtOAc) > n-butanol (n-BuOH) > dichloromethane (CH2Cl2) > and water (H2O). The ethyl acetate soluble fraction, which exhibited strong antioxidant activity, was further purified by repeated silicagel, Sephadex LH-20 and RP-18 gel column chromatography. Sulfuretin (1) and 3',4',7-trihydroxyflavone (2) were isolated as the active principles. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited good activity in all tested model systems. Compound 1 exhibited five times more inhibitory activity on the total ROS than Trolox. Compound 2 showed six times stronger DPPH radical scavenging activity than L-ascorbic acid. These results show the possible antioxidant activity of the A. julibrissin crude extract and its major constituents.