Tiesa is an erect tree growing to a height of 15 to 20 meters. Its leaves are alternative, smooth, dark green, elliptic to narrow-obovate with entire margins. The flowers are greenish white, arranged in axillary clusters. Pedicels are long. Fruit is extremely variable in size and form, oval, subglobose, pear-shaped or spindle-shaped, with or without an pointed apex or curved beak, yellow-orange when ripe with an edible sweet and meatpulp.
Tiesa is indigenous to South America and was introduced to the Philippines during the Spanish times. It is cultivated for its edible fruit and as shade tree. Its food value per 100 g of edible portion consist of: Calories, 138.8; protein, 1.68 g; fat, 0.13 g; carbohydrates, 36.69 g, calcium, 26.5 mg; calcium, 26.5 mg; iron, 0.92 mg; thiamine, 0.17 mg, riboflavin, 0.01 mg, niacin, 3.72 mg, ascorbic acid, 58.1 mg; amino acids, tryptophan 28 mg, methionine 13 mg, and lysine 84 mg (www.stuartxchange.com).
Nutrient analysis of fruit (per 100 g) yielded: energy value 580-630 kJ, water 57.2-60.6 g, protein 1.7-2.5 g, fat 0.1-0.6 g, carbohydrates 36.7-39.1 g, fiber 0.1-7.5 g, ash 0.6-0.9 gm, calcium 26.5-40 mg, phosphorus 30-37.3 mg, iron 0.-1.1 mg, carotene 0.32 mg, thiamine 0.02-0.17 mg, riboflavin 0.01-0.03 g, niacin 2.5-3.7 mg, vitamin C 43-58 mg (Monton 1992 as cited by www.stuartxchange.com).
Phytochemical screening of seeds yielded leucoanthocyanins, hydrolyzable tannins, saponins and glycoside (Villacrusis, n.d.). Ethyl acetate extract of leaves yielded six stilbenes and six flavonoid glycosides (Hernandez, et al, n.d.). In a study of seeds, pulp, and peel, a 70%n ethanol extract from peel showed highest total phenolic content (2304.7 mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g dw) while the pulp showed highest total flavonoid content (6414.03 mg rutin equivalent/100 g dw) (Kong, et al, 2018).
Study of the ethanolic leaf and seed extracts yielded six compounds: protocatechuic acid, gallic acid, quercetin, myricetin, myricetin-3-O-α-L-rhamnosideand myricetin-3-O-β-galactoside (Elsayed, 2016). Another study of an ethyl acetate extract of stem bark of P. campechiana yielded 3ß, 28-hydroxy-lean-12-enyl fatty acid ester, a mixture of fatty acid ester of oleanolic acid and a fatty acid ester of betulinic acid in a 0.3:1 ratio, and spinasterol (Ragasa, et al, 2011).
It is used as remedy for coronary problems, liver disorders, epilepsy, skin diseases, and ulcer. In Mexico, decoction of astringent bark is used for fevers. In Cuba, decoction of bark is used for skin eruptions, the fruits are used for anemia, while seeds are used for ulcers. In Central American, latex extracted from the tree is used to adulterate chicle. In the 70s, seed derivative investigated for its activity against seborrheic dermatitis o the scalp; the study was stalled by the difficulty of procuring sufficient seeds for the study. Studies have shown antimitotic, antioxidant, antibacterial, immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective, gastroprotective properties (www.stuartxchange.com).
Mitosis is the process in cell division by which the nucleus of the cell divides (in a multiple phase), giving rise to two identical daughter cells. Mitosis happens in all eukaryotic cells (plants, animals, and fungi). It is the process of cell renewal and growth in a plant, animal or fungus. It is continuously occurring throughout bodies. Cells continuously die; this process is termed apoptosis or programmed cell death. For an organism to stay alive and fully functional, these cells need to be continuously replaced. Mitosis is crucial to this process. Mitosis is the reason organisms can grow, heal wounds, and replace damaged cells (www.albert.io).
The mitotic index is a measure of cellular proliferation (Rudolph, et al., 1998). It is defined as the percentage of cells undergoing mitosis in a given population of cells. Mitosis is the division of somatic cells into two daughter cells. Durations of the cell cycle and mitosis vary in different cell types. An elevated mitotic index indicates more cells are dividing. In cancer cells, the mitotic index may be elevated compared to normal growth of tissues or cellular repair of the site of an injury (Urry, et al., 2014). The mitotic index is therefore an important prognostic factor predicting both overall survival and response to chemotherapy in most types of cancer (Baak, et al., 2008).
The antimitotic activity is mostly screened using Allium cepa root meristematic cells which have been used extensively in screening of drugs with antimitotic activity (Auti, et al 2008). The roots of all plants have distinguished regions, one of them being the region of cell division that lies beyond the root cap and after this it even extends a few mm. Cells of this region undergo repeated divisions, and the fate of cell division is higher in this region compared to that of the other tissues; hence, this region is called the meristematic region (Jordan, 2002). This rapid division of meristematic cells is similar to that of the cancer cell division in humans. Hence, these meristematic cells can be used for preliminary screening of drugs with anticancer activity. Even though doubts can be raised about extrapolation of results from plant tissue to animals and finally to humans, plant cells are 1000 times more resistant to colchicines which are a potent anticarcinogen and act by inhibiting the microtubule formation. It is inferred that the chemicals which affect plant chromosomes will also affect animals (Saxena, 2005).