Pandan wangi 457
et al., 1993). Their structures were elucidated using two-dimensional nuclear magnetic
resonance spectroscopy (2D NMR) techniques. These alkaloids have a C9-N-C9
skeleton and were suggested to be derived biologically from 4-hydroxy-4-
methylglutamic acid.
Two pyrrolidinone alkaloid isomers, namely pandamarilactam-3x ( 6 ) and
pandamarilactam-3y ( 7 ) were isolated from the leaves colleted in Jambi, Indonesia
(Sjaifullah and Garson, 1996). Six pyrrolidine alkaloids, pandamarilactonine-A ( 8 ),
pandamarilactonine-B ( 9 ), (Takayama et al., 2000), norpandamarilactonine-A ( 10 ),
norpandamarilactonine-B ( 11 ), (Takayama et al., 2001a), pandamarilactonine-C ( 12 ),
and pandamarilactonine-D ( 13 ) (Takayama et al., 2002), were isolated from fresh
young leaves planted in Thailand. The alkaloids ( 8 ), ( 9 ), ( 12 ) and ( 13 ) are stereoisomers
and all of them comprise g-butylidene-a-methyl a,b-unsaturated g-lactone and
pyrrolidinyl a,b-unsaturated g-lactone moieties in the molecules as shown in Fig.
27.1. Only the later moiety is found in a pair of diastereomeric alkaloids ( 10 ) and
( 11 ). These two alkaloids were isolated as amorphous powder and present as minor
constituents. Two pandanamine isomers, 6E-( 14 ) and 6Z-( 15 ), were isolated in unequal
amounts from dried leaves of P. amaryllifolius. These pandanamine isomers have a
symmetrical structure with two a-methyl a,b-unsaturated g-lactone moieties and
therefore, have been postulated to be a biogenetic precursor of pandamarilactonines
and pandamarilactone-1 (Takayama et al., 2001b, Salim et al., 2004).
The leaves of P. amaryllifolius have also been reported as a rich source of a
number of lipophilic antioxidants (Lee et al., 2004). These antioxidants include
compounds in the group of carotenoids: neoxanthin, violaxanthin, a-carotene, b-
carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and vitamin E analogues: d-tocotrienol, g-tocopherol, a-
tocopherol, as well as all-trans-retinol. Among all carotenoids of P. amaryllifolius,
lutein accounts for the majority having the highest concentration of slightly more
than half the amount of total carotenoids. The concentration of a-tocopherol is more
than 90% of the amount of total vitamin E analogues while all-trans-retinol is present
in a small amount. The total carotenoid content of P. amaryllifolius is as much as
those of curry leaves (Murraya koenigii), anise basil leaves (Ocimum basilicum) and
laksa leaves (Polygonum odoratum) but eightfold more than those of alfalfa and bell
capsicum. The only biomolecule isolated from fresh leaves of P. amaryllifolius is an
unglycosylate protein, lectin, called pandanin. This single polypeptide chain has the
molecular weight of 8.0 kDa and exhibits hemagglutinating activity toward rabbit
erythrocytes. Pandanin also possesses antiviral activities against two types of human
viruses, herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) and influenza virus (H1N1) with 3
day’s EC50 of 2.94 and 15.63 mM, respectively (Ooi et al., 2004).
27.4 Uses in food....................................................................................
The leaf is the main used part of most Pandanus plants that can be utilized in various
ways. Fragrant leaves of P. amaryllifolius have their center of usage in Southeast
Asia: Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Their main function is food flavoring, especially
in desserts and sweets. The leaves are usually applied into food as fresh whole leaf
or juice. In this way, Pandanus leaves impart not only flavor, but also green color to
the food. Since the flavor of P. amaryllifolius is similar to that possessed by some
famous aromatic rice varieties, for example, Basmati rice of India and Thai jasmine
rice known as khao hom mali, the leaves often find their way into the rice pot to