Bengal quince

Names and Synonyms

Common Names

• bael
• bengal-quince
• golden-apple
• Bael Tree
• Elephant Apple
• Golden Apple
• Holy Fruit
• Indian Bael
• Indian Quince
• Stone Apple
• Wood Apple
• Indian baelfruit
• belfruit-tree
• bilva

Scientific Names

Accepted name

Synonyms

• Belou marmelos
• Bilacus marmelos
• Crateva marmelos
• Feronia pellucida
• Aegle marmelos var. mahurensis

Regional and Traditional Names

Sources: Wikidata, Catalogue of Life

Taxonomical Classification

This plant, known scientifically as Aegle marmelos, belongs to the kingdom Plantae and the phylum Streptophyta. It is further classified under the class Equisetopsida and subclass Magnoliidae within the order Sapindales. Finally, it is a member of the family Rutaceae and falls under the genus Aegle.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Distribution

This plant exhibits a broad geographical presence across several key regions in Asia. Within the Indian Subcontinent, it can be found growing in India and throughout Bangladesh. Its distribution also extends to the specific areas of Assam and the East Himalaya. Additionally, the species is located within the South-Central part of China. These diverse locations highlight the wide natural range of Aegle marmelos.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Botanical Identification

Life history

The life history of Aegle marmelos is characterized by its status as a perennial plant, allowing it to persist in the environment through multiple growing seasons and establish a long-term presence in its natural habitat. Throughout its developmental stages, the species exhibits a deciduous nature, meaning it undergoes a seasonal process of shedding its leaves, typically in response to dry periods or specific climatic shifts to conserve moisture. This cyclical pattern of leaf senescence and regrowth is a defining feature of its biological rhythm, supporting its long-lived life cycle within various ecological niches.

Deciduousness :

deciduous

Lifecycle :

perennial

Morphology

The morphology of Aegle marmelos is characterized by its growth form as a woody tree, typically reaching an average plant height of approximately 10 m. It is a self-supporting plant, meaning it does not function as a climber or a liana, and it grows as an independent organism rather than as a parasite. As a terrestrial species, it is neither aquatic nor an epiphyte, maintaining a stable existence on land. The structural integrity of the plant is defined by its woody nature, supporting its upright, tree-like habit.

Aquatic :

terrestrial

Climber :

self-supporting

Epiphyte :

terrestrial

Growth form :

tree

Parasite :

independent

Plant height mean:

10 m

Woodiness :

woody

Physiology

The physiology of Aegle marmelos is characterized by a metabolic framework utilizing the C3 photosynthetic pathway, which dictates its carbon fixation process and gas exchange mechanisms under varying environmental conditions. As a C3 plant, it relies on the direct fixation of atmospheric carbon dioxide through the enzyme RuBisCO within the mesophyll cells, a process that is highly efficient in temperate to subtropical climates but requires careful regulation of transpiration to prevent photorespiration. Furthermore, the plant does not function as a nitrogen fixer, meaning it lacks the symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria (such as Rhizobium or Frankia) necessary to convert atmospheric nitrogen into usable forms, and instead depends on the uptake of nitrates and ammonium from the soil through its root system to satisfy its nitrogen requirements for protein synthesis and enzymatic functions.

Nitrogen fixer :

no

Photosynthetic pathway :

C3

Reproduction

The reproduction of Aegle marmelos is characterized by the production of fleshy fruits that serve as the primary vessel for seed dispersal. The seeds contained within these fruits exhibit highly consistent morphological dimensions, maintaining a uniform seed volume with both a maximum and minimum value of 140 mm³, resulting in a stable mean seed volume of 140 mm³. In terms of weight, the seeds are remarkably uniform, as the minimum, maximum, and mean seed mass all converge at a value of 0.13158 g. This consistency in seed mass and volume, combined with the fleshy nature of the fruit, suggests a specialized reproductive strategy optimized for specific dispersal mechanisms.

Fruit dryness :

fleshy

Seed mass mean:

0.13158 g

Seed volume max:

140 mm³

Sources: Global Inventory of Floras and Traits (GIFT)

Plant Parts

Aegle marmelos has 6 reported plant parts identified across 52 scientific publications and several other databases that are studied for medicinal purposes. The most consistently reported plant part include leaf, fruit, seed, root, flower.

Leaf

1. Pharmacognosy research
2. Planta medica
3. Applied radiation and isotopes : including data, instrumentation and methods for use in agriculture, industry and medicine
4. Xenobiotica; the fate of foreign compounds in biological systems
5. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Fruit

1. BMC complementary and alternative medicine
2. Planta medica
3. Journal of ethnopharmacology
4. ACS omega
5. Journal of chromatographic science

Seed

1. Applied radiation and isotopes : including data, instrumentation and methods for use in agriculture, industry and medicine
2. Frontiers in nutrition
3. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology
4. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Root

1. Planta medica
2. Methods (San Diego, Calif.)
3. Integrative cancer therapies

Flower

1. Physiology and molecular biology of plants : an international journal of functional plant biology
2. TheScientificWorldJournal

Stem

1. Applied radiation and isotopes : including data, instrumentation and methods for use in agriculture, industry and medicine

Chemicals

Aegle marmelos has 114 reported phytochemicals identified across 52 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported chemicals include Marmelosin, AEGELINE, Flavonoids, Umbelliferone, Marmin.

Marmelosin

1. Dr. Duke
2. Planta medica
3. Journal of chromatographic science
4. Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie
5. Integrative cancer therapies

AEGELINE

1. Planta medica
2. ACS omega
3. Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters
4. European journal of medicinal chemistry
5. Frontiers in chemistry

Flavonoids

1. International journal of molecular sciences
2. Current microbiology
3. BioMed research international
4. Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland)
5. Recent advances in drug delivery and formulation

Umbelliferone

1. Planta medica
2. Journal of separation science
3. Methods (San Diego, Calif.)
4. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
5. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Marmin

1. Dr. Duke
2. Frontiers in chemistry
3. Methods (San Diego, Calif.)
4. Journal of ethnopharmacology
5. Physiology and molecular biology of plants : an international journal of functional plant biology

Psoralen

1. Dr. Duke
2. Journal of chromatographic science
3. Journal of separation science
4. Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society

Saponins

1. Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland)
2. BioMed research international
3. Cureus
4. TheScientificWorldJournal

Terpenoids

1. BioMed research international
2. Recent advances in drug delivery and formulation
3. Microbial drug resistance (Larchmont, N.Y.)
4. Physiology and molecular biology of plants : an international journal of functional plant biology

ascorbic acid

1. Dr. Duke
2. Scientific reports
3. BMC plant biology
4. Heliyon

Auraptene

1. Methods (San Diego, Calif.)
2. Journal of ethnopharmacology
3. BioFactors (Oxford, England)

Activities

Aegle marmelos has 340 reported activities identified across 52 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported activities include Antioxidant, Antidiabetic, Antipyretic, Antibacterial, Anticancer.

Antioxidant

1. Dr. Duke
2. BMC complementary and alternative medicine
3. Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society
4. Fish & shellfish immunology
5. Combinatorial chemistry & high throughput screening

Antidiabetic

1. Dr. Duke
2. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM
3. International journal of molecular sciences
4. Journal of ethnopharmacology
5. BMC complementary and alternative medicine

Antipyretic

1. Dr. Duke
2. BMC complementary and alternative medicine
3. Indian journal of experimental biology
4. Journal of environmental pathology, toxicology and oncology : official organ of the International Society for Environmental Toxicology and Cancer
5. Integrative cancer therapies

Antibacterial

1. Dr. Duke
2. European review for medical and pharmacological sciences
3. BMC complementary and alternative medicine
4. African journal of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicines : AJTCAM
5. Journal of integrative medicine

Anticancer

1. Dr. Duke
2. International journal of molecular sciences
3. Natural product research
4. Journal of integrative medicine
5. Future science OA

Antihyperglycemic

1. European journal of medicinal chemistry
2. Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters
3. Indian journal of experimental biology
4. Dose-response : a publication of International Hormesis Society
5. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Antiproliferative

1. International journal of oncology
2. Current pharmaceutical design
3. Redox report : communications in free radical research
4. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology
5. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Hepatoprotective

1. Dr. Duke
2. International journal of molecular sciences
3. Pharmaceutical biology
4. Journal of environmental pathology, toxicology and oncology : official organ of the International Society for Environmental Toxicology and Cancer
5. Journal of integrative medicine

Hypoglycemic

1. Dr. Duke
2. Journal of environmental pathology, toxicology and oncology : official organ of the International Society for Environmental Toxicology and Cancer
3. Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.)
4. Integrative cancer therapies
5. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Analgesic

1. Dr. Duke
2. Journal of ethnopharmacology
3. Journal of environmental pathology, toxicology and oncology : official organ of the International Society for Environmental Toxicology and Cancer
4. Integrative cancer therapies

Medicinal Uses

Aegle marmelos has 98 reported medicinal uses identified across 52 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported uses include cancer, dysentery, diarrhea, inflammation, antioxidant.

Most Reported Uses

Preparations