Chinese Toon

the leaf extract boosts glucose into your cells by boosting GLUT4 and switching on AMPK, which improves insulin resistance.
separately it inhibits fat accumulation by upregulating lipolysis and fatty-acid-oxidation genes, giving an anti-obesity effect. those are the genes that burn and break down fat.
good for type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, prediabetes, and fat and weight support. the tender leaf or a leaf extract is the part used.

Toona leaf compounds kill a wide range of cancer cells (ovarian, leukemia, cervical, lung, kidney, bone) by arresting the cell cycle and triggering apoptosis.
one leaf fraction actually shrank ovarian tumors in mice, not just cells in a dish. gallic acid is a major driver.
a fractionated Toona sinensis leaf extract induced apoptosis in human ovarian cancer cells and shrank tumors in a mouse xenograft, and gallic acid from the leaf was cytotoxic to HL-60 leukemia cells in vitro and in vivo. activity is also reported against cervical, lung, renal (kidney) carcinoma, and osteosarcoma cells, through cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis.

antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus.
a 2008 study found Toona sinensis tender leaf extract inhibited SARS coronavirus replication in cell culture with low cytotoxicit

protects heart tissue against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (the damage when blood flow returns after a blockage), and shows anticoagulant activity.
it lowers uric acid, the crystal-forming waste that causes gout attacks, so it doubles as a gout herb.
good for cardiovascular protection and, distinctively, for gout and high uric acid.

Toona sinensis leaf extract regulates Leydig cell steroidogenesis, the process in the testes that produces testosterone, supporting male reproductive hormone function.

caution with nitrate on old leaves:
Chinese toon leaves, especially older ones, can be high in nitrites and nitrates, which can form nitrosamines. the traditional and correct fix is to blanch the shoots in boiling water for about a minute before eating, which sharply reduces the nitrite content. eat the young red shoots, blanch them, and do not eat large amounts of old leaves raw.