Botany Moderate-sized, erect deciduous tree. Leaves are pinnate, smooth, 30-40 cm long. Leaflets are ovate, 8-16, about 10 cm long. Flowers are fragrant and bright yellow; borne in long, lax racemes, 30-50 cm long. Pod is cylindric, 30-60 cm long, about 2.5 cm thick, dark brown, pendulous, smooth and shiny. Seeds are numerous, embedded in black, sweet pulp. Distribution Found in northern Luzon to Mindanao. Cuultivated as an ornamental flowering tree. Properties • Considered antitumor, antioxidant, hypoglycemic, hepatoprotective, antibacterial, hypocholesterolemic and antidiabetic. Constituents • Tannin; saccharose, 53-66%; invert sugar; citric acid; coloring matter; pectin; anthraquinone. • No alkaloid principle. • Flower and leaf essential oil study yielded 44 compounds. The main components of the flower oil were (E)-nerolidol (38%) and 2-hexadecanone (17%), while the leaf oil consisted mainly of phytol (16.1%). Parts used and preparation Leaves, roots and pods. Uses Folkloric Ringworn and other fungal skin infections: Grind leaves into a paste and rub on affected parts. Laxative: Eat pulp of ripe fruit (4-10 segments). Powdered leaves are also laxative. Roots are given as a tonic and febrifuge; also, a strong purgative. Flowers are demulcent and laxative. In Rhodesia, used for malaria, blackwater fever, blood poisoning, anthrax and dysentery. In Hindu medicine, pulp is used as cathartic. Folk remedy for burns, cancer, constipation, convulsion, delirium. Ayurvedic medicine considers thye seed antibilious and caminative; the root used for adenopathy, leprosy, syphilis, skin diseases; the fruit for abdominal pain, constipation, fever, heart disease, and leprosy. Yunani use the leaves for inflammation; the flowers as purgative, fruit as antiinflammatory, antipyretic, abortifacient. In Rhodesia, pulp used for anthrax, food poisoning, blackwater fever, dysentery and malaria. In the Gold Coast, pulp used as purgative. In the Far East, uncooked pulp of pods used for constipation. In Thai traditional medicine, long used as a laxative drug. Others Planted as an ornamental tree. In Mexico, used a firewood source. Hard reddish wood used for cabinetry, posts, implements, etc. |
