Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Garcinia indica (DUP.) CHOISY


Family : Clusiaceae

Synonym(s) : Brindonia indica Dupetit-Thouars, Garcinia purpurea Roxb., Garcinia celebica, Desr.

English Name : Kakan Butter Tree; Kokum Butter and Concrete Oil of Mangosteen (seed oil)

Description

A small evergreen tree. Leaves obovate-oblong or elliptic-lanceolate, 6.3 to 9 cm long and 2.5 to 3.8 cm wide, glabrous with entire margins; petioles 0.6 to 0.9 cm long. Flowers axillary or terminal, solitary or in spreading fascicles; pedicels 4-8 mm long or absent; bracts scale like; sepals 4.5 mm; petals 4, male flowers 3 to 8 together, female flowers solitary or 2 to 3 together. Fruit berry, globose, dark purple when ripe. Seeds 5 to 8, compressed in purple pulp.

Habitat

Found in forest lands, riversides, and wasteland.

Parts Used : Bark, fruit, latex, leaf, seed oil and aerial part

Herb Effects

The fruit has anthelmintic and cardiotonic properties; astringent (bark and fruit); coagulates semen and stimulates the central nervous system (aerial part). Seed oil astringent, demulcent, emollient ad soothing.

Active Ingredients

Garcinol, iso-garcinol, cyanidin and (-)-hydroxy-citric acid (fruit); cambogin and camboginol (latex).
Medicinal Use

In skin diseases and dysentery (leaf); as an astringent (bark and fruit) and ointment (in conditions such as ulcers and dry skin) (seed oil). The fruit is used in the form of juice to treat gulma, deficient digestion, thirst and diseases of mouth. Used to treat piles, dysentery, tumours, pains and heart ailments.

Dosage

Capsule: 1 capsule twice a day after meals with water.

Reference
  1. Akanksha Mishra, Mrinal M. Bapat, Jai C. Tilak and Thomas P. A. Devasagayam, Antioxidant activity of Garcinia indica (kokam) and its syrup. Current Science, Vol. 91, No. 1, 10 July 2006.
  2. Bentley and Trimen, Medicinal Plants
  3. Chandel et al., Biodiversity in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in India.
  4. Sharma, Classical Uses of Medicinal Plants.




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