The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines Part 13

Habitat.--Very common in the islands.

CELASTRACEae.

Staff-Tree Family.

_Celastrus paniculata_, Willd. (_C. alnifolia_, DC.; _C. Rothiana_, Roem.; _Diosma serrata_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Bilogo_, Tag.

Uses.--I am not acquainted with the medicinal uses of this plant in the Philippines. In India, by means of a primitive system of distillation, they extract from the seeds a dark-colored oil of empyreumatic odor, which under the name of Oleum nigrum was once proclaimed by Dr. Herklots as the sovereign remedy for beriberi.

This oil in doses of 10-15 drops a day is a very powerful stimulant, the action of which is manifested by profuse perspiration several hours after its administration. Malcolmson reports that it has given him good results in several cases of beriberi, particularly in recent cases and those in which nervous and paralytic symptoms predominated. In Concan, the juice of the leaves is given in doses of 30 grams as an antidote for opium. The bruised seeds made into a paste with cow urine are used locally in treatment of itch. They are also used in the treatment of leprosy, gout, rheumatism, and other diseases which according to their medical theories, are derived from "cold humors." For these purposes they give the seeds internally, beginning with one and increasing daily until 50 are taken. At the same time they make external applications of the oil or of another compound prepared in the following way:

Place in an open pot with one opening, seeds of _C. paniculata_, cloves, benzoin, nutmeg and mace. The pot having been previously heated, is covered with another, inverted over the opening. On the sides of the latter a thick black oil condenses which Herklots very appropriately named _Oleum nigrum_.

Botanical Description.--A climbing shrub, 6-9 high, without spines. Leaves 6-7' long by 5' broad, alternate, petiolate, entire, glabrous, half-ovate. Flowers small and paniculate. Calyx, 5 divisions. Corolla, 5 petals. Stamens 5, inserted in a disc. Anthers oblong. Ovary 3-celled. Stigma 3-lobulate. Style short. Seed vessel the size of a pea, globose, 3-celled, loculicidal, with pulpy seeds.

Habitat.--Tayabas, Laguna, Ilocos North, San Mateo, Albay. Flowers in April.

RHAMNACEae.

Buckthorn Family.

_Zizyphus Jujuba, Lam._ (_Rhamnus Jujuba_, L. & Blanco; _Z. Mauritania_, Wall.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Manzanitas_, Sp.-Fil.; _Jujube Fruit_, Eng.

Uses.--The small fruit known commonly as _manzanitas_ has an agreeable taste, although ordinarily offered for sale before they are quite ripe. They are among the most popular dainties at the fairs and festivals in the provinces of Manila and are the only part of the plant used in medicine. They possess emollient qualities and are official in the codex. They enter in the composition of the so-called pectoral remedies (composed of equal parts of figs, dates, Corinthian raisins and manzanitas).

Botanical Description.--A shrub, with hooked thorns, leaves alternate, petiolate, coriaceous, entire, 3-nerved, 2 th.o.r.n.y stipules, one of them crooked. Flowers small, greenish, axillary. Calyx, 5 oval divisions. Corolla, 5 petals. Stamens 5, free. Ovary bilocular, situated on the disc. Styles 2-3, divergent; small papillary stigmas. Drupe pulpy, globose, resembling a crab-apple in size and taste, enclosing a hard, 2-celled seed.

Habitat.--Common in all parts of the islands.

_Rhamnus Wightii_, W. & Arn. (_Ceanothus Wightiana_, Wall.; _R. Carolia.n.u.s_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Kabat.i.ti_, Tag.

Uses.--The dried trunk bark is the part employed in medicine. Hooper a.n.a.lyzed it in 1888 and found a crystalline principle (0.47%), a brown resin (0.85), a red resin (1.15), a bitter principle (1.23), sugar, starch, calcium, oxalate, etc.

As the active principles exist in the resins, an alcoholic tincture of the latter is the best preparation for administration. In India it is used as a tonic and an astringent.

Botanical Description.--A small tree that grows near the sea coast. Trunk 9-12 high, straight, many-branched, devoid of thorns. Leaves alternate, ovate, acutely serrate, glabrous, short-petioled. Flowers greenish-white, axillary, perfect. Calyx 5-toothed, inversely conical. Corolla, 5 petals, smaller than the teeth of the calyx, oval, without claws, notched at the apex. Disc fleshy, smooth, slightly concave. Stamens 5, hidden within the petals. Filaments flattened. Anthers rounded. Ovary fleshy, inserted at the bottom of the calyx tube. Style short. Stigmas 3, divergent. Fruit oval, its base adherent to the calyx, 3 seeds.

Habitat.--Batangas. Blooms in July and October.

ANACARDIACEae.

Cashew Family.

_Mangifera Indica_, L.

Nom. Vulg.--_Manga._

Uses.--The dried and pulverized kernel of the seed is used as an anthelmintic in doses of 1 1/2-2 grams both in India and Brazil. The same preparation is used in the Philippines in the treatment of dysentery and diarrhoea and its effect is doubtless due to the large quant.i.ty of tannin it contains. It is administered as follows: The pounded kernels of 20-25 seeds are brought to a boil in 2 bottles (sic) of water. When the liquid has evaporated a third, it is removed from the fire, cooled, decanted, and again placed on the fire after adding three to four hundred grams of sugar. This time it is allowed to boil till reduced to one bottle. The dose is 50-60 grams 2-3 times a day. Incisions in the trunk exude a brownish resin which solidifies in the air, is slightly acrid, bitter, dissolves in alcohol and partially in water. In Malabar it is given internally in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery, mixing it with white of egg and opium. But the curative value of the combination is more likely due to the alb.u.men and opium than to the resin. Dissolved in lemon juice it is a useful application in the itch. The trunk bark is astringent and is employed in decoction as a wash for ulcers and eczema and as an injection in leucorrhoea.

The fruit is one of the most highly prized in the Philippines, and resident Europeans are able to eat large quant.i.ties of it without ill effects unless the fruit is over-ripe, in which case it often causes transient diarrhoea, which should be treated with a mild purge.

In Mauritius the following compound powder is used in dysentery:

Dried slices of manga fruit 30 grams.

Dried manga kernels 60 grams.

Plantain seeds 15 grams.

Dried ginger 8 grams.

Gum arabic 15 grams.

Pulverize each ingredient separately; add powdered candy sugar 30 grams.

Mix.

Dose.--For an adult one dessert-spoonful every 4 hours; may be given in cauge or arrowroot.

The flowers, testa and bark are, in Hindoo therapeutics, considered "cold," and "astringent," and are used especially in diarrhoea. In certain throat affections the Hindoos employ the burning leaves for inhalation. They also use the gum made by evaporating the juice of the ripe fruit, as a confection and an antis...o...b..tic. Dr. Linguist recommends the bark as a local astringent in uterine, intestinal and pulmonary hemorrhage and employs the following:

_Fluid Extract_.--

Fluid extract of manga bark 10 grams.

Water 120 grams.

Mix. Dose, 1 teaspoonful every 1 or 2 hours.