The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines Part 14

Botanical Description.--A n.o.ble tree, 30 to 40 high, dome-like or rotund in outline. Leaves dark green, l.u.s.trous, alternate, lanceolate, entire; short petioles. Flowers racemose, in verticillate panicles. Calyx, 4, 5 or 6 sepals. Corolla white, fragrant, 4, 5 or 6 petals. Stamens 5, of which perhaps 1, 2 or 3 are fertile. Style on one side of the ovary. Stigma simple. Fruit large, reniform, fleshy, yellow when ripe; contains a large, flattened, reniform pit. Blooms from January even till June. The natives force the fruit by building fires under the trees when but little air is stirring.

Habitat.--Common throughout the islands.

_Anacardium occidentale_, L. (_Ca.s.suvium reniforme_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Kasuy_, Tag.; _Caskew Nut_, Eng.

Uses.--The pericarp of the nut contains an essential oil which is very irritant and used by the Hindoos as a vesicant; it severely blisters the lips and tongues of imprudent persons who break the nut without taking the precaution of cleansing it of the oil before opening it. In addition to the oil called _cardol_, the pericarp contains an especial acid _anacardic_, a little tannin and ammonia. Cardol (C_21_H_31_O_2_) is an oleaginous, yellow liquid very unstable, neutral, soluble in alcohol and ether, insoluble in water, volatile, and vesicant if applied to the skin. "Anacardic" acid is white, crystalline, odorless, with a burning, aromatic taste. It melts at 26 and decomposes at 200 forming a colorless oil; it is not vesicant, burns with a dark flame, and has the odor of rancid oil. A tincture of the pericarp has been made (1 part to 10 of alcohol) and given internally as a vermifuge in doses of 2-10 drops. Cardol, according to some authors, does not exercise a vesicant action in the gastro-intestinal ca.n.a.l, because it is not dissolved by the gastro-intestinal juices; I am sure, however, that I have seen a choleraic diarrhoea brought on by swallowing, in fun, the pericarp of one nut and a half. Cardol is eliminated by the urine.

The kernel is edible and has a very agreeable taste when roasted. By expression it yields a sweet, yellowish oil, density 0.916.

The trunk exudes a gum resin in ma.s.ses varying in color from red to yellow.

The fleshy part, called the fruit, is edible but contains a certain quant.i.ty of cardol not only evidenced by the odor but by the smarting of the mouth and throat after eating. It is very juicy and the expressed liquid is fermented in Bombay and distilled to make a very weak alcohol which sells for the very low price of 4 annas (5 cents gold) a gallon. This alcohol is again distilled and a stronger obtained which sells for 1 1/2 rupees a gallon. The Portuguese of India make a sort of wine from the fermented juice of the fruit, which, like the weak alcohol we have mentioned, is a well-known diuretic and is used as a liniment.

The gum resin of the trunk contains 90% of anacardic acid and 10% cardol. Wood soaked in it is preserved from the ravages of insects, especially of white ants, for which purpose it is used by bookbinders also. Therapeutically it is used externally in leprosy, old ulcers and to destroy corns, but on account of its rubefacient and vesicant qualities it is necessary to use it cautiously.

Botanical Description.--A tree, 18 high, with leaves cuneiform, glabrous, stiff, short-petioled. Flowers polygamous in terminal panicles. Calyx with 5 erect segments, imbricated, caducous. Corolla, 5 linear, lanceolate petals, curved and imbricated. Stamens 8-10, all fertile. Filaments united to one another and to the disc. Ovary heart-shaped. Style filiform and eccentric. Stigma defective. Ovule solitary. Fruit a reniform nut enclosed in a pulpy pyriform body, formed by the matured disc and extremity of the peduncle. Seed reniform, testa membranous.

Habitat.--Common throughout the Archipelago. Blooms in February.

_Odina Wodier_, Roxb.

Nom. Vulg.--_Amugis_, Tag. and Vis.

Uses.--The bark is very astringent and in decoction is used for chronic ulcers. In India Dr. Kirkpatrick has used it as a lotion in impetigo. It has also given good results as a gargle in affections of the pharynx and buccal cavity.

The trunk exudes a gum called in India "kanni ki gond," an article of commerce. It is almost odorless and has a disagreeable taste. It is only partially soluble in water, forming a viscid mucilage. It is used in the treatment of contusions and sprains and is edible when mixed with cocoanut milk.

Botanical Description.--A tree, with leaves bunched at the extremities of the branches, oblong, oval, ac.u.minate, odd-pinnate, 3-4 pairs of opposite leaflets. Flowers greenish-white, polygamous, in terminal panicles. Calyx gamosepalous, 4 rounded lobules. Corolla, 4 imbricated petals. Stamens 8, free. Ovary 4-parted. Pistillate flowers; ovary sessile, oblong, unilocular. Style 4-parted, thick. Drupe oblong, compressed, unicellular. Testa hard, with 1 non-alb.u.minous kernel.

Habitat.--San Mateo.

MORINGEae.

_Moringa pterygosperma_, Gaertn. (_M. oleifera_, Lamk.; _M. poligona_, DC.; _Guilandina Moringa_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Malungay_, _Kamalungay_, _Kalungay_, Tag.; _Dool_, _Malungit_, Vis. and Pam.; _Horse Radish Tree_, Indo-Eng.

Uses.--The root is vesicant and the Filipinos bruise it and use it for sinapisms. I have often observed, however, that it is quite painful used in this way. Dr. Waitz states that it is a good plan to add a few drops of the root juice to mustard sinapisms, a proceeding which seems to me superfluous, especially in the case of children as he advises it.

The Bengal pharmacopoeia contains the following official preparations:

_Compound Spirit_.--

Small pieces of moringa root } Orange peel } aa 600 grams.

Nutmeg 20 grams.

Spirit of wine 4 1/2 liters.

Water 1 liter.

Mix and distil 4 liters.

Dose.--8-30 cc. as a stimulant and diuretic.

_Compound Infusion_.--

Moringa root, small pieces, bruised } Mustard seed } aa 30 grams.

Boiling water 1/2 liter.

Let stand 2 hours, filter and add compound spirit. 30 grams.

Dose.--30-60 grams a day, as a strong stimulant.

The expressed seeds yield a fixed oil, which is irritating and in my opinion should not be used internally.

The green pods, the flowers and the tender shoots of the leaves are eaten stewed. The juice of the leaves is given internally in India, as an emetic, in doses of 30 grams.

Botanical Description.--A well-known tree, 5-6 meters high. Leaves 3-pinnate, their terminal divisions odd-pinnate. Leaflets oval, glabrous, entire. Calyx, 5 unequal petaloid segments, imbricated, caducous. Corolla white, 5 unequal petals. Stamens inserted on the border of a disc, unequal, 5 opposite the petals bearing anthers, 5 alternate without anthers. Anthers dorsal, unilocular. Ovary pedunculate, lanceolate, unilocular, with many ovules in 2 series, inserted on the parietal placentae. Fruit a pod terminating in a beak, 3-valved. Seeds numerous, very large, winged, embedded in a spongy substance.

Habitat.--Common throughout the islands. Blooms in November.

LEGUMINOSae. (PAPILIONACEae.)

Pulse Family.

_Agati grandiflora_, Desv. (_Sesbania grandiflora_, Pers.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Katuray_, Tag.

Uses.--The flowers are edible. They and the leaves are purgative and are given in decoction for this purpose, 30-40 grams to 200 of water. The juice of the flowers is a popular remedy in India, for migraine and coryza. The trunk bark is bitter and tonic.