The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines Part 19

The trunk bark is astringent and in decoction is used for atonic diarrhoea and as a lotion for ulcers.

Decoction.--

Bark (ground and pounded) 12 grams.

Water 150 grams.

Simple syrup 40 grams.

To be given by the tablespoonful in 24 hours.

Botanical Description.--A tree, 6-8 m. high. Branches horizontal and radiating from the trunk. Leaves purplish, bunched, cleft at the base, sometimes transversely ovate, sometimes oval, notched, glabrous. Petiole very short. Flowers axillary, racemose, with a scale at the base of the peduncle, some hermaphrodite and others lacking pistils. Staminate flowers: calyx downy within, with 5 lobes. Corolla wanting. Stamens 10, inserted on the calyx. Hermaphrodite flowers: pistil same length as stamens. Drupe, fleshy, inferior, oval with the borders turned upward containing a very hard and fibrous nut; seed long and sharp-pointed.

Habitat.--Common in Luzon. In Manila it is cultivated extensively as an ornamental tree, especially along the Sabana Walk, General Solano Ave. and in Sampaloc and Malacanan.

_Terminalia Chebula_, Retz. (_T. reticulata_, Toth.; _Bucida c.u.minata_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Dinglas_, _Diglas_, Tag.; _Black Myrobalan Tree_, Indo-Eng.

Uses.--The ripe fruit, called _myrobalans_ in India, is purgative and six of them pounded up and given in decoction operate with certainty, producing 4 or 5 copious evacuations without nausea or other disagreeable symptoms. Dr. Waring has experimented with them and recommends them highly. The taste may be made more agreeable by adding a little cinnamon to the decoction. Dymock states that three fruits are sufficient, and Dr. Hove gives one as the effective dose. This lack of agreement may be explained by the fact that the fruits are of different sizes, and probably Waring refers to those of medium size. Contrary to what one would imagine, judging from its purgative action, the fruit contains astringent principles, and makes an effective injection for leucorrhoea as a subst.i.tute for nut galls. It is also of some merit in the treatment of piles.

The green fruit is highly esteemed by Radja Kalikesen as a carminative, tonic and purgative. Dr. Twining also mentions these same properties, recommends it as a tonic and aperient of great benefit in atony of the digestive organs and expresses surprise that the Europeans make no use of it. According to the same author a dose in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery is 4 grams twice a day. He quotes a case of hypertrophy of the spleen which he cured with this fruit.

Some of the leaves bear horn-shaped galls, flattened, narrow and hollow. They are caused by an insect which stings the leaves and deposits its eggs in them. These leaves with galls are astringent and very useful and effective in dysentery and diarrhoea, especially that of children. The dose for a child of more than one year is 0.40 to 0.50 gram a day, administered in fractional doses every two or three hours.

Fridolin has obtained from its fruit an acid, which he calls _chebulinic_ (C_28_H_25_O_10_) and presumes to be a mixture of tannic and gallic acids. As Stenhouse had formerly indicated, no principle has been discovered to which the purgative properties can be attributed, unless it be a green oleo-resin turned red by nitric acid, obtained from the fruit by Apery.

Botanical Description.--A tree of the second order, with leaves 3' long, alternate, lanceolate, entire and glabrous. Petioles short. Flowers terminal, in spiked panicles. Calyx superior, bell-shaped, colored, downy within, 5-toothed. Corolla wanting. Stamens 10, longer than the calyx. Anthers roundish. Ovary cylindrical. Style curved and longer than the stamens. Stigma simple. Fruit ovoid, 2-4 centimeters long, 5-10 acute angles, wrinkled, with blackish, hard, compact mesocarp; contains 1 seed.

Habitat.--Batangas, San Mateo. Blooms in May.

_Quisqualis Indica_, L. (_Q. villosa_, Roxb.; _Q. spinosa_, Nares.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Tagaraw_, _Niogniogan_, Tag.; _Tangolon_, Vis.; _Babebabe_, Pam.; _Tartaraw_, Iloc.

Uses.--The fruit contains a kernel that tastes much like cacao, for which reason the Tagalogs call it "niogniogan" (like cacao). This kernel is a powerful anthelmintic, used also in India, the dose for a child of 4 years being 2-4, pulverized and mixed with a little mola.s.ses or sugar. A large dose produces hiccough, a fact well known to the natives. Dr. Bouton states that they may cause convulsions and other similar nervous disorders.

They yield a light green, fixed oil, probably the active principle of the plant.

Botanical Description.--A climbing shrub, 6-9 high, whose stem is thickly set with long, opposite thorns. Leaves in stars of 3, oblong, acute, entire, glabrous. Petioles very short. Flowers white, veined with red, in axillary spikes. Calyx very long, nearly cylindrical, 5-toothed. Corolla, 5 petals, inserted between the teeth of the calyx. Stamens 10, inserted on the calyx-tube, shorter than the corolla, arranged in 2 series, 5 higher than the rest. Style the same length as the stamens, united throughout nearly its entire length with the wall of the calyx-tube from which it separates near the stigma. Stigma rather bulky. Fruit 1' long, ovoid, 5 sharp ridges in the woody, fragile, mahogany-colored pericarp, which contains a pointed kernel at one end.

Habitat.--San Mateo, and along the sh.o.r.es of Luzon. Blooms in May.

MYRTACEae.

Myrtle Family.

_Psidium pomiferum_, L. (_P. aromatic.u.m_ and _P. pyriferum_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Guayabas_, Sp.; _Bayabas_, _Guayabas_, _Tayabas_, Tag., and other dialects; _Guava_, Eng.

Uses.--The green fruit is acid and very astringent. The stage of development when it is best eaten raw, is just before it ripens, for then its acidity has lessened, it is not astringent and does not emit the strong odor, so disagreeable to many, that characterizes the ripe fruit. When fully ripe it is sweet, non-astringent and very bland, and this is the stage when it is best for making the jellies and preserves so popular in the Philippines.

The bark, especially that of the root, is highly astringent and a decoction of it is used for diarrhoea and as a wash for ulcers. Dr. Waitz has successfully used the following formula in treating the chronic diarrhoea of children:

Root bark of guava 15 grams.

Water 180 grams.

Boil till reduced one half. Dose, a tablespoonful every 2 or 3 hours according to age.

A decoction of the shoots is very useful in stomat.i.tis, cutaneous eruptions and ulcers. Dr. Waitz advises his formula in prolapsus recti of children. It is also of value as an injection in diarrhoea and dysentery.

Botanical Description.--A tree, about 10 high, branches square and somewhat winged towards the ends. Leaves opposite, oblong, obtuse, downy, aromatic in odor. Petiole very short. Flowers axillary, solitary, white and fragrant. Calyx adherent, the border breaking in 3, 4 or more unequal parts when the flower expands. Corolla, 5-6 petals, inserted on the calyx, curved downward. Stamens numerous, inserted in the calyx, as long as the corolla. Style same length as stamens, awl-shaped. Fruit somewhat pear-shaped, with 4 or 5 ribs that disappear at maturity, 4 or more cells each with many small, hard, irregular seeds. In the Philippines the fruit grows to the size of a small pear.

_Eugenia Jambolana_, Lam. (_Calyptranthes Jambolana_, Willd. and Blanco; _Syzygium Jambolanum_, DC. and Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Lomboy_, _Duhat_, _Duat_, Tag., Pam., Vis.; _Jambul_ or _Black Plum_, Indo-Eng.

Uses.--The ripe fruit, so dark a purple in color that it seems black, is edible and very popular in the Philippines, though not considered choice. Some suppose it to be harmful, but it is in reality very easy of digestion.

The syrup of the fruit juice, and the decoction of the trunk bark are both very efficacious in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery.

Syrup of Jambul.--

Juice of ripe fruit 500 grams.

White sugar 950 grams.

Dissolve in a covered water-bath, strain through woolen cloth and put aside.

Dose.--60-200 grams a day.

The juice of the leaves is also used to treat diarrhoea. A Hindoo physician, Bhavaprakasa, advises the following receipt: