The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines Part 22

The triturated seeds may be given internally in doses of 1-2 grams with milk or mola.s.ses to expel lumbricoids. a.n.a.lysis has revealed in the seeds the presence of a resinous oil, an oleaginous material of disagreeable odor and taste called by Peckolt _caricin_, a fatty acid, papayic acid and a resin. In India the seeds are considered emmenagogue. In some countries they wrap meat in papaya leaves for several hours before eating in order to soften it. For the same purpose they sometimes boil the meat in water containing a few leaves or pieces of the green fruit; some even go to the length of saying that it is only necessary to hang a piece of meat in a papaya tree for a time in order to soften it.

The decoction of the green fruit is given internally for indigestion, a treatment common in the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga. The milky juice is used to remove corns and Dr. Daruty offers the following prescription for eczema and psoriasis:

Exudate of papaya 1.00 grams.

Borax (powdered) 0.60 grams.

Water 16.00 grams.

Mix.

Paint the affected part with feather or brush, 2-3 times a day. The same solution may be used for softening corns.

Botanical Description.--Trees 15 in height, trunk covered with large leaf scars, wood soft and brittle, the long-petioled, palmately-lobed leaves growing in a crown and giving the tree the general appearance of a palm. Flowers dioecious. Staminate tree: Flowers loosely cl.u.s.tered on long, hanging stems. Calyx, 5-6 teeth. Corolla tubular, 1' long, limb divided into 5 oval parts. Stamens 10, inserted in the throat. Style short, awl-shaped. Pistillate tree: Flowers much larger, sessile, in axils of leaves. Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla large, 5 lanceolate petals curved outward, fleshy. Stigmas 5, fringed. Fruit about size of child's head or smaller, somewhat pear-shaped, juicy, pulp melon-like, 1 compartment with numerous seeds, each in a mucilaginous aril.

CUCURBITACEae.

Gourd Family.

_Trichosanthes palmata_, Roxb. (_T. tricuspis_, Mig.; _T. lucioniana_, Bares.)

Nom. Vulg.--(?).

Uses.--Roxburgh states that the fruit is toxic and sometimes used to kill crows. Dymock states that the leaf is smoked in Bombay as a remedy for asthma.

The extremely bitter taste of the fruit and rind induced Sir W. O'Shaughnessy to examine it for tonic and purgative properties; doses as high as 0.20 gram 3 times a day failed to exert a purgative effect. The root is used in veterinary medicine particularly for pneumonia. Mixed with equal parts of colocynth it is applied to carbuncles. In combination with equal parts of _Terminalia chebula_ and ginger it is made into a sweetened infusion for internal use in gonorrhoea.

Botanical Description.--A climber with broad, heart-shaped, serrate, 7-lobulate leaves. Flowers monoecious; staminate white and racemose; pistillate solitary, growing at the base of the staminate racemes. Staminate receptacle tubular, calyx inserted on the border of the receptacle, 5 sepals. Corolla, 5 petals. Stamens 5, of which 4 are in pairs. Pistillate: the receptacle dilates in its lower part in form of a globose vase and encloses the unilocular pluriovulate ovary. Fruit ovoid or pyriform, scarlet when fresh, orange-yellow when dry. Seeds of irregular form, somewhat triangular. Kernel oily.

Habitat.--Luzon.

_T. anguina_, L. (_T. amara_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Salagsalag_, _Pakupis_, _Salimpokot_, _Kukubitan_, _Halahala_, _Buyokbuyok_, Tag.; _Tabobog_, _Kukubitan_, _Pukopukot_, _Kuragda_, Vis., Pam.

_T. cuc.u.merina_, L.

Nom. Vulg.--Probably the same as _T. anguina_.

Uses.--The fruit of _T. anguina_ is purgative, emetic and anthelmintic. The natives use an infusion of the filamentous, reticulate portion surrounding the seeds, in doses of 0.50-0.60 gm., according to P. Blanco.

The second species, _T. cuc.u.merina_, has a wider use. In India it is regarded as a febrifuge and laxative and is commonly given with some aromatic. Ainslie notes that the leaves, as well as the fruit, are bitter and purgative and that the Tamuls use them for their laxative and stomachic effect. Drury states that on the Malabar coast the seeds have a considerable reputation as a remedy for functional disorders of the stomach. Although the green fruit is very bitter the natives of that region use it as a condiment. The tender stems and the dry capsules, both bitter and purgative, are given in infusion and in a sweetened solution, as an aid to digestion. The seeds are febrifuge and anthelmintic. The juice of the leaves is emetic and that of the roots purgative. The decoction of the stem is expectorant.

In Bombay the plant is considered febrifuge, and is given in decoction with ginger, _Swertia chirata_, and sugar. The Mohammedan authors say that the _T. cuc.u.merina_ is effective in expelling lumbricoids and one of them mentions the following as a cure for stubborn fevers:

Seeds of _T. cuc.u.merina_ No. 180.

Seeds of coriander or c.u.min No. 180.

Boiling water 200 grams.

Let stand over night, filter, add a little sugar, administer in 2 doses morning and evening.

In Concan they use the juice of the leaves as a liniment in remittent fevers, rubbing the hepatic region and in fact the entire body.

Botanical Description.--_T. anguina_, L., is a vine with 5-angled stem, bearing tendrils and spattered with white dots. Leaves heart-shaped, with 5 acute lobules, spiny-toothed. Petioles with a bifid swelling at their bases. Flowers white, monoecious. Staminate: calyx 5-toothed with dotted borders; corolla, 5 fringed petals; stamens 3; anthers 3, entirely united and forming a cylinder. Pistillate: 3 glandules in the corolla tube; style long; stigmas 3. Fruit ribbed, long, the compartments formed by reticular part.i.tions; contains many irregular seeds, one border sharp, the other obtuse, covered by a very thin aril.

The _T. cuc.u.merina_, L., is less common, bears a spindle-shaped or obovate fruit, is hairy and lacks ribs. Its seeds are ovoid, very smooth, encircled by a narrow wing. The reticulum within the fruit is similar to that of the foregoing species.

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

_Lagenaria vulgaris_, Ser.

Nom. Vulg.--_Common Gourd_, _Bottle Gourd_, _Calabash_, Eng.

Var. _Lagenaria Gourda_, Ser. (_Cucurbita lagenaria oblonga_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Calabaza de peregrino_, Sp.; _Pilgrim's Gourd_, Eng.

Var. _L. courgourda_, Ser.

Nom. Vulg.--_Tabayag_, Tag.

Var. _L. clavata_, Ser. (_C. lagenaria villosa_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Calabaza blanca_, Sp.; _Opo_, Tag.; _White Gourd_, Eng.

Uses.--The three above-mentioned varieties of _L. vulgaris_, Ser., are commonly grouped under the name calabaza (gourd). All have the same action and hence the same therapeutic application. The green portion of the rind is bitter and possesses purgative and emetic properties. The decoction of the tender shoots is expectorant; in addition it appears to possess purgative properties and in India is used in jaundice.

The part of the plant most generally used is the seeds, the taenifuge properties of which are well known. Its action, however, is not always certain, which may be as truly said of all other known taenifuges. The seeds have the advantage of lacking the disgusting taste characteristic of other remedies of the same cla.s.s; the taste is almost neutral and a little sugar conceals it completely. The dose is unlimited; some take 15 grams, others as high as 100, and no unpleasant symptoms of any kind have been reported. The only precaution to be observed is to give the patient a purgative 1-2 hours after his dose.

Heckel has a.n.a.lyzed the seeds and found a resin which he calls _pepo-resina_; it exists in the greenish pellicle that envelopes the embryo and appears to be the active principle of the seeds. Its dose is 0.80-1.00 gram (Dujardin-Beaumetz), the product of 250 grams of the seeds. The dose of 100 grams of the seeds mentioned above is very small, if the pepo-resin represents the entire active principle, for 100 grams of the seeds would only contain about 40 centigrams.

Botanical Description.--A very familiar vine, clammy, p.u.b.escent and musk-scented; large leaves, long-stalked flowers, white petals, greenish veiny fruit usually club-shaped or enlarged at the apex, the hard rind used for vessels, dippers, and so forth. It is noteworthy that none of the taenifuge varieties mentioned bears yellow fruit.