Limonia acidissima L.

DeFilipps, Robert A. & Krupnick, Gary A., 2018, The medicinal plants of Myanmar, PhytoKeys 102, pp. 1-341 : 153-154

Limonia acidissima L.

Names.

Myanmar: kwet, mak-pyen-sum, thi, san-phak (Kachin), sanut-khar (Mon), sansph-ka, thanakha, thi-ha-yaza. English: Chinese box tree, elephant apple, wood apple.

Range.

Widely distributed on all continents. In Myanmar, grows naturally in hot zone, in townships such as Pakokku, Myin-kyan, Pyay, Shwe-bo, Sagaing, Myaing, Nwa-hto-gyi, and Taungthar. Can also be found in some of the semi-desert dry and scrubby areas of Upper Myanmar.

Uses.

Bark: Used as a medication for biliousness. Leaf: Considered to be carminative. Used in treating epilepsy. Patients bathed in water the leaves have been boiled in and this is followed up by inducing a sweat. Leaves dried and made into a powder used to cure edema, sores and other diseases. Fruit: Considered to be stomachic. Used in making medicine for neutralizing poisons, strength-giving tonics, and high fevers. Root: Used in laxatives and medicines to induce sweating. Used as a purgative. Paste made of root, along with tumeric, used to treat female related disorders. Paste with salt used for tired sore muscles. Paste, together with water in which betle ( Piper betle ) leaves have been soaked, given to children with bronchitis. Licking 3 ticals (c. 30 g) of root powder mixed with sugar and honey used to neutralize toxins in the stomach. Taking 5 pei (1/16th tical) each of the root and pan-nu ( Hemistrepta lyratat or Saussurea affinis ) used to neutralize the venom of snakebites. Fruit: Tonic.

Notes.

In Indo-China the ripe fruit is cooling, astringent, tonic, "very efficacious" to treat salivation and ulcers in the mouth; a decoction of the aromatic leaves is taken as stomachic and carminative; the bark, chewed with that of Barringtonia acutangula , is applied to bites and stings, and also used to treat nausea; an infusion of the thorns with other ingredients is ingested as hemostatic to treat metrorrhagia ( Perry 1980).

Marmosin has been isolated from the bark, feronialactones from the bark and roots, bergapten from the leaves, and stigmasterol from the leaves and unripe fruits ( Perry 1980).

References.

Agricultural Corporation (1980), Perry (1980).