Bixa orellana L.

DeFilipps, Robert A. & Krupnick, Gary A., 2018, The medicinal plants of Myanmar, PhytoKeys 102, pp. 1-341 : 36

Bixa orellana L.

Names.

Myanmar: thinbaw-tidin. English: achiote, annatto, lipstick-tree.

Range.

Tropical America.

Uses.

Seed: Used as a febrifuge and astringent.

Notes.

Medicinal uses of this species in India are discussed in Jain and DeFilipps (1991). Indigenous medicinal uses of this species in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India) are described by Dagar and Singh (1999).

The medicinal uses of this plant in the Caribbean region, as well as its chemistry, biological activity, toxicity, and dosages, are discussed by Germosèn-Robineau (1997). The chemistry, pharmacology, history and medicinal uses of this species in Latin America are discussed in detail by Gupta (1995). The red dye from the seed arils contains a mixture of stereoisomers of bixin, a C-24 diapocarotenoid [having purgative action ( Lan et al. 1998)]; and, the leaf-oil is a rich source of numerous terpenes ( Mors et al. 2000).

Reference.

Nordal (1963).