Tamarindus indica L.

DeFilipps, Robert A. & Krupnick, Gary A., 2018, The medicinal plants of Myanmar, PhytoKeys 102, pp. 1-341 : 92-93

Tamarindus indica L.

Names.

Myanmar: beng-kong, magyeng, ma-gyi, mai-kyaing, mak-k yeng, manglon. English: tamarind.

Range.

Origin unknown, possibly tropical Asia or Africa. Cultivated in Myanmar.

Use.

Root: Used in treating gonorrhea, urinary diseases, hemorrhoids, jaundice, and shooting or dull pains in the stomach. Bark: The entire bark can be made into an ash and taken with water after meals to cure vomiting and gastic problems. The bark ash can be mixed with honey to cure shooting or dull stomach pains. Indigestion can be cured if the outer bark is baked until burnt, made into a powder, and taken with warm water. Applying a paste made from the bark with water will cure sore eyes, sores, and bites of venomous creatures. Leaf: The juice from the leaves can be cooked with sesame oil and a small amount applied into the ear to cure earaches. Taking one tablespoon of the juice squeezed from the crushed leaves to cure urinary disorders. The juice squeezed from crushed leaves can be applied to heat rashes. One part of the juice squeezed from the leaves can be mixed with two parts of rock salt to neutralize snake venom. The leaves can be eaten with kalain ( Caesalpinia crista ) seeds to cure excessive perspiration and body odor. Fruit: The pulp of the fruit is used in making up laxatives and tonics. Equal amounts of old tamarind fruit, garlic that has been soaked in yogurt liquid, and chay-thee ( Semecarpus anacardium ) is to be mixed and ground up, made into pellets and dried in the shade; taking one pellet together with one teaspoon of garlic juice every 15 minutes will cure cholera. Seed: Soaked in water overnight, outer skin discarded, kernel crushed and taken with milk to cure white vaginal discharge and excessive urination. A seed kernel paste can be taken to cure diarrhea and dysentery, and can be applied to a scorpion bite to neutralize the venom. The skin of a mature seed can be mixed with cumin and rock sugar, made into a powder and taken to cure dysentery.

Notes.

Medicinal uses of this species in India are discussed in Jain and DeFilipps (1991). Medicinal uses of the species in China are discussed by Duke and Ayensu (1985).

Pharmacognostic characters and Thai ethnomedical use of this species are discussed in Somanabandhu et al. (1986). Chemical constituents, pharmacological action, and medicinal use of this species in Indian Ayurveda are discussed in detail by Kapoor (1990). The chemical constituents, pharmacological activities, and traditional medicinal uses of this plant on a worldwide basis are discussed in detail by Ross (1999). A pharmacognostical profile including medicinal uses of this plant in Africa is given in Iwu (1993). Data on the propagation, seed treatment and agricultural management of this species are given by Katende et al. (1995) and Bekele-Tesemma (1993). Details of the active chemical compounds, effects, herbal usage and pharmacological literature of this plant are given in Fleming (2000). The fruit yields some potassium tartrate, gelatin, citric acid, malic acid and glucides. All parts of the T. indica plant contain cyanogenic glycosides which cause diarrhea and vomiting when ingested in large quantities ( Lan et al. 1998).

References.

Nordal (1963), Agricultural Corporation (1980), Forest Department (1999).