DFKI-SLT/copious huggingface dataset:
60 THE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES Flowers sessile, verticillate, on the ends of several very long peduncles which rise from the midst of' the petioles. Calyx, 5 sepals. Corolla, 5 petals, clawed, rounded at the end and slightly notched, forming a tube. Stamens 10, free. A small gland on the outer surface of the base of each short stamen. Styles 5. Seed vessels ovate, 5-angled, containing many seeds. Habitat. — Common in all parts of the islands. Averrhoa Bilimbi, L. Nom. Vulg. — Kamias, Kalamias, Tag; Kilingiwa, Vis; Pias, Hoc. Uses. — The small fruit of the camia springing from the branches and trunks of the trees is widely known in the Philippines, where they eat it green, pickled, and in salad ; and when ripe fresh and preserved. Its qualities and therapeutic applications are the same as those of the following species. Botanical Description. — A tree 4-5 meters high with odd-pinnate leaves. Leaflets 1 2 pairs, ovate, linear, acute, soft and downy. Flowers small, pinkish or purplish, on trunk and branches. Stamens 10, five alternately longer. Pistils divergent. Fruit oblong, obtuse at the end, with five broad ribs. Habitat. — Very common throughout the islands. Averrhoa Carambola, L. Nom. Vulg. — Bilirubin, Balimbin, Tag. Uses. — The common name of this tree, whose fruit is so common, causes it to be confused with the name which Linnaeus gives to the former species. Balimbin is a fruit of an acid taste, agreeable when ripe, serving the same uses for food as the camia. Its acidity is due to the presence of oxalic acid, which makes the green fruit useful for removing ink and rust stains from clothes. The juice of the fruit is refreshing and is given internally mixed with water and sugar as a refreshing drink in
62 THE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES bitter; specific gravity 0911. It boils at 228, is slightly soluble in water, and soluble in absolute alcohol. It is promptly oxidized by nitric acid, and is converted into pelargonic acid and other fatty acids. Rutin (or rutinic acid), according to Weiss, is a glucoside which exists in the form of fine needles, bright yellow T in color. It is slightly soluble in cold water and more so in boiling water. It melts at 190, and solidifies at freezing point, forming a resinous mass. Its physiological properties are as yet unknown. The part of the plant employed is the leaves, which owe their property, apparently, to the essential oil they contain, from which they also derive their strong and disagreeable odor and their bitter, acrid and nauseous taste. It is used principally as a uterine stimulant or emmenagogue, for which purpose it is given in doses of 010-015 centigrams of the freshly powdered leaf and 005-010 centigrams of the fresh leaves infused in a liter of water. The dry powder of the leaf should not be used because the essential oil volatilizes and a large proportion of it is lost, which is the most active principle of the drug. It is an agent which should be prescribed with the greatest prudence for large doses are poisonous even to the point of causing death. The symptoms following such doses are colic, vomiting, bloody diarrhoea and tenesmus. It is also used as an antihemorrhagic after childbirth, but its action is slow, not being felt for several hours after the administration of the drug ; for this reason it cannot take the place of ergot, though it seems to be superior to the latter in passive hemorrhages. The essential oil is given internally in doses of 2-6 drops on a piece of sugar. It is sometimes used as an antispasmodic in hysteria, epilepsy and chorea. The Chinese make extensive use of this drug and it is one of their principal abortive. In Hindostan the dried leaves are burnt and the smoke inhaled as a cure for catarrh in children. They are careful not to administer it to pregnant women.
70 THE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES an astringent. A sorbet made of the ripe fruit whets the appetite and the pulp is used locally for bites of venomous animals. In the latter case the pulverized bark may be used if the fruit cannot be obtained. The fruit of Ferona is a substitute for Bael (Aegle Marmelos), and is used as such by the English physicians in the hospitals of India. The tender leaves have an agreeable aroma similar to that of anise and are used internally in decoction as a stomachic and carminative. The incised trunk exudes a gum which is used in India as a substitute for gum arabic and there is an active trade in this gum in the bataks of Bombay and Calcutta. According to Pereira, it was at one time imported into England from the east of India under the name of gum arabic. It exists in the form of irregular, semitransparent pieces, of a brownish-red color. With water it forms a mucilage as adhesive as gum arabic, and this solution reddens litmus paper. It is dextrogyrous and is precipitated by the neutral acetate of lead and by caustic baryta. Botanical Description. — Tree 3-4 meters high. Leaves fragrant, opposite, odd-pinnate. Leaflets, 2 pairs, lanceolate, entire, and glabrous. Common petiole flattened above. Flowers terminal, white, racemose, with 2 flattened peduncles. Calyx inferior, with 5-6 divisions. Corolla, 5-6 petals. Anthers oval. Ovary oblong, 5-lobules. Style short, caducous. Stigma spindle-shaped. Ovules numerous, compressed, in several series. Fruit pulpy, globose, with woody rind, one compartment and many compressed, oblong seeds. Habitat. — Mountains of Angat. Woods of Catugan (Iloilo).
MELIA AZEDARACH 75 mens 6, inserted on the base of the disc. Ovary free, of 3 lobules each containing 2 ovules. Style simple. Stigma, 3 lobules. Drupe oblong, size of large prune, fleshy, containing a hard, 3-sided pit. Habitat. — Very common in all Philippine woods especially in Camarines. MELIACEAE. Melia Family. Melia Azedarach, L. Nom. Vulg. — Paralso Paradise), Sp-fil; Pride of India, China Tree, Eng. Uses. — The root was official in the U. S. P, 1880, as an anthelmintic ; it is administered in the following form Fresh root bark 120 grams. Water 1 liter. Boil till reduced one half. Dose. — For a child 1 soup-spoonful every 15 minutes till nausea is produced. In view of the narcotic effects produced by this drug, the foregoing method of administration seems to us imprudent ; we prefer to give 30-70 grams of the decoction and follow with a purgative such as castor oil. This drug is also tonic, febrifuge and astringent, and a decoction of its leaves and flowers is used as a wash for ulcers. Some believe that the leaves and fruit contain toxic principles, which may well be true considering the effects of large doses of their preparations. It has also been observed that the bark collected in March and April may cause dilatation of the pupil, stupor, etc; this may be explained by the fact that at this season the sap is rising in the tree and the bark contains an increased amount of active ingredients. The fruit yields a fixed oil, and by fermentation and distillation produces alcohol.
110 THE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES at the base. Corolla salver-shaped, persistent, with border having 4 small lobules. Stamens 8, fertile. Ovaries 4, free, each with 1 many-ovuled cell. Styles same length as the stamens. Stigmas awl-shaped. Four seed vessels, each with 1 compartment containing many oblong seeds. Habitat. — Common in all parts of the islands. COMBRETACEJE. Terminalia Catappa, L. (T. moluccana, Lam; T. mauritian, Blanco) Nom. Yulg. — Talisay, Tag; Almendro, Sp-fil; Talisay, Banilak, Nato, Hitam, Vis; Kalisay, Pam; Lugo, Pandan, Hoc; Indian Almond, Indo-eng. Uses. — The kernel is edible and has a very agreeable taste. It yields about 50 fo of a fixed oil, sweet and savory. If left for some time, it deposits an abundance of stearin. It closely resembles oil of sweet almonds for which it, as well as the oil of Pili (Canarium commune, 1), which we have already described, makes a good substitute. 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 " Simple syrup 40 " To be given by the tablespoon ful 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
118 THE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES Dr. Bholanauth Bose recommends the internal use of the juice of the leaves as a remedy for chronic diseases of the spleen ; this treatment, however, has caused severe pain and is absolutely uncertain in effect. In Concan the juice of the leaves is given mixed with food to animals in heat, for its anaphrodisiac action. The fresh or dried plant is given in decoction mixed with ginger in intermittent fevers. If the ethereal tincture be evaporated a resinous residue remains that has not been studied, but appears to be the vesicant principle. This tincture should be made from the dried leaves to avoid hydration of the ether. Botanical Description. — A small plant with stem red, straight, quadrate, ramose. Leaves opposite, lanceolate, and fringed with hairs. Flowers axillary, small, red, solitary. Peduncles short. Calyx inferior, bell-shaped, with 8-toothed border, the 4 alternate teeth larger. Corolla none. Nectary bell-shaped, surrounding the ovary, shorter than the calyx, with 4 toothlets which lengthening form the filaments of as many stamens. Anthers 4-celled. Ovary of 4 pluriovulate locules. Style almost wanting. Stigma fluted. Seed vessel glabrous, horizontally dehiscent, containing 15 or more angular seeds joined to a common axis. Habitat. — It grows in the marshes of Mandaloyon. Lawsonia alba, Lam. (L. spinosa, L; L. inermis, Eoxb) Nom. Vulg. — Cinamomo del pais (native cinnamon), Sp-Fil; Henna, Camphire, Samphire, Indo-eng. Uses. — This is a very popular plant in the Orient, for many races use its leaves to impart a reddish-yellow stain to the nails, finger tips and palms of the hands. There is a tradition among the Mohammedans that the Prophet once called this plant " the best of all herbs" The leaf in form of a dry powder is sold in the bataks of India under the name of " henna " mixed
120 THE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES sel a little larger than a pea, globose, 4 chambers, many seeds. Habitat. — Common all over the Archipelago. Blooms in July. Punica Granatum, L. Nom. Vulg. — Granada, Sp. and Fil. dialects ; Pomegranate, Eng. Uses. — The decoction of the tender leaves is used as a gargle and wash in angina, aphthae, and wounds within the buccal cavity. The peel of the fruit is highly astringent and in decoction is a useful agent in treating chronic diarrhoea, and locally in injections of lotions for leucorrhoea and inflamed haemorrhoids. It should not be given when rectal tenesmus exists. The Pharmacopoeia of India contains the following formula for preparing the decoction of the peel Pulp of the fruit, mashed 60 grams. Water 600 " Boil for 15 minutes in a covered vessel, cool, filter and add water enough to make a liter. Dose, 30-50 grams per diem. This preparation is also used in astringent gargles and injections. For internal use the decoction is rendered more active by adding a small quantity of cloves or cinnamon. This mixture with the addition of opium gives excellent results in the treatment of diarrhoea among the natives of India and is highly recommended by Dr. Kirkpatrick. The most important part of the pomegranate, however, is its root, the bark of which is a very efficient taenifuge and the most astringent portion of the plant. It should be used fresh, as drying destroys its activity and gives negative results. Many failures to expel the taenia are probably due to this fact. According to Beranger-feand the root gives 25% to 40% of cures, whereas pumpkin seeds give but 5% to 10.
122 THE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES efficient dose has been absorbed. This is manifestly impractical and we therefore maintain that the alkaloid is not suited for the treatment of children. An analysis of the root bark made by the French chemist Tanret revealed the presence of four alkaloids pelletierine, isopelletierine (C 8 H 15 NO), pseudo-pelletierine (C g H 16 NO), and methylpeletierine (C g H 17 NO). Botanical Description. — A shrub 6-9° high with branches terminating in thorns ; some of the branches abort and form thorns. Leaves simple, oval, oblong, without stipules, with short petioles. Flowers axillary, solitary or in pauciflorous cymes. Calyx, 4-8 sepals, persistent, fleshy, yellow or red. Corolla, 4-8 petals, imbricated. Stamens numerous, free. Style 1 Stigma thick. Fruit with leathery rind, about size of small apple, packed with seeds, each imbedded in a small amount of crisp, juicy pulp. ONAGRAOEIE. Evening Primrose Family. Jussiaea suffruticosa, L. (J. villosa, Lam; J. ereda, Blanco) Nom. Vulg. — Malapoko, Tag. Uses. — The entire plant reduced to a pulp and mixed with milk is used in India to treat dysentery. Ainslie states that the decoction is employed as a vermifuge and purgative. Botanical Description. — An herb with square stem, leaves alternate, lanceolate, nearly entire, glabrous. Flowers axillary, yellow, solitary. Calyx of 4-5 lobules. Corolla, 4 lanceolate petals inserted between the divisions of the calyx. Stamens 8, of these 4 alternate being shorter. Ovary very long, inferior, with 4 many-ovuled locules. Style the same length as the stamens. Stigma 4-lobules. Seed vessels very long, with faint longitudinal ridges, crowned by the remains of the calyx, 4 pluriovulate locules.
124 THE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES Soft resin 0110 Brown resin 2776 Albuminoids 0006 Papayotin (Papain of Wurtz) 1059 Extractive matter 5303 Malic acid 0443 Peptic material and salts 7100 Water 74971 The milky juice is neutral and coagulates rapidly, separating in two parts a kind of insoluble pulp and a limpid colorless serum. If combined with fibrin, raw meat, white of egg or gluten it gradually softens them and completely dissolves them in 3 or 4 hours in vitro at 40° C. Combined with milk it coagulates it and soon precipitates the casein which is also dissolved a little later. It digests lumbricoids and tape-worms and the false membrane of croup, in a few hours. According to Wurtz and Bouchut papain is prepared as follows The fluid juice or the aqueous solution of the milky exudate is precipitated by the addition of ten times the volume of alcohol. The precipitate, after treating again with concentrated alcohol, is dissolved in water and the addition of sub-acetate of lead eliminates the albuminoids and peptones but does not precipitate the japan. The liquid is filtered and the lead salts separated by means of a current of hydrogen sulphide. It is filtered again and alcohol added gradually, which process first precipitates whatever sulphate of lead may have passed through the filter, and then the papain. Papain is an amorphous substance, perfectly white, soluble in water, insipid, odorless. An aqueous solution, if shaken violently, foams like a solution of soap. Boiling makes it turbid and when concentrated it has a slightly astringent taste. It is precipitated by hydrochloric, nitric, picric and the meta-phosphoric acids. Trommer's test gives it a beautiful blue violet color which, on boiling, changes to a red violet.
126 THE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES 20-60 drops of the exudate in a little sweetened water. This dose cannot cause any untoward symptoms and is efficient in expelling both lumbricoids and taeniae. The triturated seeds may be given internally in doses of 1-2 grams with milk or molasses to expel lumbricoids. Analysis has revealed in the seeds the presence of a resinous oil, an oleaginous material of disagreeable odor and taste called by Peckolt carini, a fatty acid, papaya 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 100 grams. Borax (powdered) 060 " Water 1600 " 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-petioles, palmately-lobed leaves growing in a crown and giving the tree the general appearance of a palm. Flowers dioecious. Staminate tree Flowers loosely clustered on long, hanging stems. Calyx, 5-6 teeth. Corolla tubular, V long, limb divided into 5 oval parts. Stamens 10, inserted in the throat. Style short, awl-shaped. Pistillate tree Flowers much larger,
130 THE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES Var. L. clavata, Ser. (C. lagenaria villosa, Blanco) Nom. Vulg. — Calabazabianeasp; 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 class ; 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 analyzed 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 080-100 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, pubescent and musk-scented ; large leaves, long-stalked flowers, white petals, greenish veins 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.
LTJFFA AEGYPTIACA 131 Luffa ffigyptiaca, Mill. (L. pentandra, Roxb; L. petola, Ser; Momordica operculata, Blanco) Nom. Vulg. — Probably bears the same names as the Trichosanthes. Uses. — The root is a hydragogue cathartic even in minute doses. The fruit is emollient by virtue of the large quantity of mucilage it contains, but it is more interesting for other properties. When cut in two, deprived of epidermis and seeds, and washed until none of the mucilage remains, there is left a fibrous skeleton, a sort of skein of interwoven nets that constitutes the so-called vegetable sponge. It serves the same purpose as a sponge and has the advantages that its fibers do not rot and that they are easily kept clean. In view of its cheapness and plentifulness in the Philippines the above advantages should suffice to bring it into universal use for the toilet, for surgical purposes and for cleaning in general. Botanical Description. — A vine with square, glabrous stem. Leaves alternate, cordate, 3-5-lobulate, dentate, rough, 5— 7-nerved. Petioles short. Flowers monoecious. Staminate in axillary panicles ; calyx bell-shaped ; corolla yellow, 5 oval petals, borders entire ; stamens 3 ; filaments short ; two thick ones divide high up in 2 parts, thus giving the appearance of 5 stamens in all. Pistillate axillary, calyx adherent, 5 pointed sepals ; corolla, 5 nearly triangular petals, finely dentate ; style thick, short, the base encircled by 3 glandules ; stigma cordate. Ovary, 3 pseudo-locules formed by the central union of the placentas ; pluriovulate. Fruit oblong, terminating at the apex in a deciduous lid or cover, marked with 8 or 10 black longitudinal lines ; the interior reticulate, 3 compartments with many seeds, oval, black, flat with thin borders. The natives do not distinguish between this specimen and the Trichosanthes, but it is to be noted that the corolla of the former is not ravelled or fringed. Habitat. Common in Luzon and Panay. Blooms in January.
132 THE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES Momordica balsamina, L. Nom. Vulg. — Ampalaya, Ampalea, Tag; Amargoso, Sp-Fil; Paria, Hoc; Apalia, Pam; Balsamina, Sp; Balsam Apple, Eng. M. charantia, L. (M. muricata, Willd; M. cylindrica, Blanco) Nom. Vulg — The same as of M. balsamina. Uses. — The fruit of both varieties is edible, though a bitter principle gives it such an intensely bitter taste that it is intolerable to the unaccustomed palate. It is eaten raw as a salad, or cooked with meat or fish. The juice of the leaves is prescribed internally as a purgative and anthelmintic. In Concan it is given alone or combined with aromatics, in bilious disorders as an emetic and purgative ; externally they use it as an ointment for the itch and other skin diseases ; in India it is mixed with cinnamon, pepper, rice and oil of Hydnocarpus inebrians, Vahl. The fruit and leaves are used internally for worms and externally for leprosy. Some Hindoo writers state that the fruit is tonic and stomachic, and that it is useful in rheumatism, gout, diseases of the liver and spleen. Botanical Description. — The first variety, M. balsamina, more common than the second, is a vine with angular stem and simple tendrils. Leaves, many serrate lobules with white dots on the ends, Flowers yellow, monoecious. Staminate solitary, peduncles very long, involucre cordate ; calyx 5-lobed ; corolla 5 petals ; filaments simple, one separate, 2 approximated ; anthers joined at their bases. Pistillate solitary ; ovary, 3 locules and numerous ovules ; stigma, 3 bifid divisions ; fruit globose, narrowing at the ends, covered with tubercles ; seeds numerous, lacking albumen, having red aril. The second variety, M. cylindrica, has a downy stem, 5angled with simple tendrils. The leaves are 5-lobules, cordate,