148 /CAPSICUM SPECIES PDR FOR HERBAL MEDICINESCapsicum species
See Cayenne
Garambola
Averrhoa carambola
DESCRIPTION
Medicinal Parts: The medicinal part is the fruit.
Flower and Fruit: Cymose inflorescences grow from the
trunk. The flowers are radial, and their structures are
arranged in fives. The petals are free; there are 10 stamens
and a 5-chambered ovary. The fruit is a berry, approximately
10 cm long. The berry is acuminate, 5-sided and star-shaped
in cross-section. It is translucently amber-yellow.
Leaves, Stem and Root: Averrhoa carambola is a tree, that
grows up to 5 m high. The leaves are alternate, odd pinnate
and 10 to 12 cm long.
Habitat: India
Production: The fruit of the Carambola tree is the ripe fruit
of Averrhoa carambola.
ACTIONS AND PHARMACOLOGY
COMPOUNDS
Oxalic acid (0.3% of fresh weight)
Vitamin C (0.05% of fresh weight)
Monosaccharides/polysaccharides
Carotinoids
EFFECTS
No definitive data available.
INDICATIONS AND USAGE
Indian Medicine: Carambola is used for diarrhea, vomiting,
severe thirst, hemorrhoids, intermittent fever, scabies and
liver pain.
PRECAUTIONS AND ADVERSE REACTIONS
There is no evidence of any health risks connected with
limited consumption of the fruit or the preserves made from
them. Nevertheless, due to the high oxalate content, which
corresponds approximately to that of rhubarb stalks, the
ingestion of large amounts over extended periods should be
avoided.
DOSAGE
No information is available.
LITERATURE
Neto MM, Robl F, Netto JC, Depressant action of averrhoa
carambola. Med J Malaysia, 13:279-80, 1980 Mar.
Neto MM, Robl F, Netto JC, Intoxication by star fruit
(Averrhoa carambola) in six dialysis patients? (Preliminary
report) news. Nephrol Dial Transplant, 13:570-2, 1998 Mar.Caraway
Carum carvi
DESCRIPTION
Medicinal Parts: The medicinal part is the fruit and the oil
obtained from the squashed fruit when ripe.
Flower and Fruit: The main trunk and the side branches
each terminate in a compound flowering umbel of 8 to 16
umbel rays. The epicalyx and calyx are almost non-existent.
The florets are white or reddish and very small. The fruit is a
schizocarp that is glabrous, oblong and elliptoid. It consists
of 2 mericarps that are 3 to 6 mm long, sickle-shaped,
brownish with 5 lighter, angular main ribs (caraway seeds).
Leaves, Stem and Root: Carum carvi is usually a biennial, 30
to 100 cm high plant with a fleshy, fusiform tap root. The
stem is erect, angular, grooved, filled with latex, glabrous
and branched from the ground up. The rosette leaves and the
cauline leaves are glabrous and in part tri-pinnate. The lower
pinna are typically crossed.
Characteristics: The plant has a caraway taste and an
aromatic smell.
Habitat: Caraway is found in Europe, Siberia, the Caucasus,
the Near East, the Himalayas, Mongolia and Morocco.
Found wild in North America after being introduced.
Production: Caraway oil consists of the essential oil
extracted from the ripe fruits of Carum carvi. Caraway is
harvested when completely ripe and threshed 3 weeks later.
The oil is recovered from the crushed seeds by a process of
aqueous steam distillation.
Not to be Confused With: Carvon is occasionally added in
synthetic form.
ACTIONS AND PHARMACOLOGY
COMPOUNDS
In the berries: volatile oil, fatty oil, polysaccharides,
proteins, furocoumarins (traces)
In volatile oil: in particular D-(+)-carvone and D-(+)-
limonene
EFFECTS
In animal tests the drug had a spasmolytic effect. The
antimicrobial effect has been demonstrated against bacillus,
pseudomonas, and Candida; dermatomyces are also inhibited.
The choleretic effect has been described in a study which is
not accessible.