PDR for Herbal Medicines

152/CAROB PDR FOR HERBAL MEDICINES

stemmed ovaries. The pods are 10 to 20 cm by 2 cm, tough

leathery, brown-violet, flat and often rounded to a horn

shape. There are numerous, lumpy and glossy brown seeds.

Leaves, Stem and Root: This walnut-like tree is usually

under 6 m high, broad-crowned, sparsely branched and with

cracked gray-brown bark. There are 2 to 4 paired pinnate

leaves. The leaflets are obovate, 4 to 5 cm long, curved,

glabrous, glossy dark green above and red-brown beneath.

Habitat: Indigenous to southeastern Europe and west Asia,

otherwise cultivated.

Production: Carob seed flour is the ground endosperm of the

seeds of Ceratonia siliqua.

Not to be Confused With: Carob Tree, Jacaranda procera or

Jacaranda caroba.

Other Names: St. John's Bread, Locust Bean, Locust Pods,

Sugar Pods

ACTIONS AND PHARMACOLOGY

COMPOUNDS

Mucilages: chiefly made up of galactomannanes

Proteic substances

Flavonoids: including isoschaftoside, neoschaftoside,

schaftoside

EFFECTS

In various test series and studies, the effect of carob gum on

the serum glucose level, the secretion and activity of

digestive enzymes, the secretion of gastrointestinal hormones

as well as on the serum lipid level was proven. The

hypoglycaemic and hypolipidaemic effect is attributed to an

increase in viscosity of the gastrointestinal content.

Effects on nitrogen balance, efficacy in infantile diarrhea, as

well as an anti-exudative, anticoagulant and antiviral effects

have been demonstrated.

INDICATIONS AND USAGE

Unproven Uses: Carob is used in dietary agents for acute

nutritional disorders, diarrheal disorders, dyspepsia, entero-

colitis, celiac disease and sprue. It is also used for habitual

vomiting in babies, acetonemic vomiting, rumination, retch-

ing cough and vomiting.

Carob seed flour is used in the production of glutin-free

starch bread, which is used for vomiting during pregnancy,

celiac disease and obesity.

PRECAUTIONS AND ADVERSE REACTIONS
No health hazards or side effects are known in conjunction
with the proper administration of designated therapeutic
dosages.

DOSAGE

Mode of Administration: It is obsolete as a drug but is

included in thickening powders and as a baking aid for

glutin-free starch bread.

Preparation: As a baking aid or thickening agent, dissolve in

cold liquid, boil for 1 to 2 minutes, cool and mix into the

prepared baby food.

Daily Dosage: For a 3 to 10% arabon preparation, add 20 to

30 mg of drug to water, tea or milk, to be drunk during the

course of the day. As a baking agent in glutin-free bread for

babies, add 1/4 to 1/2 gm of drug (max. 2 gm) to 100 ml

liquid; adults 1% to 3% additive to low-calorie starters and

desserts.

LITERATURE

Kern W, List PH, Horhammer L (Hrsg.), Hagers Handbuch der

Pharmazeutischen Praxis, 4. Aufl., Bde 1-8, Springer Verlag

Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, 1969.

Leung AY, Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used

in Food Drugs and Cosmetics, John Wiley & Sons Inc., New

York 1980.

McLeary BV, Biomass A Cellulose and Hemicellulose 160:523.

1988.

Steinegger E, Hansel R, Pharmakognosie, 5. Aufl., Springer

Verlag Heidelberg 1992.

Tang W, Eisenbrand G, Chinese Drugs of Plant Origin,

Springer Verlag Heidelberg 1992.

Teuscher E. Biogene Arzneimittel, 5. Aufl., Wiss. Verlagsges.

mbH Stuttgart 1997.

Carrageen

Chondrus crispus

DESCRIPTION

Medicinal Parts: The medicinal part of carrageen, the Irish

seaweed, is the thallus that has been freed from the adhesive

disc then dried and bleached in the sun.

Flower and Fruit: Gamatangia: The spematangia are color-

less and are at the end of the younger thaljus lobes. The

spermatia are 7.5 to 10 p:m long and 4 to 5 p:m wide; the

carposporangia are 20 to 20 jim long and 14 to 25 \\m wide

and have no outer threads. The tetrasporangia, along with the

cruciform arranged tatra spores, are in the'medulla of the

short side branches.

Thallus: Chondrus crispus is a perennial red algae that grows

in waters up to 25 m deep. The thallus is usually yellow-

green to purplish-brown when fresh, white to yellow and

translucent after drying. Thallus fronds, are 10 to 30 cm long

on an adhesive disc, arising from a subcylindrical stem. They