USES
Medicinal, Pharmaceutical, and Cosmetic.
Rarely used in pharmaceuticals. Main use
(generally as a tincture) is in cosmetics as a
fragrance component or fixative in perfumes
(particularly men’s fragrances and oriental
types), soaps, creams, and lotions, with maxi-
mum use level of 0.4% reported in perfumes.^3
Food. Extracts used as flavor components
(particularly in vanilla flavors) in most major
categories of foods such as alcoholic and
nonalcoholic beverages, frozen dairy desserts,
candy, baked goods, gelatins and puddings,
meat and meat products, and gravies. Average
maximum use levels reported are usually be-
low 0.009% (93.7 ppm).
Traditional Medicine. Used in amenorrhea,
dysmenorrhea, hysteria, restless sleep, and as
analeptic and nervine, among others.
COMMERCIAL PREPARATIONS
Mainly crude.
REFERENCES
See the General References forARCTANDER;FEMA;LIST AND HO ̈RHAMMER;MARTINDALE;POUCHER.
- E. Shiftan in A. Standen, ed.,Kirk-Othmer
Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology,
Vol. 14, 2nd ed., Wiley–Interscience,
New York, 1967, p. 717.
2. Z. Valenta et al., Experientia, 17 , 130
(1961).
3. D. L. J. Opdyke,Food Cosmet. Toxicol.,
11 , 1061 (1973).
CATECHU (BLACK AND
PALE)
Source: Black catechu: Acacia catechu
(L.f.) Willd. (Family Leguminosae or
Fabaceae).Pale catechu:Uncaria gambir
(W. Hunter) Roxb. (Family Rubiaceae).
Common/vernacular names: Catechu, dark
catechu, black cutch, cutch, cachou, pegu
catechu, cashou (A. catechu); catechu, brown
cutch, white cutch, gambir, gambier, gambir
catechu, pale catechu, terra japonica
(U. gambir).
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Acacia catechuis a spiny, deciduous medium-
size tree, up to 13 m high, native to India and
Myanmar. Part used is the heartwood, which
is extracted with boiling water; the aqueous
extract after filtration, evaporation, and drying
yields black catechu, a shiny black mass.
Uncaria gambiris an evergreen woody
vine, native to southeastern Asia (Malaysia,
Indonesia, etc.). Parts used are the leaves
and twigs, which are extracted with boiling
water to yield pale catechu after filtration and
evaporationoftheextracttodryness;itisapale
browntodarkmassoccurringincubes(EVANS).
Both black catechu and pale catechu are
incompatible with alkaloids, proteins (e.g.,
gelatin), and metallic salts (e.g., iron).
The termscatechuandcutchcan also mean
products other than black catechu and pale
catechu; examples include Bombay catechu
and Borneo cutch, which are derived from
Areca catechu(betel nut) and a mangrove
species, respectively.^1
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
Black catechu contains 2–12%l- anddl-cate-
chin, 22–50% catechutannic acid, l- and
dl-epicatechin, quercitin, quercitrin, 25–33%
phlobatannin (EVANS), fisetin, red pigments,
and others (JIANGSU).
Catechu (black and pale) 157
