Garcinia L.

Garcinia kola - MHNT

Garcinia kola (bitter kola, a name sometimes also used for G. afzelii) is a species of flowering plant in the Clusiaceae or Guttiferae family. It is found in Benin, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

Garcinia kola or bitter kola is a tree that grows in the rain forests of west Africa. The fruit, seeds, nuts and bark of the plant have been used for centuries in folk medicine to treat ailments from coughs to fever. According to a report from the Center For International Forestry Research, garcinia kola trade is still important to the tribes and villages in Nigeria. As with any herb, never consume garcinia kola without first discussing its use and benefits with your physician, especially if you are currently being treated for other medical conditions or are on any medications.

Traditional medicine[edit]

Garcinia kola is traditionally used by African medicinemen who believe that it has purgative, antiparasitic, and antimicrobial properties.^[2] The seeds are used for bronchitis, throat infections, colic, head or chest colds, and cough.^[2] It is also used for liver disorders and as a chewing stick.^[2]

Barriers to cultivation[edit]

Despite its socio-economic importance of Garcinia kola, the cultivation of the species is very much limited. Factors that have discouraged farmers from growing Garcinia kola include difficulties encountered in the germination which reduces the availability of seedlings in the nurseries for possible plantation establishment. Most of the productive trees are those which were left in the wild when farm plots were cut out of the forest (Adebisi, 2004). Researchers have studied the germination problems of G. kola seeds and suggested various means of breaking its dormancy (Gyimah, 2000, Anegbeh et al., 2006, Kanmegne and Ndoumou, 2007, Oboho and Urughu, 2010, Oboho and Ogana, 2011). But there is still a great need to investigate more simple and practicable methods that could be easily adopted by the farmers with low technological input. G. kola seeds has both seeds coat dormancy and physiological dormancy probably imposed by the chemicals in the seed (Oboho and Urughu 2010). Seed coat dormancy of Garcinia kola can be reduced by removing the seed coat before sowing while the physiological dormancy can be reduced by soaking in water for 72 hours (Yakubu et al., 2014). the removal of the seed coat, soaking in water for 72 hours, placing inside air tight transparent polythene bag and sprinkling of water on the seeds when needed for constant moisture will give early germination period of 2 weeks (Yakubu et al., 2014).

References[edit]

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Garcinia indica, a plant in the mangosteen family (Clusiaceae), commonly known as kokum, is a fruit tree that has culinary, pharmaceutical, and industrial uses. The tree is also ornamental, with a dense canopy of green leaves and red-tinged, tender, emerging leaves. It is indigenous to the Western Ghats region of India, along the western coast. It is found in forest lands, riversides, and wasteland, and also gets cultivated on a small scale. It does not require irrigation, spraying or fertilizers.

These plants prefer evergreen forests, but some also thrive in relatively low-rainfall areas. Garcinia indica is known by various names across India, including amsol/aamsul, bindin, biran, bhirand, bhinda, bhrinda, brinda, kokum/kokam, katambi, panarpuli, kudam puli or ratamba.

Further, the extract/concentrate of this fruit is called aagal in Konkani and Marathi. It is ready to use for preparation of sol kadhi when mixed with coconut milk.

The genus Garcinia, belonging to the family Clusiaceae, includes some 200 species found in the Old World tropics, especially Asia and Africa. Of the 35 species found in India, 17 are endemic. Of these, seven are endemic to the Western Ghats region (lying along western coastal India), six in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and four in the northeastern region of India.

Called kokum, kokam, or bin'na in parts of western India, the Garcinia indica seed contains 23-26% oil, which remains solid at room temperature and is used in the preparations of confectionery, medicines and cosmetics.

The outer cover of fruit is dried in the sun to get aamsul or kokam. It is used as a slightly sour spice in recipes from Maharashtra that yields peculiar taste and dark red colour. It is a preferred substitute for tamarind in curries and other dishes from Konkan. It is also used in Konkani cuisine, in Gujarat, and some cuisines of South India.

As kudam puli, it is an essential ingredient of traditional fish recipes of Kerala.

Recently, industries have started extracting hydroxycitric acid (HCA) from the rind of the fruit.^{[citation needed]}

India's first national seminar on kokum or Garcinia indica was held March 4-5, 2005 at the Goa University, Goa. Those researching on the crop see it as having a bright future: it is rainfed, does not have any pest or diseases apart from the monkey menace, and is almost a "zero-attention" crop.

One paper presented at the Goa seminar (March 2005) suggested Garcinia indica has medicinal uses both as a digestive tonic, and to cope with paralysis. In the first case, about half to one glass of curry is prepared from the fruits, with a little salt and sugar, to be taken after meals. For paralysis, the clean-chopped stem bark is finely powdered and is added to boiling water. After two to three minutes, a lightly cooled decoction is used for washing the affected parts, two to three times a day.

Kokum juice is also thought to be effective against allergies due to bee stings and other insect bites, sun exposure symptoms and acidity.