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 Botany
Aroma is a much branched, spiny shrub
or small tree, reaching a height of 2 to 4 meters. Branches are more or less zigzagging,
lenticellate, with sharp stipular spines, 1 to 4 centimeters long; branchlet
spines are smaller. Leaves are bipinnate, 5 to 8 centimeters long. Pinnae are usually
10 to 12. Leaflets are linear-oblong, 15 to 40, and 4 to 7 millimeters long. Heads are axillary, solitary or fascicled, rounded and about
1 centimeter in diameter. Flowers are numerous, yellow and fragrant. Pods are smooth,
brown, nearly cylindrical, 5 to 7 centimeters long, 1 1.5 centimeters wide, straight and curved.
Seeds in two series, embedded in dry spongy tissue.
Distribution
- Open grasslands and
thickets at low and medium altitudes, especially common in regions with long dry season.
- Native of tropical America.
- Introduced from Mexico by the Spaniards.
- Pantropic.
Constituents
- Bark yields a gum, resembliing gum arabic. The oil contains benzaldehyde,
benzyl alcohol, a ketone with odor of methone, anisic aldehyde,
decyclic aldehyde, and cuminic aldehyde.
- Some studies suggest an alkaloid in the bark gum.
- Yields a greenish yellow and viscid essetial oil. Oil contains 30.9 % salycilic acid methyl ester.
- The oil, deprived of its phenols, yields benzaldehydem benzyl alcohol, a ketone with the odor of menthone, anisic aldehyde, decyclic aldehyde, and cuminic aldehyde. The presence of geranionl and linalool is probable.
- A study show the oil contains 30.9% of salicylic acid methyl ester.
- The pod contains a tannin which is a glucoside of ellagic acid.
- The bark likewise is reported to contain a tannin.
 Properties
- Odor of the perfume smells like violet, but more intense.
- Bark is considered astringent and demulcent.
- Fruit is astringent.
Parts utilized
Bark, flowers, leaves
Uses
Edibility
- Roasted pods used in sweet and sour dishes.
- Ripe seeds put through a press to make oil for cooking. However, there are anecdotal reports of seeds used to kill rabid dogs, the activity attributed to an unnamed toxic alkaloid.
Folkloric
- In the Philippines, the aroma bark is considered astringent, in decoction is used in the treament of prolapse rectum and as an injection for leucorrhea.
- Poultice of young leaves used for ulcers and sores previously washed by a decoction
of same leaves.
- In San Luis Potosi decoction of roots has been used in the treatment of tuberculosis.
- Lotion of leaves used sores and skin afflictions.
- In Martinique, the flowers used as stimulant
and antispasmodic.
- In West Tropical Africa, the roots, containing
gum, is chewed for sore throat.
- In India, decoction of bark with ginger
used as astringent wash for teeth; also used for bleeding gums.
- Bruised tender leaves taken with water for gonorrhea.
- Pulverized dried leaves applied as dressing for wounds.
- Leaves prescribed for affections of the bladder.
- Lotion of leaves is applied externally for sores and skin diseases.
- Internally, leaves used for diarrhea.
- In Martinique, used as stimulant and antispasmodic.
- In Java bark is used as an emetic.
- In Costa Rica infusion of bark is astringent.
- In Uruguay, a decoction of flowers used
for diseases of women.
In Mexico, ointment from flowers are used for headaches; as infusion, for dyspepsia.
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Decoction of the green pods used for dysentery and
skin inflammations.
- Decoction of fruit used for dysentery and inflammation of the skin and mucous membranes.
- Oil employed as adjunct to aphrodisiacs in spermatorrhea.
- In Uruguay, decoction of flowers used for female diseases.
In Guatemala, flower infusion used as stomachic; also used for dyspepsia and neuroses.
In Columbia, bark decoction used for bathing in typhoid.
In Costa Rica, decoction of gum from trunk used for diarrhea; the pod infusion for diarrhea, leucorrhea and uterorrhagia.
Elsewhere, decoction of root used in hot baths for stomach cancer. Plaster from pulp used to alleviate tumors.
 Others
Gum arabic: Bark exudes a gum similar
to gum arabic. Mucilage can be prepared from the gum.
Perfume: Flowers known commercially as cassie flowers. Tree is grown extensively in France for the flowers fragrant perfume. Cassie perfume used for boquets and hair pomades. Diluted with other odors it imparts a true flowery fragrance.
Toothbrush: Woody branches used in India as tooth brushes.
Tanning: The tannin-rich bark is used for tanning leather.
Dye: A black dye is obtained from the pods. In some parts of India, the bark and pods are used as dye-stuff and for tanning.
Feed: In Mexico, the pods studied as alternate
feed for sheep. source
Studies
• Antiinflammatory / Cytotoxicity:
Study yielded four new diterpenes–acasiane
B, farnesirane A, farnesirane B with three known diterpenes and eight
flavonboids. Some of the compounds exhibited cytotoxicity to human cancer
cell lines while some showed moderate antiinflammatory activity.
• Vibrio cholera
inhibition: Study of 32 medicinal plants showed the ethanolic
extracts of A farnesiana and Artemisia ludoviciana effectively inhibited
bacterial growth of Cholera vibrio strains, effects on enterotoxin production
and adhesion were also studied.
• Natural Herbicide: In a study screening 6 potentially
allelopathic plant species, the seed extract of A. farnesiana exhibited
32% inhibition of growth of L. aequinoctialis.
• Antiinflammatory: (1) A study of 14 plants of the Mexican
medicinal flora was studied for its antiinflammatory activity. Acacia
farnesiana plant extract showed activity against induced hind-paw edema. (2) Study of ethanolic extract showed significant anti-inflammatory activity in both carrageenan-induced paw edema and cotton pellet-induced granulation models.
• Antimalarial: In a study of 10 vegetal extracts,
eight including Acacia farnesiana showed good activity against Plasmodium
falcifarum.
• Essential Oil / Antifungal: Study showed the essential oil of cassia flower was able to inhibit the mycelium growth and spore formation of A brassicola, A flavus, B oryzae, F moniliforme, F proliferatum, P arisea and R solani, indicating its potential as an alternative source of synthetic fungicides to control pathogenic fungi.
• Antimicrobial / Antioxidant: Study of ethanol extract showed a response to all antioxidant assays in a concentration dependent manner. The extract also exhibited antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The extract yielded flavonoids galloylglycoside and flavonoids glycosides.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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