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Family Fabaceae / Leguminosae
Aroma
Acacia farnesiana (Linn.) Willd.
CASSIA FLOWER

Jin he huan

Scientific name  Common names 
Acacia farnesiana (Linn.) Willd. Aroma (Span., Tag.) 
Mimosa farnesiana Linn Kandaroma (Ilk.) 
Acacia smallii Romas (Tag.) 
Acacia cavenia Kambang jipoun (Sul.) 
Vachellia farnesiana Cassia flower (Engl.) 
  Aromita (Span.) 
  Mimosa bush (Engl.)
  Needle bush (Engl.)
  Jin he huan (Chin.)
Acacia is a name shared by many species of Philippine plants, both scientific and common names: (1) Acacia concinna, acacia, a prickly shrub found in La Union, Benguet, and Ilocos Sur provinces of northern Luzon; (2) Albizzia lebbect, acaci, langil, mimosa; (3) Samanea saman, rain tree, acacia, for Acacia concinna; (4) Acacia farnesiana, aroma; (5) Acacia glauca, ipil-ipil; (6) Acacia niopo, kupang; (7) Acacia crassicarpa.

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.
- 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.


Last Update August 2011


Photo © Godofredo Stuart / StuartXchange
OTHER IMAGE SOURCE / SEEDS / Acacia farnesiana / Steve Hurst - USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database - Not copyrighted image / USDA / alterVISTA
OTHER IMAGE SOURCE / Flowers / Acacia farnesiana / Forest & Kim Starr - Plants of Hawaii - Creative Commons Attribution / alterVISTA

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Acasiane A and B and Farnesirane A and B, Diterpene Derivatives From the Roots of Acacia farnesiana / Planta medica / 2009, vol. 75, no3, pp. 256-261
(2)
Acacia farnesiana (L.) Willd. sweet acacia / FABACEAE / John A. Parrotta, Biological Scientist, Research & Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Washington, DC 20090-6090
(3)
Extracts of Acacia farnesiana and Artemisia ludoviciana inhibit growth, enterotoxin production and adhesion of Vibrio cholerae / Santos Garcia et al / World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Volume 22, Number 7, July 2006 , pp. 669-674(6) / DOI: 10.1007/s11274-005-9087-z /
(4)
Searching for a natural herbicide: the role of medicinal plants / Allan, Sally., Adkins, Steve / School of Land and Food Science, University of Queensland, St Lucia Qld 4072.
(5)
Activity of some Mexican medicinal plant extracts on carrageenan-induced rat paw edema / Phytomedicine, Volume 11, Issue 5, Pages 446-451 / M.Meckes, A.David-Rivera, V.Nava-Aguilar, A.Jimenez
(6)
Antimalarial activity of some Colombian medicinal plants / G Gravito et al / J Ethnopharmacol. 2006 Oct 11;107(3):460-2. Epub 2006 Apr 15 / doi:10.1016/j.jep.2006.03.033

(7)
Acacia farnesiana (L.) Willd. / James A. Duke. 1983. Handbook of Energy Crops. unpublished
(8)
Anti-inflammatory activity of leaves of Acacia farnesiana Willd / Hukkeri V et al / Indian drugs • 2002, vol. 39, no12, pp. 664-666
(9)
Asian Journal of Food and Agro-Industry / Jularat Udomsilp et al / As. J. Food Ag-Ind. 2009, Special Issue, S24-S30
(10)
Antioxidant, Antimicrobial and Cytotoxicity Activities of Acacia farnesiana (L.) Willd. Leaves Ethanolic Extract / Salfarina Ramli, Ken-ichi Harada, Nijsiri Ruangrungsi / Pharmacognosy Journal
(11)
Vachellia farnesiana / Wikipedia


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