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 Botany
Cujete is a smooth, much-branched tree growing to a height of 4 to
5 meters. Branches are arching with close-set clusters of leaves. Leaves are alternate, often fascicled at the nodes, oblanceolate,
5 to 17 centimeters long, glossy at the upper surface, blunt at the tip and narrowed
at the base. Flowers develop from the buds that grow from the main trunk,
yellowish and sometimes veined with purple, with a slightly foetid odor,
occuring singly or in pairs at the leaf axils, stalked and about 6 centimeters
long, and opens in the evening. Calyx is about 2 centimters long, and split into two lobes. Fruit is short-stemmed, rounded, oval or oblong, green or purplish,
15 to 20 centimeters in diameter.
Distribution
- Occasionally cultivated
for ornamental purposes.
- Recently introduced from tropical America.
Constituents
• Phytochemical
studies of the fresh fruit pulp reports the presence of crescentic acid,
tartaric acid, citric, and tannic acids, two resins and a coloring matter
than resembles indigo.
• Studies yielded tartaric acid, cianhidric acid, citric acid,
crescentic acid, tannins, beta-sitosterol, estigmasterol, alpha and
beta amirina, estearic acid, palmitic acid.
• Study yielded flavonoids quercetin, apigenin with antiinflammatory,
antihemorrahgic and anti-platelet aggregation activities.
• Leaves have yielded naptoquinones, iridoid glycosides, aucubin, plumieride, and asperuloside.
• Phytochemical study of the fruit yielded eight new compounds,
along with four known compounds, acanthoside D, ß-D-glucopransoyl
benzoate, (R)-1-0-ß-glucopyranosyl-1,3-octanediol.
• Fruit yielded four new 11-nor-iridoids: 6-O-p-hydroxybenzoyl-10-deoxyeucommiol, 6-O-benzoyl-10-deoxyeucommiol, 6-O-benzoyl-dihydrocatalpolgenine (a mixture of 3 and 4) with two known iridoids, ningpogenin and 6-O-p-hydroxybenzoylaucubin.
Properties
• Fruit considered aperient, laxative, expectorant.
• Considered anthelmintic, analgesic, antiinflammatory, febrifuge,
laxative.
Parts used
Fruit, bark, leaves.
Uses
Folkloric
• In India,
used as a pectoral, the poultice of pulp is applied to the chest.
• In the West Indies,
syrup prepared from the pulp used for dysentery and as pectoral.
• In Rio de Janeiro,
the alcoholic extract of the not-quite ripe fruit used to relieve constipation
• For erysipelas, the fresh pulp is boiled in water to form a
black paste, mixed and boiled with vinegar, spread on linen for dermatologic
application.
• The bark is used for mucoid diarrhea.
• Fruit pulp used as laxative and expectorant.
• In the Antilles
and Western Africa, fruit
pulp macerated in water is considered depurative, cooling and febrifuge,
and applied to burns and headaches.
• In West Africa,
fruit roasted in ashes is purgative and diuretic.
• In Sumatra, bark
decoction used to clean wounds and pounded leaves used as poultice for
headaches.
• Internally, leaves used as diuretic.
• Throughout the Carribean,
used as analgesic and anti-inflammatory
• In the Antilles,
fresh tops and leaves are ground and used as topicals for wounds and
as cicatrizant.
• In Venezuela,
decoction of bark used for diarrhea. Also, used to treat hematomas and
tumors.
• In Costa Rica,
used as purgative.
• In Cote-d'Ivoire,
used for hypertension because of its diuretic effect.
• In Columbia,
used for respiratory afflictions.
• In Vietnam, used
as expectorant, antitussive, laxative and stomachic. Fruit decoction used to treat diarrhea, stomachaches, cold, bronchitis, cough, asthma, and urethritis.
• In Haiti, the
fruit of Crescentia cujete is part of the herbal mixtures reported in
its traditional medicine. In the province of Camaguey in Cuba, is considered a panacea.
• In Panama,
where it is called totumo, the fruit is used for diarrhea and
stomachaches. Also for respiratory ailments, bronchitis, cough, colds,
toothaches. headaches, menstrual irregularities; as laxative, antiinflammatory,
febrifuge. The leaves are used for hypertension.
Others
• In some countries,
the dried shell of the fruit is used to make bowls and fruit containers,
decorated with paintings or carvings.
• Used in making maracas or musical rattle..
• In Brazil, the fibrous lining of the fruit is sometimes used as a substitute for cigarette paper.
• A favorite perch for orchids.
Studies
• Phytochemicals:
(1) Previous studies have yielded naphthoquinones and iridoid glucosides.
The fruits yielded 15 new compounds, 3 iridoid glucosides, five iridoids,
3 2,4-pentanediol glycosides, along with known compounds. (2) Study fruit constituents yielded 16 iridoids and iridoid glucosides,
• Nutritive
and Anti-Nutritive Composition of Calabash Fruit:
Pulp was found to have high mineral concentrations; sodium, highest;
calcium, lowest, with high values of thiamine and found to be free from
HCN toxicity and suggests useful contributions to human health and nutrition.
• Bioactive
Furanonaphthoquinones : Study isolated new and known
bioactive compounds showing selective activity toward DNA-repair-deficient
yeast mutants.
• Antibacterial: (1)
In a study of extracts against E. coli and S. aureus, Crescentia cujete
showed activity against S. aureus.
(2) Among several solvents used, only the ethanol extracts showed significant antimicrobial activity against Shigella dysenteriae, Bacillus cereus, B. subtilis, B. megaterium and Staphylococcus aureus.
• Snake Venom Neutralizing Effect: In a study of t5 plant extracts used by traditional healers in Colombia for snakebites, 31 had moderate to high neutralizing ability against the hemorrhagic effect of Bothrops atrox venom. C cujete (unripe fruits) was one of 19 that showed moderate neutralization.
• Antidiabetic: In a non experimental validation for antidiabetic activity, study yields cyanhidric acid believed to stimulate insulin release.
Availability
Seasonal fruiting
and ubiquitoous market produce. |
