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Botany
· A very large, woody climber. Stems thick as a man's
arm, angled, and much twisted and the bark is dark brown and
rough.
· Leaves: tripinnate, the common petioles usually ending
in a long tendril. Pinnae stalked, usually 4 in number. Leaflets
oblong or obovate, 2.5 to 5 cm long, rigidly leathery and smooth.
· Flowers: 2 to 3 mm long, yellowish white, either crowded
in long slender spikes from the axils of the upper leaves or
arranged in terminal panicles.
· Fruits: pods, few, pendant, 30 to 100 cm long and 7
to 10 cm wide, somewhat curved, slightly constricted between
the seeds. Seeds are hard, and circular with their sides flattened.
Distribution
· In forests at low and medium altitudes, from Northern
Luzon (Cagayan) to Mindanao and Palawan.
Parts
utilized
· Bark,
seeds and vines.
· Vines and seeds. The vines may be collected during any
time of the year, rinse, section into slices, steam, and sundry.
· The seeds may be collected from January to April. Remove
seed coat, roast in a frying pan, sun-dry and pulverize.
· Cultivation: Use seeds and layering for propagation.
Constituents
Saponin; fixed
oil, 18%; traces of an alkaloid; sapogenin, oleanolic acid.
Properties
Slightly bitter-acrid tasting, mildly cooling natured. Antirheumatic,
relieves gastrointestinal disorders, aids circulation.
Folkloric
uses
· For rheumatic lumbar and leg pains, sprains, contusions:
use dried vine materials, 15 to 30 gms in decoction.
· For jaundice, edema due to malnutrition: use powdered
seeds, 3 to 9 gms taken orally with water.
· Abdominal pains and colic: Pound the kernels of the
seeds, mix with oil and apply as poultice onto affected area.
· Counterirritant: Make a paste of the seeds and apply
to glandular swellings in the axilla, loins and joints, and swollen
hands and feet.
· Hair wash: Soak the prepared bark in water until soft;
express the juice by rubbing the spread fibers against each other
until lather is produced; use as hair shampoo.
Note: The infusion of
the cortex (bark) of the gogo vines in water contains saponin
which has an emetic effect and also a strongly stimulant effect.
Accidental contact with the eye may cause conjunctivitis.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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