Botany
Kabiki is a tree growing up to 15 meters high, with a dense, round, spreading, dark-green crown. Leaves are green, smooth, coriaceous, shining, elliptic, 5 to 15 centimeters long, 3 to 7.5 centimeters wide, and pointed at the tip. Flowers are fragrant and white, solitary or in pairs, or fascicled in the axils of the leaves, about 1.5 centimeters in diameter. Sepals are 8, ovate-lanceolate, 7 to 8 millimeters long, arranged in two series. Corolla-lobes are lanceolate, about 24, arranged in two circles and two series – the outer series of about 16 lobes, the inner with about 8. Fruit is ovoid, 2 to 3 centimeters long, green, later turning orange-red, and fleshy. Flesh is yellowish, sweet, aromatic, edible, but rather astringent. Seed is hard and dark brown.
 Distribution
- Cultivated as a shade tree and for its fragrant flowers.
- Introduced.
- Native of India.
- Planted in many tropical countries.
Constituents
- Seeds reported to contain a toxic principle and a saponin called mimusops-saponin, 2%.
- Bark and flowers contain saponin and some alkaloid.
- Bark has 7% tannin.
- Seed yields 16% oil. The acid in the oil shown to be stearic, palmitic and oleic, and a small quantity of a saturated acid, possibly behenic.
- Fruits and seeds contain quercitrol, ursolic acid, glucose, a triterpene alcohol, quercetin, dihydroquercetin and sitosterol glycoside.
- Bark has yielded taraxone, taraserol, butilinic acid and spinasterol.
- Leaves have yielded hentriacontane, carotene and lupeol.
Properties
- Considered astringent, styptic, tonic, and febrifuge.
Parts used
Root, bark, flowers.
Uses
Edibility / Culinary
- Ripe fruit is edible.
- The Malays use the fruit for preserves and pickling.
Folkloric
- Decoction of bark used for fevers and diarrhea.
- Locally, used for blenorrhea, as gargle for sore throat, and as mouthwash to harden the gums.
- In the Moluccas, roots with vinegar, used as an application for facial pain or infused for thrush and sore throat.
- Decoction of bark, boiled with tamarind bark, used as a skin lotion for various complaints.
- Poultice of bark used on the abdomen for leucorrhea.
- Infusion of the inner bark used within the nostrils for discharge of phlegm and mucus.
- Bark, as infusion or decoction, used salivation associated with gum and teeth diseases; also used for discharges of the mucus membranes of the bladder and urethra. Also used for fevers and as a general tonic.
- Bark used to increase fertility in women.
- Bark and flowers used to make an astringent tonic which may be used for fevers and diarrhea.
- Boiled leaves applied the as cold compress for headaches.
- Juice of the leaves squeezed into the eyes for sore eyes.
- In the Dutch Indies, crushed leaves used for headache; and cigarettes containing shredded leaves are used for infections of the nose and mouth, as sprue and pyorrhea.
- Powdered dried flowers sniffed to relieve headaches.
- Young fruit used as a gargle for treating sprue.
- In India, used as a masticatory for loose teeth.
- Ripe fruit is believed to hasten delivery.
- In Malaya, used as universal tonic.
- In India, pounded seeds mixed with oil used as suppositories for obstinate constipation.
- Tender stems used as tooth brushes, or the powder of bark skin used for cleansing the teeth.
- Used as antidiuretic in polyuria. Also believed to curb premature ejaculation.
- Used for dysuria and elimination of urinary stones.
Others
- Perfume: In India, lotion of flowers used as a perfume.
- Malay children string the flowers into a necklace.
- In Java, women tuck them hidden in their hair.
- Siamese women infuse the flowers as a cosmetic after bathing.
- Tanning: In India, bark used for tanning purposes.
 Studies
• Anti-Ulcer: Study investigating the effect of Mimusops elengi against experimental gastric ulcers showed anti-ulcer activity that can be attributed to decrease in gastric acid secretory activity along with strengthening of the mucosal defense mechanisms.
• Antibacterial: (1) Study isolated two antibacterial compounds from the seeds of M elengi – 2,3-dihydro-3.3'4'5,7-pentahydroxyflavone and 3'3',4;,5,7-pentahydroxyflavone – which showed strong inhibitory activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. (2) Study of an ethanolic bark extract of M elengi showed significant activity against three Staph isolates including S aureus. (3) Study of extracts of bark, fruit, and seed for antibacterial activity showed the fruit and seed extracts to be inactive. Stem bark showed activity against 6 bacteria, with the ethyl acetate extract showing highet inhibition against B. subtilis.
• Diuretic: Study of M elengi extracts showed potent diuretic and electrolyte excretion activity, highest in the alcoholic extracts, none in the chloroform and petroleum ether extracts.
• Antifungal: Study of the aqueous, methanol and ethanol extracts of M elengi exhibited highly significant antifungal activity against all tested fungi. Results suggest it may be exploited in the management of seed borne pathogenic fungi and prevent biodeterioration of grains and mytoxin elaboration during storage.
• Free Radical Scavenging Activity: Study of the methanol extract of leaves of M elengi showed significant activities in all antioxidant assays in a dose-dependent manner, compared to reference standard ascorbic acid.
• Anti-Diabetes: (1) Study in alloxan induced diabetic rats produced significant alterations in the biochemical and enzymatic parameters studies and reveals the anti-hyperglycemic potential of the bark extract of M elengi. (2) Study evaluated M. elengi extracts for antidiabetic activity against dexamethasone-induced diabetes in mice. Results showed the aqueous and n-Butanol fraction to have significant activity, with antioxidant activity along with ability to increase glycogenesis that could be beneficial in the management of insulin resistance diabetes and diabetic complications
• Anti-Inflammatory / Analgesic / Antipyretic: Study of 70% ethanol extract showed anti-inflammatory activity with significant inhibition of carrageenan-induced paw oedema, analgesic activity with decreased acetic acid-induced writhing, and antipyretic activity with decreased rectal temperature in Brewer's yeast-induced pyrexia.
• Cytotoxic / Anticancer: Study tested the cytotoic and anti-mitotic effect of standard anti-cancer drug cychophosphaide and an ethanolic extract of M. elengi barks in A. cepa root tip meristem model. Results demonstrated the extract to exhibit cytotoxic properties like the standard anticancer drug cyclophosphamide.
• Antioxidant: Study of a chloroform extract showed a total phenolic content significantly higher to stardard reference standard gallic acid. Results showed M. elengi had significant potential to use as a natural antioxidant agent.
• Memory and Anxiety Effects: Study evaluated the effects of a methanolic, aqueous, and n-butanol extract of bark on memory and anxiety-lite states. Methanolic extract at 200 mg/kg was found to have more significant activity as compared to aqueous and n-butanol extract.
• Antihyperlipidemic / Synergism with Moringa oleifera: Study evaluated the effects of combined extracts of M. elengi and Moringa oleifera on high fat diet-induced atheroma in rats. Antioxidant studies showed the combined extracts group produced significant reduction of LPO and increase level of SOD and catalase without any fatty infiltration and intimal layer thickeness. Mimusops showed better effect than the Moringa extract. The significant anti-atheroslceoritc activity may be due to flavonoids present in the leaves.
• Anti-Urolithiatic / Antioxidant: Study showed significant lowering of stone forming constituents in the kidneys of calculogenic rats with the alchohol extract. It also decreased the MDA, increased GSH, SOD, and CAT. The results confirmed the alcoholextract possess antiurolithiatic activity.
• Hypotensive Effect: Study showed a methanolic extract to cause hypotensive activity in anesthetized rats. The effect was dose-dependent, and independent of adrenergic, muscarinic, and histaminergic receptors. The results suggest M. elengi might possess calcium-blocking activity to explain its hypotensive effect.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
Teas, extracts, powders in the cybermarket.
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