Botany
Katigbi is a plant growing
1-2 meters high. Stem is erect, branched and stout. Leaves are 10-40
cm long, 2.5 -4 cm wide, with a broad and cordate base. Spikes are
6-10 cm long, erect, and peduncloed. Male spikelets are about 8 mm long. Capsules (fruits) enclosing the
female flowers and grains are hard, bony, white, or nearly black,
shiny, ovoid, about 8 mm longh.
Distribution
Common in settled areas, at low and medium altitudes.
Constituents
• The grain contains a protein , prolamin, with a high percentage
of leucine, tyrosine, glutamic acid, and basic amino acids arginine,
histidine, and lysine.
• Extracts have yieled coixenolides, attributed antitumor activity.
• Study isolated 6 benzoxazinoids from the roots of CL
Properties
• Grain starch
is tonic.
• Fruit considered antiinflammatory, antipyretic, antiseptic,
antitumor, antispasmodic, hypoglycemic, hypotensive, vermifuge.
• Seed considered antirheumatic, diuretic, tonic.
• Seeds considered to be nutritious, demulcent, cooling, perctoral,
antihelmintic.
Parts utilized
Roots, seeds.
Uses
Culinary
- Chief value of the plant is the edibility of the fruit. Grains
are nutritious, with a higher content of protein compared to rice.
- Tea from the parched seeds.
- Coffee from the roasted seeds.
- Beer and wine from fermented grains.
Folkloric
Decoction of the root has been used for gonorrhea; also, as vermifuge for
children.
Starch from the grain used as tonic as restorative in convalescence.
Tea from boiled seeds drunk for treatment of warts. Also used for
lung absecesses, appendicitis, rheumatoid arthritis, dysuria.
Seeds precribed for blenorrhagia.
In India, roots used for menstrual disorders.
In Liberia, juice from the stem used as drops for eye irritation secondary to injury.
Seeds have been used as anti-inflammatory medicine.
In Mexico, decoction or infusion of leaves used for diabetes.
In Japan and China, spirit from seeds used for rheumatic affections.
In China, used for cancer treatment (30-60
gm of coix, with glutinous rice as gruel, daily, year round. Also
used for dysfunctions of the endocrine system.
In Chinese traditional medicine, used for spleen invigoration, diarrhea, oliguria, edema, beriberi, appendicitis and warts. Also, used as food for the dyspeptic.
In Europe, tincture or decoction of seed use for catarrhal afflictions of the air passages.
In Japan, used for warts.
Others
The berries as strung as beads for rosaries and decorative for curtains,
bags, trays, necklaces, etc.
Beads for decorative use.
Stems for matting.
Studies
• Antitumor:
Components isolated from the Chinese herbal medicine Coix lachryma-jobi
showed antitumor activity attributed to the acidic fraction which
was composed of four free fatty acids: palmitic, stearic, oleic and
linoleic acids.
• Antiinflammatory: (1) Inhibitory
effects of methanol extract of seeds of Job's Tears (Coix lachryma-jobi
L. var. ma-yuen) on nitric oxide and superoxide production in RAW
264.7 macrophages: Results showed the methanol seed extract of seeds
of CL showed antiinflammatory properties which may involved the inhibition
of NO and O2 production by activated macrophages. (2) Study
on the antiinflammatory activities of six benzoxazinoids from roots
of Coix lachryma-jobi var. Ma-yuen showed the free hydroxyl group
in the benzoxazinone skeleton involved in the expression of inhibitory
activity.
• Progesterone Production Inhibition: Study suggested decrease of progesterone production via mechanisms
involving the inhibition of cAMP pathway, enzyme activities and protein
expressions in rat granulosa cells.
• Cytotoxicity / Anti-Viral: In a study of its in vivo effects on healthy volunteers, showed the Coix seeds increase peripheral cytotoxic lymphocytes and may be effective to viral infection through enhancement of cytotoxic activity.
• Macrophage Toxoplasmastatic Activity: Resuts of study of water extract of seeds suggest that some components other than the non-proteinous and defatted components in Coix lacryma seeds may contribute to activate macrophages through induction of NO for the biostatic activity.
• Osteoporosis Prevention: Results of study of the water extract of adlay seed suggest it may be capable of reversiing the osteoporotic status in rats and may be a helpful healthy food for osteoporosis prevention.
• Abortifactient / Embryotoxicity: Results indicate the water extracts of adlay seeds are capable of inducing embryotoxicity and enhancing uterine contractility during pregnancy, possibly through the enhanced activities of PKC-alpha, ERK1/2 and COX-2.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
