The New Nation - Internet Edition

Jamayet Ali

Karamcha is an indigenous evergreen small crooked tree up to 3m. in height. It grows successfully in marginal and wastelands. The tree is suitable for arid tropics and sub-tropics. The plant for making dense hedges around fruit orchards as it forms an attractive thorny hedge. Its bark is yellowish brown, peeling in squire flakes. Leaves are leathery, light green, elliptic oblong, rounded at both ends. Flowers are white or pink, faintly scented. Its botanical name is Carissa carandas Linn. The plants are commonly raised from seeds but can also be multiplied by hard wood cuttings and air-layering with the aid of growth regulators. Seedlings are transplanted when two years old. Cuttings from a fruiting tree do not root well although those from young nursery plants root successfully. Two types of Karamcha are commonly grown one with dark purple to almost blue fruits and the other with pink and white attractive fmits. The plants once established, are very hardy and thrive without irrigation and much care but require manuring regularly. They start bearing fruits two years after transplanting. The wood is white with an irregular grey or orange-yellow heatt wood, hard, smooth and close-grained. It is used for making combs and spoons. Besides Bangladesh, it also grows in India, Srilanka and Timor.

Karamcha is rich in nutritive value. Analysis of the fruits (fresh basis) by the scientists gave following findings: moisture, 91: protein, 1.1: fat, 2.9; carbohydrate, 2.0; fibre, 1.5; minerals, 0.6 g; calcium, 21; phosphoms, 28 mg./l00g; energy, 42 k calorie; carotene (equivalent to vitatnin A) 1619 I.U.; thiatnine, 0.04; nicotinic acid, 0.6; atld riboflavin 0.07 mg./100g. The flowers yields a light yellow pleasant smelling essential oil. The seeds also yield an oil having the following fatty acid composition: palmitic, 66.4; stearic, 9.4; arachidic, 21.2; oleic, 2.0; and linoleic, 1.0 % (Wealth of India, Raw Materials, Carissa carandas)

Medicinal Properties: All parts of the plant are reputed in indigenous medicine.

The unripe fruit is sour and astringent and is used for pickles. The ripe fruits are sweet, edible atld particularly suitable tatts, salads, puddings and jellies. They can be used to make refreshing juices or carbonated drinks. The roots are credited with bitter stomachic atld anthelmintic properties. The alcoholic extract of roots exhibited cardiotonic activity and prolonged blood pressure lowering effect. An atnorphous water-soluble polyglycoside possessing significant cardiac activity has been isolated. The cardiac activity of water-soluble fraction has been attributed to the presence of the glucosides of odoroside. H-presence of alkaloids is also reported in root atld stembark. The roots also show insecticidal property. The leaves are prescribed in remittent fevers. The ripe fmits are atltiscorbutic, cooling and useful in bilious complaints. The fat soluble fraction of the mature fmits has revealed cytotoxic. (Wealth of India, Raw Materials, Carissa carandas)

Medicinal Values: The unripe fmit is astringent, and the ripe fmit cooling, acid and useful in bilious complaints. The root has the reputation of being a bitter stomachic. It is used as a plaster in the concan to keep off flies, and pounded with lime juice, and camphor as a remedy for itch.

Special Opinions: It is considered to be antiscorbutic and much used in the form of curry and chutney by the natives" (Assistant Surgeon Anund Chunder Mukerji, Noakhally). "Antiscorbutic, expectorant" (Surgeon W. Barren, Bhuj, Cutch). " The juice is irritant and capable of producing ulcers. The ripe fruit is a pleasant acid, goes with food and has I believe, anti scorbutic properties" (Surgeon- Major J. M. Zorab, Balassore, Orissa) The decoction of leaves is very much used at the commencement of remittent fever" (Surgeon -Major P.N. Mukerji, cattack, Oriissa) (Dictionary of the Economic Products of India, Watt, Vol. II, 165, 166)

Medicine: The root is anthelmintic. The fruit is sour, tasty; allays thirst; heating; causes biliousness, "kapha", and blood impurities; when ripe cooling, cures biliousness and "vata" Ayurveda. The fruit is sour, acrid, astringent; appetizer, antipyretic; lessen thirst, biliousness; useful in diseases of the brain; causes indigestion; makes one lethargic; diminishes sexual power (Yunani).

The tmripe fruit is astringent and the ripe fruit is cooling acid and useful in bilious complaints. The fruit has been reported by several medical officers to possess antiscorbutic. The root has the reputation of being a bitter stomachic. Used in Konkan, pounded with horse urine, lime juice and camphor as a remedy for itch. In Cuttack, the decoction of the leaves is very much used at the commencement of remittent fever (Indian Medicinal Plants, K.R. Kirtikar & B.D.Basu, Vol. II, 1547).