Common Names: Chaulmoogra Tree (English), Đại Phong Tử (Vietnamese), กระเบา (Thai), 大風子/驅蟲大風子 (Chinese)
Scientific Name: Hydnocarpus anthelminthicus Pierre ex Laness. [1]
Family: Achariaceae [1]
Natural Distribution: Indochinese Region (Cambodia, Guangxi and Yunnan provinces of China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam) [2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Natural Habitat: Lowland evergreen tropical forests [6]
Description: Evergreen tree that grows up to 20-30 metres tall and up to 50cm in diameter. Bark is greyish. [7] The lanceolate, coriaceous, oblong, glabrous leaves are simple and they alternate, roughly 10-30cm long by around 3-7cm wide. [3, 7, 8]
Flower: Some individuals are monoecious, some individuals are dioecious. [7, 8, 9] Flowers are unisexual. [7, 8, 9]
Fruits: The orange-brown fruits range from 8-15cm in diameter and can contain up to 100 seeds depending on the fruit size, usually half of that amount. Fruit shell not difficult to open. Fruits take about half a year to develop and ripen. [9]
Seeds: The dark-brownish seeds are used to produce and chaulmoogra oil. The seed is poisonous. The seed is classified as intermediate storage, being able to be stored for a short period of time (perhaps that is to do with its long germination period). [10] It will start sprouting at the right conditions (hot and humid). Seed has hard shell and are about 1-2cm long.
Historically, the plant was regarded as medicinal and the seed oil called chaulmoogra oil is used to treat leprosy and various skin disorders, however its application may not be objectively substantiated. [11] One proposed mechanism of action may be the activation of lipases in the body to destroy foreign lipids, which includes the cell walls of Mycobacterium leprae, the bacterium that causes leprosy. [11] Another claim states that the chaulmoogra oil causes phagocytes to aggregate near the bacterium. [11] Some others say that the cyclopentenyl fatty acids in the oil are the main contributor to the antimicrobial effect of chaulmoogra oil. [10] The oils from the seeds contain fatty acids such as chaulmoogric, gorlic, hydnocarpic, oleic and palmitic acid. [5] Another constituent called hydnocarpin is a flavonolignan that has exhibited promising anticancer properties. [11] Nowadays the tree is mostly planted primarily as an ornamental tree.
To make sure that the fruit is indeed ripe, I suggest to collect fruits that have already fallen. The white pulp inside goes rancid really quickly so don’t leave them around in the balcony or backyard like I did and get rid off it straight away and wash the seeds.
RAINFOREST WISH 