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Botanical Name |
: |
Crescentia alata Kunth |
English
Name |
: |
Calabash tree, Mexican calabash |
Synonym(s) |
: |
Crescentia trifolia Blanco, Othophora paradoxa Blume, Parmentiera alata (Kunth) Miers |
Family |
: |
Bignoniaceae |
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General Info
| Description |
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A small tree, 5—14 m tall, stem up to 25 cm in diameter, branches crooked, branchlets essentially lacking. Leave simple, oblanceolate, 2—3 cm x 0.5—1 cm, or trifoliolate, leaflets oblanceolate, 1—5 cm x 0.3—1.2 cm, with winged petiole, 2.5—12 cm x 0.3—1.5 cm, all lepidote. Flowers solitary or paired, calyx 2-lobed to the base, corolla tube 3—4 cm long, corolla lobes 1—1.5 cm long, 2—2.5 cm wide at mouth of tube, brownish with brown-purple venation. Berry more or less spherical, 7—10 cm in diameter. |
| Herb Effects |
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Astringent and antihaemorrhagic (decoction of leaves); pectoral (fruit pulp) |
Chemistry
| Active Ingredients |
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Beta-carotene, niacin, oleic acid, riboflavin, thiamin (seed); HCN (fruit) |
| Chemistry
of Active Ingredients |
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|
 |
Name |
CAS# |
IUPAC Name |
Formula |
Structure |
 |
|
| Beta carotene |
7235-40-7 |
3,7,12,16-tetramethy
l-1,18-bis(2,6,6-tri
methyl-1-cyclohexeny
l)-octadec
a-1,3,5,
7,9,11,13,15,17-nona
ene |
C40H56 |
|
| Niacin |
99148-57-9 |
Pyridine-3-carboxyli
c acid |
C6H5NO2 |
|
| Oleic acid |
8046-01-3 |
octadec-9-enoic acid |
C18H34O2 |
|
| Riboflavin |
Not Available |
Not Available |
C17H21N4O9P |
|
| Thiamin |
59-43-8 |
2-[3-[(4-amino-2-met
hyl-pyrimidin-5-yl)m
ethyl]-4-methyl-1-th
ia-3-azoni
acyclope
nta-2,4-dien-5-yl]et
hanol |
C12H17N4OS+ |
|
| HCN |
Not available |
Hydrogen cyanide |
CHN |
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Pharmacology
| Medicinal Use |
|
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Used against diarrhoea and dysentery (leaves); treating haemoptysis and dysentery (decoction of leaves); for diseases of the kidneys (fruit pulp) |
Dealers
Products
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Health Remedies 
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