Anacardium occidentale L. - cashew
Anacardium occidentale L. - cashew
Anacardium occidentale L. - cashew
Anacardium occidentale L. - cashew
Anacardium occidentale L. - cashew
MT105 : Anacardium occidentale L.
| Plant Category | : | Tree |
| Melghat's Flora's Serial No. | : | |
| Synonym | : | Acajuba occidentalis (L.) Gaert.; Anacardium amilcarianum Machado; Anacardium kuhlmannianum Machado; Anacardium microcarpum Ducke; Anacardium othonianum Rizzini; Anacardium rondonianum Machado; Cassuvium pomiferum Lam.; Cassuvium reniforme Blanco; Cassuvium solitarium Stokes; |
| Plant Common Name | : | Cashew • Hindi: Kaju • Manipuri: Kaju • Marathi: Kaju • Tamil: Mundiri, Andima • Malayalam: Kasu mavu • Telugu: Munthamamidi • Kannada: Godambi, Geru • Bengali: Hijli Badam • Konkani: Kazu • Sanskrit: Agnikrita |
| Plant Family | : | ANACARDIACEAE |
| Description | : | Gregarious evergreen trees, to 15 m high, bark pale grey to brown, smooth with vertical striations; blaze dull pink; exudation sticky, red; branchlets glabrous. Leaves simple, alternate, somewhat crowded on twig apices, estipulate; petiole 7-15 mm, stout, swollen at base, glabrous; lamina 6-15.5 x 3-8 cm, obovate; base acute or cuneate, round, apex obtuse, round or retuse, margin entire, glabrous, shiny above, coriaceous; lateral nerves 10-15 pairs, parallel, prominent; intercostae reticulate, prominent; glands axillary on main nerves and its branches. Flowers polygamous, yellow, streaked with pink, in terminal prominently bracteate panicles; calyx 5-partite, lanceolate, imbricate, deciduous, with some pubescence on outside; petals 5, linear-lanceolate, ligulate, recurved, imbricate; disc filling the base of the calyx, erect; stamens 8-10, one usually longer than others; filaments connate at the base and adnate to the disc, glandular puberulus; ovary superior, obovoid or obcordate, 1-celled, ovule 1, ascending from a lateral funicle; style filiform, excentric; stigma minute. Fruit a reniform nut, 2-3 cm, grey, seated on a large pyriform fleshy body formed of enlarged disc and top of the pedicel; pericarp gives acrid caustic oil; seed reniform, ascending. |
| Plant Location in Melghat | : | Occasionally planted in forest establishments |
| Medicinal Use / Activity | : | The leaves are febrifuge. They are used in west Africa in the treatment of malaria. In India and Africa the leaves are used to treat toothache and gum problems. The leaves can be harvested at any time and dried for later use. The bark is astringent, rubefacient and vesicant. Research has shown that it is also hypoglycaemic, having the ability to reduce blood sugar levels. The bark is used in Ayurvedic medicine to detoxify snake bites. Leaf and bark infusions are used in the treatment of toothache and sore gums, whilst the bark and leaf extracts and fruit juice are taken internally to treat Diarrhea. The fruit is anti-scorbutic, astringent and diuretic. Cashew syrup is a good remedy for coughs and colds. Cashew apple juice is said to be effective for the treatment of syphilis, and is also used in the treatment of cholera and kidney troubles. The fresh, acrid juice inside the shell is vesicant. It has been used for removing warts, as well as for treating ringworm, leprosy and corns, and is applied to the soles of the feet to cure cracks in the skin. The gum is bactericidal, fungicidal and kills worms and protozoa.It is applied externally in the treatment of leprosy, and for corns and fungal conditions. |
| Plant's Phytochemicals | : | COMPOUNDS: (+)-Epicatechin; ANACARDIC ACID; Cardanol; ASPARTIC ACID; eupatin; kaempferol; ascorbic acid; linolenic acid; quercetin; ACTIVE COMPOUNDS (5): Quercetin; Kaempferol; Catechin; Epicatechin; Ascorbic acid; |
| Plant's Current Status | : | |
| Plant's Cross Database Reference | : | 259142 |
| Reference | : | Prabha Y. Bhogaonkar and Pankaj A. Dhole; "Checklist of Flora of Melghat"; Chief Conservator of Forest & Field Director, Melghat Tiger Project, Camp, Amravati (2018 - 2019); Book |
| Reference | : | ~ Prabha Y. Bhogaonkar and Pankaj A. Dhole; "Checklist of Flora of Melghat"; Chief Conservator of Forest & Field Director, Melghat Tiger Project, Camp, Amravati
(2018 - 2019); Book PMID : ~ Avni G. Desai, Ghulam N. Qazi, Ramesh K. Ganju, Mahmoud El-Tamer, Jaswant Singh, Ajit K. Saxena, Yashbir S. Bedi, Subhash C. Taneja, and Hari K. Bhat; "Medicinal Plants and Cancer Chemoprevention"; Curr Drug Metab. (2008); 9(7): 581–591 PMID : ~ Das, DC.; Sinha, NK.; Chattopadhyay JC.; Das M. and Samanta P.; "The use of medicinal plants for the treatment of Gonorrhea and Syphilis in south west Bengal of India"; International Journal of Phytomedicine (2013); 5: 14-17 PMID : |
| Kingdom | : Plantae - Plants |
|---|---|
| Phylum | : Tracheophyta |
| Subkingdom | : Tracheobionta - Vascular plants |
| Superdivision | : Spermatophyta - Seed plants |
| Division | : Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants |
| Class | : Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons |
| Subclass | : Rosidae |
| Order | : Sapindales |
| Family | : Anacardiaceae - Sumac family |
| Genus | : Anacardium L. - anacardium |
| Species | : Anacardium occidentale L. - cashew |