Abstract
The tree native to India is widely found in Asia and other tropical regions, South America and Madagascar, and in the states of Florida and Hawaii of the United States. Ibn Batuta who visited India in 1332 A.D., described Jamun as one of the fruits of Delhi. Bark is astringent and is used alone or in combination with other drugs to prepare astringent decoctions, gargles and washes. Expressed juice of leaves, and fresh bark juice are used with goat’s milk in cases of dysentery. Ripe fruit juice or syrup is stomachic, astringent and diuretic, and is used in oliguria. Extract of powdered seeds and dried fruits are used to treat diabetes. A paste of leaves is used to promote healthy discharges from indolent sores and ulcers. In Unani medicine, the kernel is used to strengthen stomach and liver, and to treat bloody and bilious diarrhea. Ayurvedic texts described antidysentery and antidiarrheal properties of the bark. A ready to serve herbal drink, prepared with the aqueous bark decoction and used in Ayurveda for diabetes patients contains gallic and ellagic acids with antioxidant, antiproliferative and antiglycation properties. At the turn of 20th century and before the discovery of insulin, S. cumini was one of the most commonly marketed and recommended medicinal plants as antidiabetic agents in Europe. It is one of the two most common antidiabetic plant drugs, and the leaves are widely used in Brazilian folk medicine to treat diabetes; diabetics use teas prepared from leaves and seeds in Porto Alegre, Brazil. It is also widely used in Brazilian folk medicine against leishmaniasis, inflammation, chronic diarrhea, and ulcers. In the Philippines, it is one of the most popular fruits, and its juice is used to make red wine, ‘tinto dulce.’ Fresh fruit-pulp (Indian variety) contains anthocyanins, total phenolics, flavonoid, carbohydrates, protein and minerals, no significant amount of fat, but rich in calcium; kernel and seed coat contain higher amounts of total phenolics. In a double-blind, double-dummy RCT, administration of a tea prepared from leaves for 28-days did not meaningfully lower blood glucose in Brazilian patients with type-2 DM.
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Akbar, S. (2020). Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels (Myrtaceae). In: Handbook of 200 Medicinal Plants. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16807-0_178
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