Acacia
Acacia
arabica (Lam.) Willd.; Family: Fabaceae
Acacia arabica (Lam.) Willd.; Family: Fabaceae
DESCRIPTION
Medicinal
Parts: The medicinal parts are the bark, the gum and the fruit of
the plant.
Flower
and Fruit: The flowers are yellow and sweetly scented. Two to 6
inflorescence peduncles with capitula-like inflorescences grow from the axils
of the upper leaflets. The flowers have short calyces with numerous overlapping
sepals. The completely fused petals are almost twice as large as the sepals.
The fruit is a 12 to 16 cm long and 1.5 cm wide pod. The pod is straight or
lightly curved, flat to convex, and pinched in to create segments. It is
matte-black to dark-red. The seeds are 7 x 6 mm and the same color as the pod.
Leaves,
Stem and Root: Acacia arabica is a 6 m high tree with a compact, round to
flat crown. Older branches are bare, younger ones measuring 15 to 20 mm in
diameter are covered in hairy down. The bark is black and fissured; the coloring
in the fissure changes to red-brown. There are stipule thorns at the nodes. The
leaflets of the double-pinnate leaves are in 3 to 12 pairs on the bare to downy
petiole, which is covered with glands The leaflets are oblong, blunt, and bare
or thinly ciliate.
Habitat:
The
plant is indigenous to the Nile area, Ethiopia, East Africa, Angola,
Mozambique, South Africa, Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan and India.
Production:
The
bark is collected from plants that are at least 7 years old and then left to
mature for a year.
Not to
be Confused With: The bark of the Australian species Acacia decurrens, which
is commercially available under the same name.
Other
Names: Acacia Bark, Babul Bark, Wattle Bark, Indian Gum, Black
Wattle
ACTIONS
AND PHARMACOLOGY
COMPOUNDS
Tannins
EFFECTS
The
drug has an astringent effect.
INDICATIONS
AND USAGE
Unproven
Uses: The drug is used as a decoction for gum disease and
inflammations of the mucous membrane of the mouth and throat (rarely used
today).
Indian
Medicine: Acacia is used as a decoction in the treatment of diarrhea
and vaginal secretions, and as an enema for hemorrhoids.
PRECAUTIONS
AND ADVERSE REACTIONS
Large
doses taken internally can lead to indigestion and constipation.
LITERATURE
Berger
F, Handbuch der Drogenkunde, W Maudrich Verlag Wien 1964.
Hansel
R, Keller K. Rimpler H, Schneider G (Hrsg.), Hagers Handbuch der
Pharmazeutischen Praxis, 5. Aufl., Bde 4-6 (Drogen), Springer Verlag Berlin,
Heidelberg, New York, 1992-1994.
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