Averrhoa carambola L.

Averrhoa carambola L.

Latin Name: Averrhoa carambola L.

Family: Oxalidaceae; Genus: Averrhoa

Synonym Name: Averrhoa acutangula Stokes; Sarcotheca philippica (Villar) Hallier f.  

English Name: Carambola, Common Averrhoa, Carambola, Caramba, Country Gooseberry, Averrhoa, Blimbing.

Spanish: carambolo

French: carambolier; carambolier vrai

Chinese: ma fen; yang-táo 阳桃 yang tao

Australia: five corner

Brazil: camerunga; caramboleiro; limas de Cayena

Cambodia: spo; spu

Costa Rica: tiriguro

Dominican Republic: vinagrillo

El Salvador: pepino de la India

Finland: karambola

French West Indies: cornichon

Germany: Karambolabaum; karambole; Sternfrucht

Guam: bilimbin; bilimbines

Guyana: five fingers

Haiti: bimblin longue; blinblin longue; carambolier; conichon du pays; zibeline; zibeline longue; zibline; zimbline

India: kamaranga; kamrakh; kamruk

Indonesia: belimbing manis

Laos: fuang; nak fuang

Malaysia: belimbing batu; belimbing besi; belimbing manis; belimbing pessegi; belimbing saji; belimbing sayur; blinbing manis; caramba; carambola tree; kambola

Mexico: árbol de pepino; caramboler; carambolera

Myanmar: mak-hpung; zaung-yar

Nicaragua: melocotón

Pakistan: kamrak; kamranga

Palau: kemim; ouderteboteb

Panama: mamoncillo chino

Philippines: balimbin; balimbing; balingbing; daligan; dalihan; galangan; galuran; garahan; garulan; malimbin; sirinate

Puerto Rico: carambold; jalea; star pickle

Sri Lanka: kamaranga; kamruk

Suriname: blimbing legi; fransman-birambi

Sweden: karambola

Thailand: ma fu’ang; ma fueang

Tonga: tapanima

Trinidad and Tobago: coolie tamarind

Venezuela: tamarindo chino; tamarindo dulce

Vietnam: Khế chua, Ngũ liêm tử, Mạy phường (Tày), Co mác phương (Thái)

Description: Plants 3-12(-15) m tall, densely branched, young parts finely pubescent or glabrous. Leaves 7-25 cm; petiole 2-8 cm; leaflets (3-)5-13; petiolules 1-2.5 mm; leaflet blades ovate to elliptic, 3-8 × 1.5-4.5 cm, abaxially pubescent to nearly glabrous, base obliquely rounded, apex acute to acuminate. Inflorescences axillary or rameal, panicles or cymes, branches and flower buds crimson. Flowers numerous, small. Sepals narrowly elliptic, 3-5 mm, base sparingly pubescent. Petals white with purple markings or pink to red with darker markings, 6-9 × 3-4 mm. Shorter stamens sterile, occasionally 1 or 2 fertile. Ovary pubescent. Berry yellow to yellow-brown, oblong, 7-13 × 5-8 cm, deeply (3-)5(or 6)-ribbed, stellate in cross section, very fleshy. Seeds numerous, blackish brown. Flowering: July to August, fruiting: August to September.

Distribution: Cultivated in gardens, and on village borders. Distributed in Fujian, Taiwan, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi and Yunnan.

Part Used: Medical part: Roots, bark, leaves, flower and fruits. Chinese name: root or root bark: Yangtaogen. Leaves: Yangtaoye. Flower: Yangtaohua. Fruits:Yangtao.

Harvest & Processing: Root or root bark: collected all over the year, excavated root, removed soil, well washed, sun-dried; cut the root bark, removed cork, taken the second layer, used fresh or sun-dried. Leaves: collected all over the year, used fresh or sun-dried. Flower: from July and August, collected when flowering, used fresh or sun-dried. fruit: collected in August and September, when the fruits turn greenish-yellow and used fresh.

Chemistry:

+ Roots contain β-sitosterol, lupeol, 1, 5-dihydroxy-6, 7-dimethoxy-2-methyl anthraquinone 3-O-β-glucopyranoside.

+ Leaves contain cyanidin-3-O-β-D-glucoside, cyanidin-3 and 5-O-β-D-diglucoside. Flowers contain rutin and quercetin-3-O--D-glucoside; pigenin-6-C-β-L-fucopyranoside and apigenin6-C-(2"-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl)-β-L-fucopyranoside; Apigenin6-C-(2"-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl)-β-D-glucopyranoside

+ Fruits contain tricos-1-ene, linoleic acid, hexadecanoic acid, pentacos-1-ene and γ-dodecalactone, etc.

Properties & Actions: Root or root peel: sour, harsh, neutral. Leaves: harsh, bitter, cold. Flower: sweet, neutral. Fruits: sour, sweet, cold. Roots or root bark: removing wind and damp, activating qi-flow, relieving pain, arresting seminal emission and leukorrhea. Leaves: removing wind, inducing urination, clearing heat, detoxifying and relieving pain. Flowers: arresting malaria, relieving pain, detoxifying, expelling parasites. Fruits: clearing heat, produce body fluid, inducing urination and detoxifying.

Indications & Usage: Root or root bark: Rheumatic arthralgia, osteoarthritis, paralysis, peratodynia, emissions, leucorrhea, Leaves: wind-heat type common cold, difficulty in urination, puerperal edema, superficial infection, toxic swelling, dermatitis rhus, swelling pains caused by falls. Flower: malaria, gastralgia, dermatitis rhus, sarcoptidosis. Fruits: cough due to wind-heat evil, pharyngalgia, dipsesis, stranguria caused by kidney stone, aphthous stomatitis, toothache, malarial nodule, toxic effect of alcohol. Root or root bark: oral administration: decocting, 15-30g (double dose for fresh use); or made as medicinal liquor. Leaf: oral administration: decocting, 15-30g. External: appropriate amount, fresh used smashed for application, extracted juice and coated or prepared decoction for washing. Not use for physically weak and cold person. Flower: oral administration: decocting, 9-30g. External: appropriate amount, triturated for application. Fruit: oral administration, decoction, 30-60g; eat fresh fruit, or drink extracted juice. External: appropriate amount, extracted juice for ear drippings. Not use for deficiency-cold in spleen and stomach.

Examples:     

1. Cough due to wind-heat evil: fresh carambola 94-125g, pestle to juice, add crystal sugar to drink; or eat fresh carambola 2-3 times a day, and 1-2 each time.

2. Malaria: carambola flower 15-24g. Decoct, and drink 2-3h before onset, patients with hepatosplenomegaly should eat an appropriate amount of fresh carambola, pestle to collect juice, drink 1 cup each time, 2 times a day.

3. Pyretic thirst, scanty and astringent urine: decoct (Carambola) fresh leaves and drink the decoction to replace tea.

4. Chronci head wind: fresh root of carambola 30-45g, beancurd 120g. Stew and eat, one time a day.

References

- Chinese Medicinal Material Images Database

- efloras.org

- Theplantlist

- Moresco, Henrique H., Queiroz, Gustavo S., Pizzolatti, Moacir G., & Brighente, Inês M. C.. (2012). Chemical constituents and evaluation of the toxic and antioxidant activities of Averrhoa carambola leaves. Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia, 22(2), 319-324.