Tamarindus, Tamarind

Chincha (Ayurveda)
Tamar Hindi (Unani)
Ortus Sanitatis, Meydenbach, 1491
Tamarind tree and Seed pod
Parkinson, Theatrum Botanicum, 1640

Tamarind tree
Atlas der officinellen pflanzen (2), Felix, 1899
Tamarind Seed pod, Plantæ Utiliores, Burnett & Burnett, 1842

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Botanical name:

Tamarindus indica

Parts used:

Fruit; Fruit Pulp

Temperature & Taste:

Cool, moist. Sweet, Sour

Classifications:

2B ATTENUATERS.    2S. STRENGTHENING
3B. FEBRIFUGE & ANTIPYRETIC
4e. STOMACHIC
TCM:
B. Clear Heat

Uses:

1. Clears Heat and Bile:
-Gently purges Phlegm and Bile, and burnt Humors
-clears Heat, in bilious Fevers, to purge Bile, and to quench Thirst.
-Pestilent, Burning and Putrid Fevers
-good for removing toxins from the body after Epidemic or viral Fevers.
–‘Scabs, Itch’; Eczema, Psoriasis, Leprosy

2. Clears Heat, Loosens the Bowels:
-gently purges Bile;
-suitable for acute and chronic constipation. It is also suitable to purge those with Hemorrhoids.
-Edema, Jaundice

3. Benefits the Stomach, Increases Qi:
-Relieves Vomiting and Nausea
-promotes appetite
-‘overcomes weakness of body and mind’ (Mahadevadeva, Unani)
-beneficial in mental weakness (Unani)
-Unani physicians classed it as Cardiac, beneficial for the Heart

4. Externally:
-Tamarind is used as a gargle in Sore Throat
-applied as a poultice for inflammations


Dose:
Decoction: ½–2 oz.
Pulp of Tamarind: ½–1 dram

Correctives:

1. Violets
2. Poppy seed

Substitutes:

Prune

Main Combinations:

1. To clear Heat and Bile:
i. Tamarind with Cassia pulp and Rhubarb
ii. boil Tamarind in Whey and to the strained liquor add Syrup of Violets
iii. Tamarind with Endive, Chicory, Agrimony, Borage, Violet, Prune Licorice (as in Decoction to Expel Bile of Andernacus)
iv. Tamarind with Prune, Barley, Violet and 4 Cold seeds (as in Decoction to Cool)
v. Tamarind with Rose, Coriander seed, Mint, Cardamon, Mastic, Sandalwood, Pomegranate and Emblic Myrobalan (Unani)
2. Clear Heat from Lungs, Stomach or Liver, Tamarind with Fig, Prune, Violet, Borage, Rose, Hops, Endive, Licorice (as in Decoction of Fruit and Flowers)
3. To purge Phlegm and Bile, or mixed Humors, Tamarind with Yellow Myrobalan, Chebulic Myrobalan, Black Myrobalan, Fumitory, Wormwood, Prunes (as in Decoction of Myrobalan of Mesue)
4. As a laxative:
i. Tamarind pulp with Manna, Orange peel
ii. Tamarind pulp (3 oz.), Manna (1 oz.), dissolve in Camomile water (9 oz.). Dose: half a cup. (Sobernheim, 1840)
iii. Tamarind pulp with Cinnamon, Senna, Prune, Coriander seed, Licorice
iv. Tamarind pulp (3 oz.), Cream of Tartar (2 drams), Syrup of Manna (6 oz.). Form an Electuary. Dose: 1 teaspoonful. (Sobernheim, 1840)
v. Tamarind pulp (1 ½ oz.), Cream of Tartar (½ oz), Syrup of Rhubarb, sufficient to form an Electuary. Dose: 2 ‘coffeespoonfuls’. (Sobernheim, 1840)
vi. Especially used for children: Tamarind pulp (2 oz.), Cream of Tartar (1 oz.), Fennel seed powder (2 drams), Syrup of Rhubarb, sufficient to form an Electuary. Dose: 1–2 teaspoonfuls. (Sobernheim, 1840)
vii. Tamarind pulp with Cream of Tartar, Senna, Rhubarb, Manna (Pharmacopoeia Herbipolitania, 1796)
viii. Tamarind pulp with Cream of Tartar, Senna, Licorice, Scammony
ix. Pulp of Tamarind, Senna, Potassium nitrate, Sulphur, Syrup of Orange peel (Pharmacopoeia medici practici universalis, Bruxelles, 1817)
x.. Pulps of Tamarind, Raisins, Prunes, Senna, Cream of Tartar, Cinnamon, Fennel (Pharmacopoeia Wirtembergica, 1798)
5. As an Enema:
i.. Tamarind pulp (1 ½ oz), dissolve in Camomile water (½ oz.), and add Linseed oil (2 oz.) 

Major Formulas:

Decoction to Cool
Decoction to Expel Bile (Andernacus)
Decoction of Fruit and Flowers
Decoction of Myrobalan (Mesue)
Syrup of Dodder of Thyme (Mesue)
Syrup of Sandalwood (Unani)
Electuary of Prunes (Diaprunis lenitiva) (Nicholas)
Catholicum (Diacatholicum) (Nicholas)

Cautions:

1. Not used in Cold bodies
2. Long-term use has been associated with Impotence (Unani)

Main Preparations used:

Pulp of Tamarinds, Electuary Diaphoenicon

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‘There would appear to be little doubt that the Tamarind tree is a native of some part of India, probably the South. It is found in a cultivated or semi-cultivated state almost everywhere, and the fruit, besides being an important article of diet, is valued by the Hindus as a refrigerant, digestive, carminative and laxative, useful in febrile states of the system, costiveness, &c. The ashes of the burnt suber are used as an alkaline medicine in acidity of the urine and gonorrhoea, the pulp and also the leaves are applied externally in the form of a poultice to inflammatory swellings. The Sanskrit names of the Tamarind are Tintidi and Amlika. The author of the Makhzan-el-Adwiya describes two kinds of Tamarind, viz., the red, small-seeded Guzerat variety, and the common reddish brown. The first is by far the best. Mahometan physicians consider the pulp to be cardiacal, astringent and aperient, useful for checking bilious vomiting, and for purging the system of bile and adust humours; when used as an aperient it should be given with a very small quantity of fluid. A gargle of Tamarind water is recommended in sore throat. The seeds are said to be a good astringent, boiled they are used as a poultice to boils, pounded with water they are applied to the crown of the head in cough

and relaxation of the uvula. The leaves crushed with water and expressed yield an acid fluid, which is said to be useful in bilious fever, and scalding of the urine; made into a poultice they are applied to reduce inflammatory swellings and to relieve pain. A poultice of the flowers is used in inflammatory affections of the conjunctiva; their juice is given internally for bleeding piles. The bark is considered to have astringent and tonic properties. (Makhzan-el-Adwiya.) The natives consider the acid exhalations of the Tamarind tree to be injurious to health, and it would appear that the cloth of tents allowed to remain long under the trees becomes rotten. Plants also are said not to grow under them, but this is not universally the case, as I have often seen fine crops of Andrographis paniculata and other shade loving plants growing under Tamarind trees. The word ‘Tamarind’ appears to be derived from the Arabic Tamar-Hindi (Indian date), and it was doubtless through the Arabians that a know ledge of the fruit passed during the Middle Ages into Europe, where, until correctly described by Garcia d’Orta, it was supposed to be produced by a kind of Indian palm. (Vegetable Materia Medica of Western India, Dymock, 1885)

GENERAL / REVIEW –Pharmacognostical and physicochemical analysis of Tamarindus indica Linn. stem. –Tamarindus indica: Extent of explored potential. –Tamarindus indica L. (Fabaceae): patterns of use in traditional African medicine. ANTIBACTERIAL –Effect of Tamarindus indica L. and Manihot esculenta Extracts on Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria. –Assessment of Tamarindus indica extracts for antibacterial activity. –Effects of fractionation and combinatorial evaluation of Tamarindus indica fractions for antibacterial activity. –Antimicrobial activity of extracts from Tamarindus indica L. leaves. ANTI-INFLAMMATORY –Anti-inflammatory and analgesic potential of Tamarindus indica Linn. (Fabaceae): a narrative review. –Anti-Inflammatory and Antinociceptive Activities of a Hydroethanolic Extract of Tamarindus indica Leaves. ANTIOXIDANT –Antioxidant or pro-oxidant and glutathione transferase P1-1 inhibiting activities for Tamarindus indica seeds and their cytotoxic effect on MCF-7 cancer cell line. –Tamarindus indica Fruit: Pharmacognostical Standardization, Detection of Contaminant, and In Vitro Antioxidant Activity. –Effect of tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) seed on antioxidant activity, phytocompounds, physicochemical characteristics, and sensory acceptability of enriched cookies and mango juice. –Antioxidant and Hepatoprotective Activity of a New Tablets Formulation from Tamarindus indica L. –Antioxidant and anti-lipid peroxidation activities of Tamarindus indica seed coat in human fibroblast cells. –Nutritional Composition, in vitro Antioxidant Activity and Artemia salina L. Lethality of Pulp and Seed of Tamarindus indica L. Extracts. –Hypolipemic and antioxidant activities from Tamarindus indica L. pulp fruit extract in hypercholesterolemic hamsters. ANALGESIC –Anti-inflammatory and analgesic potential of Tamarindus indica Linn. (Fabaceae): a narrative review. –Anti-Inflammatory and Antinociceptive Activities of a Hydroethanolic Extract of Tamarindus indica Leaves. –In vivo analgesic effect of aqueous extract of Tamarindus indica L. fruits. ANTISPASMODIC –Spasmolytic Activity of Fruits of Tamarindus indica L. IMMUNOMODULATORY –Antitumor and immunopotentiating activity of polysaccharide PST001 isolated from the seed kernel of Tamarindus indica: an in vivo study in mice. –Immunomodulatory effects of a polysaccharide from Tamarindus indica. HYPOLIPIDEMIC –The hypolipidemic effects of Tamarindus indica fruit pulp extract in normal and diet-induced hypercholesterolemic hamsters are associated with altered levels of serum proteins. –Hypolipidemic and weight reducing activity of the ethanolic extract of Tamarindus indica fruit pulp in cafeteria diet- and sulpiride-induced obese rats. –Hypolipemic and antioxidant activities from Tamarindus indica L. pulp fruit extract in hypercholesterolemic hamsters. OBESITY –Biochemical characterisation of a Kunitz-type inhibitor from Tamarindus indica L. seeds and its efficacy in reducing plasma leptin in an experimental model of obesity. –Trypsin inhibitor from tamarindus indica L. seeds reduces weight gain and food consumption and increases plasmatic cholecystokinin levels. –Antiobesity effect of Tamarindus indica L. pulp aqueous extract in high-fat diet-induced obese rats. –Hypolipidemic and weight reducing activity of the ethanolic extract of Tamarindus indica fruit pulp in cafeteria diet- and sulpiride-induced obese rats. HEPATOPROTECTIVE –Hepatoprotective activity of Tamarindus indica Linn stem bark ethanolic extract against hepatic damage induced by co-administration of antitubercular drugs isoniazid and rifampicin in Sprague Dawley rats. –Antioxidant and Hepatoprotective Activity of a New Tablets Formulation from Tamarindus indica L. –Isolation, preliminary characterization and hepatoprotective activity of polysaccharides from Tamarindus indica L. FATTY LIVER DISEASE –Ameliorative potential of Tamarindus indica on high fat diet induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in rats. ANTIULCER –Antiulcer effect of the methanolic extract of Tamarindus indica seeds in different experimental models. CARDIOTONIC –Tamarindus indica. Linn leaves ameliorates experimental induced heart failure in Wistar rats.

EFFECT ON BLOOD PRESSURE –Effect of Tamarindus indica fruits on blood pressure and lipid-profile in human model: an in vivo approach. THROMBOLYTIC –Assessment of in-vitro cholinesterase inhibitory and thrombolytic potential of bark and seed extracts of Tamarindus indica (L.) relevant to the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and clotting disorders. ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE –The anti-Alzheimer potential of Tamarindus indica: an in vivo investigation supported by in vitro and in silico approaches. –Assessment of in-vitro cholinesterase inhibitory and thrombolytic potential of bark and seed extracts of Tamarindus indica (L.) relevant to the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and clotting disorders. ENDOCRINE EFFECTS –The intake of an extract from seeds of Tamarindus indica L. modulates the endocrine function of adult male mice under a high fat diet. APHRODISIAC –Evaluation of the aphrodisiac potential of a chemically characterized aqueous extract of Tamarindus indica pulp. NEPHROPROTECTIVE –Protective potential of Tamarindus indica against gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity. METABOLIC SYNDROME –Prevention of high fructose-induced metabolic syndrome in male wistar rats by aqueous extract of Tamarindus indica seed. DIABETES –Aqueous extract of Tamarindus indica fruit pulp exhibits antihyperglycaemic activity. –Antidiabetic potential of polyphenolic-rich fraction of Tamarindus indica seed coat in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. –Antihyperglycaemic activity of the stem-bark extract of Tamarindus indica L. on experimentally induced hyperglycaemic and normoglycaemic Wistar rats. –Comparative study of antidiabetic activity of Cajanus cajan and Tamarindus indica in alloxan-induced diabetic mice with a reference to in vitro antioxidant activity. –Effect of Tamarindus indica Linn. and Cassia fistula Linn. stem bark extracts on oxidative stress and diabetic conditions. –A stereological study of effects of aqueous extract of Tamarindus indica seeds on pancreatic islets in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. –Attenuation of hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats by aqueous extract of seed of Tamarindus indica. –Antidiabetic effect of aqueous extract of seed of Tamarindus indica in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. KNEE STRAIN –A Combination of Tamarindus indica seeds and Curcuma longa Rhizome Extracts Improves Knee Joint Function and Alleviates Pain in Non-Arthritic Adults Following Physical Activity. OSTEOARTHRITIS –Tamarindus indica Seed Extract-Based Botanical Compositions Alleviate Knee Pain and Improve Joint Function in Mild-to-Moderate Osteoarthritis: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Study. CANCER –Antioxidant or pro-oxidant and glutathione transferase P1-1 inhibiting activities for Tamarindus indica seeds and their cytotoxic effect on MCF-7 cancer cell line. –Chemopreventive effects of a Tamarindus indica fruit extract against colon carcinogenesis depends on the dietary cholesterol levels in hamsters. –Antitumor and immunopotentiating activity of polysaccharide PST001 isolated from the seed kernel of Tamarindus indica: an in vivo study in mice. CHEMOTHERAPY TOXICITY –Protective potential of Tamarindus indica against gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity. ANTI-SNAKE VENOM –The anti-snake venom properties of Tamarindus indica (leguminosae) seed extract. FLOURIDE TOXICITY –In vivo efficacy of tamarind (Tamarindus indica) fruit extract on experimental fluoride exposure in rats. –Tamarindus indica L. and Moringa oleifera M. extract administration ameliorates fluoride toxicity in rabbits. ANTHELMINTIC –Determination of anthelmintic activity of the leaf and bark extract of tamarindus indica linn. PHOTO AGED SKIN –Fabrication of Tamarindus indica seeds extract loaded-cream for photo-aged skin: Visioscan® studies.