Coconut (Cocos nucifera).Plant Part Used: Fruit, oil.Dominican Medicinal Uses: Fruit: milk, orally, for kidney infection, kidney stones, intestinal parasites, asthma; oil, orally, for asthma, cough, bronchitis and pulmonary infection.Safety: Widely consumed and generally considered safe; potential for cross-reactivity in individuals with nut allergiesLaboratory & Preclinical Data: In vivo: hypolipidemic (flavonoids).In vitro: anti-tumor (husk extract), antibacterial (plant extracts).* See entry for Coco in “Part 3: Dominican Medicinal Plant Profiles” of this book for more information, including references.
(Spanish) Form of Socorro, meaning “one who offers help and relief”
Cocos nuciferaDescription: This tree has a single, narrow, tall trunk with a cluster of very large leaves at the top. Each leaf may be over 6 meters long with over 100 pairs of leaflets.Habitat and Distribution: Coconut palms are found throughout the tropics. They are most abundant near coastal regions.Edible Parts: The nut is a valuable source of food. The milk of the young coconut is rich in sugar and vitamins and is an excellent source of liquid. The nut meat is also nutritious but is rich in oil. To preserve the meat, spread it in the sun until it is completely dry.Other Uses: Use coconut oil to cook and to protect metal objects from corrosion. Also use the oil to treat saltwater sores, sunburn, and dry skin. Use the oil in improvised torches. Use the tree trunk as building material and the leaves as thatch. Hollow out the large stump for use as a food container. The coconut husks are good flotation devices and the husk’s fibers are used to weave ropes and other items. Use the gauzelike fibers at the leaf bases as strainers or use them to weave a bug net or to make a pad to use on wounds. The husk makes a good abrasive. Dried husk fiber is an excellent tinder. A smoldering husk helps to repel mosquitoes. Smoke caused by dripping coconut oil in a fire also repels mosquitoes. To render coconut oil, put the coconut meat in the sun, heat it over a slow fire, or boil it in a pot of water. Coconuts washed out to sea are a good source of fresh liquid for the sea survivor.... coconut
Linn.
Family: Palmae; Arecaceae.
Habitat: Cultivated chiefly in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
English: Coconut Palm.
Ayurvedic: Naarikela, Naalikera, Laangali, Tunga, Skandhaphala, Sadaaphala, Trnaraaja, Kuurch- shirshaka.
Unani: Naarjeel, Naariyal.
Siddha/Tamil: Thenkai. Kopparai (kernel of ripe coconut).
Action: Water from tender fruit— cooling, used in thirst, fever, urinary disorders, gastroenteritis, and as a source of K for cholera patients. Fruit—stomachic, laxative, diuretic, styptic, sedative; useful in dyspepsia and burning sensation. Oil from endosperm—antiseptic; used in alopecia. Root—astringent; used in urinary and uterine and disorders.
Tender coconut water is rich in potassium and other minerals and vitamins. It contains reducing sugars 2.222.85%, total sugars 3.5-4.25%; brix 5.56.2%. It is used as a substitute for normal saline in cases of dehydration.Alcoholic extract of coconut shell (2% in petroleum jelly, externally) was found very effective in dermatophyto- sis. Lighter fractions of the tar oil are used as antiseptics.Flowers, mixed with oil, are applied to swellings, leaves to treat abscesses, shoots and ashes of dry meat to deep cuts, grated meat to burns, roots to wounds and gonorrhoea.Shell and fibre—antimicrobial.
Dosage: Dried endosperm—10- 20 g powder. (API Vol. III.)... cocos nucifera
Colocasia and Alocasia speciesDescription: All plants in these groups have large leaves, sometimes up to 1.8 meters tall, that grow from a very short stem. The rootstock is thick and fleshy and filled with starch.Habitat and Distribution: These plants grow in the humid tropics. Look for them in fields and near homesites and villages.Edible Parts: All parts of the plant are edible when boiled or roasted. When boiling, change the water once to get rid of any poison.CAUTIONIf eaten raw, these plants will cause a serious inflammation of the mouth and throat.... taro, cocoyam, elephant ears, eddo, dasheen
French: Cocotier. German: Kokospalme. Italian: Albero del cocco. Indian: Nairkal. Iranian: Drakhte-bading. Chinese: Yeh-Yiu. From the well-known fruit of the species of palm. cocos nueifera, the kernel of which contains 70 per cent of a fixed oil called Coconut oil or Coconut butter. used as an ingredient of emollient ointments, pessaries, suppositories, scalp creams and oils for increasing growth of hair. Caprylic acid is a natural food grade oil extracted from Coconut and is an important ingredient of the preparation “Capricin” for the control of Candida albicans. ... coconut oil
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