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Anacardium occidentale

scientific name: 
Anacardium occidentale L.
Botanical family: 
ANACARDIACEAE

Vernacular names

(In territories with significant traditional TRAMIL use)

  • Panama : po'm kajou
  • Panama : marañón

Botanical description

Tree up to 10 m in height.  Leaves petiolate, coriaceous, oblong-elliptic to round-elliptic; tip round; base acute or obtuse; flowers in terminal panicles; petals purplish, linear-lanceolate; fruit (nut) reniform, gray, on large, thick hypocarp, somewhat spongy, red or yellow, juicy.

Voucher(s)

FLORPAN,1870,PMA

diarrhoea:

  ripe fruit (thickened peduncle), fresh juice1

The fruit of Anacardium occidentale is widely used for human consumption.

For diarrhea:

There is no available information establishing a means of preparation and dosage other than that referred to by traditional use.

According to published and other information:

Use for diarrhea is classified as REC, based on the significant traditional use (OMS/WHO)2 documented in the TRAMIL surveys.

In case of diarrhea, the use of this resource can be considered complementary to oral re-hydration.

Should there be a notable worsening of the patient’s condition, or should the diarrhea last more than 3 days, seek medical attention.

Trabajo TRAMIL32 (will be translatedin 3rd Edition)

El extracto acuoso (decocción) liofilizado de hoja nueva fresca, administrado durante 2 días consecutivos por vía oral (3 g/kg) a ratón Swiss (5 machos con peso promedio de 18.94 ±0.81 g y 5 hembras con peso promedio de 18.62 ±0.85 g) no provocó mortalidad, pero sí efectos tóxicos en el 20% de los animales tratados, manifestados a través de la disminución de la reacción de alarma y de la actividad motora. Los animales se recuperan al terminar de administrar el extracto. También se presentó un menor aumento del peso corporal de los animales tratados comparados con el grupo control, sin embargo dicha diferencia no fue estadísticamente significativa. Los demás parámetros evaluados no se modificaron ni la autopsia macroscópica evidenció alteraciones internas.

Trabajo TRAMIL33 (will be translatedin 3rd Edition)

El extracto acuoso (decocción) liofilizado de hoja nueva fresca, administrado durante 5 días consecutivos por vía oral (5 g/kg) a ratón Swiss macho, con peso promedio de 18.78 ±0.26 g, provocó mortalidad del 30% de los animales tratados y efectos tóxicos manifestados a través de la disminución de la reacción de alarma, la actividad motora y el reflejo de enderezamiento, además de deshidratación y piloerección. También se presentó un menor aumento del peso corporal de los animales tratados comparados con el grupo control, sin embargo dicha diferencia no fue estadísticamente significativa. Los animales se recuperaron al terminar de administrar el extracto.Los demás parámetros evaluados no se modificaron ni la autopsia macroscópica evidenció alteraciones internas.

The fruit juice (catechin), fresh and processed, reported mutagenic effects in mutagenicity assays, direct or incubated with S9 hepatic fraction of rat, in the Salmonella tiphymurium TA97a, TA98 and TA100 strains.  No mutagenicity was reported for TA102 strain; on the contrary, antimutagenic effects were found in oxidative damage-induced mutagenesis3.

Cardol (pericarp oil) is a caustic and vesicant30.

The LD50 by intraperitoneal administration to mice, of a tannin-enriched fraction obtained from the trunk bark was 118.8 mg/kg, and orally the LD10 was 4 g/kg20.

There is no available information documenting the safety of medicinal use in children or in pregnant or lactating women.

The fruit juice, fresh or processed, contains high concentrations of ascorbic acid, several carotenoids, phenolic compounds and minerals3.

The fruit pulp (thickened peduncle) contains benzenoids: acetophenone, benzaldehyde, phenylacetaldehyde, toluene, m-xylene, r-xylene, o-xylene; monoterpenes: limonene, a-phellandrene, a-terpinene; sesquiterpenes: caryophyllene, a-selinene, gallic acid, protocatechuic acid4, salicylic acid, 6-pentadec-cis-8-enylsalicylic acid and derivatives5-6; oxygen heterocycles: furfural, alkanes7; vitamins: ascorbic acid8.

The seed contains lipids: arachidic, capric, gadoleic, myristic, hexadecadienoic9, linoleic, oleic and stearic acids10; essential oil: 3-(pentadeca-cis-8,11,14-trienyl) phenol, 3-(pentadeca-cis-8,11-dienyl)phenol, 2-methyl-5-(pentadeca-cis-8-enyl) resorcinol11; indole alkaloids: harmalol, harmane, harmol, harmine12.

The resin from the shell of the nut (fruit epicarp) contains benzenoids: cardanol13, 3-(cis-8,11,14-pentadecatrienyl) phenol, 3-(pentadeca-cis-8,11,14-trienyl) phenol6 and others derivatives of resorcinol and salicylic acid14; flavonoids: epi-catechin15-16.

The flower contains benzenoids: ethyl gallate, methyl gallate; flavonoids: leucocyanidin, leucodelphinidin, quercetin17.

The leaf contains essential oil18; flavonoids: kaempferol and derivatives, quercetin and derivatives, apigenin, myricetin, robustaflavone19; benzenoids: caryophyllene, a-selinene; oxygen heterocycles: furfural, alkanes7.

The trunk bark contains: tannins (1.4%)20, steroids: campesterol, b-sitosterol, stigmasterol21.

TRAMIL Research22

The fruit juice did not show antibacterial activity in vitro(1000 µg/mL) against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Salmonella gallinarum and Escherichia coli.

Trabajo TRAMIL31 (will be translatedin 3rd Edition)

El extracto acuoso liofilizado (decocción) de hoja nueva fresca, se administró por vía oral, en una dosis única de 1 g/kg, a 10 ratones Swiss, (5 machos con peso 16.50 ± 0.33 g y 5 hembras con peso 16.34 ± 0.48 g), con ayuno de 6 horas. El grupo control con las mismas características del tratamiento, recibió agua destilada (0.3 mL/20 g de peso). Se usó carbón activado como marcador de la velocidad del tránsito y la medición se realizó después de 1 hora de administrado el extracto. El porcentaje del recorrido del intestino delgado del grupo tratamiento fue en las hembras de 63.70 ± 4.38%, en los machos de 60.07 ± 4.58 y del grupo control las hembras con 55.15 ± 5.53% y los machos con 50.58 ± 3.34. El extracto administrado no modificó de forma estadísticamente significativa el tránsito intestinal.

The fruit juice, fresh and processed, showed antibacterial, antitumor and antioxidant effects in vitro3.

The hexane extract from the dried fruit skin showed slight larvicidal activity against Aedes fluviatilis23.

The ethanolic extract from the dried plant showed weak activity in vitro against Bacillus subtilis andStaphylococcus aureus.  The ethanolic extract (95%) was inactive against Candida albicans24.

The anacardic acids and (E)-2-hexenal of the fruit showed antibacterial activity against gram -, Helicobacter pylori, and also inhibited urease5.

The anacardic acid is claimed to be active as antibacterial and antipyretic25, antimicrobial26, cytotoxic27, molluscicide27-28 and tyrosinase inhibitor29.

Cardol (pericarp oil) is a caustic that has been used in treating leprosy, acne, verrucae and eczema30.

The tannins are associated with the intrinsic mechanism of anti-inflammatory and analgesic actions20.

Pharmacopoeia: 

Ed.2

References:  

1 SOLIS P, CORREA M, GUPTA M, 1995 Encuesta TRAMIL (Comunidades afro-caribeñas). Centro de Investigaciones Farmacognósticas de la Flora Panameña CIFLORPAN, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Panamá, Panamá, Panamá.

2 WHO, 1991 Guidelines for the assessment of herbal medicines. WHO/TRM/91.4. Programme on Traditional Medicines, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland.

3 MELO CAVALCANTE AA, RUBENSAM G, PICADA JN, GOMES DA SILVA E, FONSECA MOREIRA JC, HENRIQUES JA, 2003 Mutagenicity, antioxidant potential, and antimutagenic activity against hydrogen peroxide of cashew (Anacardium occidentale) apple juice and cajuina. Environ Mol Mutagen 41(5):360-369.

4 SATYNARAYANA D, MYTHIRAYEE C, KRISHNAMURTY V, MADHAVAKRISHNA W, 1978 Studies on the polyphenols of cashew apple (Anacardium occidentale). Leather Sci (Madras) 25:51-54.

5 KUBO J, LEE JR, KUBO I, 1999 Anti-Helicobacter pylori agents from the cashew apple. J Agr Food Chem 47(2):533-537.

6 KUBO I, OCHI M, VIERA PC, KOMATSU S, 1993 Antitumor agents from the cashew (Anarcadium occidentale) apple juice. J Agr Food Chem 41(6):1012-1015.

7 MAC LEOD A, DE TROCONIS N, 1982 Volatile flavour components of cashew apple (Anacardium occidentale). Phytochemistry21:2527-2530.

8 PRICE RL, HOLANDA LF, MOURA FE, MAIA GA, MARTIN CB, 1975 Constituents of Brazilian cashew apple juice. Cienc Agron 5(1):61.

9 MAIA GA, BROWN WH, WHITING FM, STULL JW, 1975 Cashew fatty acids. Hort Science10:233.

10 MAIA GA, STULL JW, 1977 Fatty acid and lipid composition of cashew (Anacardium occidentale). Cienc Agron7(1):49.

11 KUBO I, KOMATSU S, OCHI M, 1986 Molluscicides from the cashew Anacardium occidentale and their large scale isolation. J Agr Food Chem 34(6):970-973.

12 TSUCHIYA H, HAYASHI H, SATO M, SHIMIZU H, INUMA M, 1999 Quantitative analysis of all types of beta-carboline alkaloids in medicinal plants and dried edible plants by high performance liquid chromatography with selective fluorometric detection. Phytochem Anal10(5):247-253.

13 GEDAM PH, SAMPATHKUMARAN PS, SIVASAMBAN MA, 1972 Examination of components of cashew nut shell liquid by NMR. Indian J Chem 10:388-391.

14 TOYOMIZU S, SUGIYAMA S, JIN RL, NAKATSU T, 1993 Alpha-glucosidase and aldose reductase inhibitors constituents of cashew Anacardium occidentale, nut-shell liquids. Phytother Res7(3):252-254.

15 AMALA B, SWARNALAKSHMI T, GOMATHI K, AMBUJAVALLI L, NAGARAJAN S, 1980 Anti-inflamatory activity of (-)-epicatechin. Abstr 13th Annu Conf Indian Pharmacol Soc Jammu-Tawi India Sept 30- Oct 2 1980: Abstr-F5

16 SWARNALAKSHMI T, GOMATHI K, SULOCHANA N, BASKAR EA, PARMAR NS, 1981 Anti-inflamatory activity of (-)-epicatechin, a bioflavonoid isolated from Anacardium occidentale Linn. Indian J Pharm Sci 43:205-208.

17 SUBRAMANIAN S, JOSEPH K, NAIR A, 1969 Polyphenols of Anacardium occidentale. Phytochemistry8:673.

18 GARG S, KASERA H, 1984 Antibacterial activity of the essential oil ofAnacardium occidentale. Indian Perfum 28(2):95-97.

19 ARYA R, BABU V, ILYAS M, NASIM KT, 1989 Phytochemical examination of the leaves of Anarcadium occidentale. J Iindian Chem Soc 66(1):67-68.

20 MOTA M, TOMAS G, BARBOSA FILHO J, 1985

Anti-inflamatory actions of tannins isolated from the bark ofAnacardium occidentale L. Lab. de Tecnologia Farmacéutica, Univ. Federal de Paraiba, 58.000, Joäo Pessoa, Paraíba, Brasil.

21 DINDA B, CHATTERJEE L, BANERJEE, 1987 Sterols from Anacardium occidentale. J Indian Chem Soc 64(10):647-648.

22 SOLIS PN, RODRIGUEZ N, ESPINOSA A, GUPTA MP, 2004 Estudio antimicrobiano de algunas plantas TRAMIL con usos en Martinica. Informe TRAMIL. Centro de Investigaciones Farmacognósticas de la Flora Panameña CIFLORPAN, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Panamá, Panamá, Panamá.

23 CONSOLI RA, MENDES NM, PEREIRA JP, SANTOS BDS, LAMOUNIER MA, 1988 Larvicidal properties of plant extracts against Aedes fluviatilis (Lutz) (Diptera: Culicidae) in the laboratory. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz Rio de Janeiro 83(1):87-93.

24 VERPOORTE R, DIHAL PP, 1987 Medicinal plants of Surinam IV. Antimicrobial activity of some medicinal plants. J Etnopharmacol21(3):315-318.

25 EICHBAUM F, 1949 Biological properties of anacardic acid O-penta-decadienyl-salicylic acid and related compounds. Memorias do Instituto Butantá 19:119-133.

26 LAURENS A, 1982 Study of antimicrobial activity ofAnacardium occidentale L. Ann. Pharm. Fr 40(2):143-146.

27 DE SOUZA CP, 1992 The use of the shell of the cashew nut, ofAnacardium occidentale, as an alternative molluscicide. Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo, Brazil 34(5):459-466.

28 TYMAN J, LAM S, 1978 Long chain phenol: part XI composition of natural cashew nut-shell liquid (Anacardium occidentale) from various sources. Lipids 13:525.

29KUBO I, 1994 Tyrosinase inhibitors from Anacardium occidentale fruits. J Nat Prod 57(4):545-551.

30 LIOGIER A, 1990 Plantas medicinales de Puerto Rico y del Caribe. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Iberoamericana de Ediciones. p201.

31 GarcIa-GONZÁLEZ M, BARBOZA CJ, 2005 Velocidad del tránsito intestinal en ratones, del extracto acuoso de hojas nuevas frescas de Anacardium occidentale. Informe TRAMIL. PRONAPLAMED. Depto de Fisiología, Escuela de Medicina, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.

32GarcIa-GONZALEZ M, BARBOZA CJ, 2005 Toxicidad aguda (3000 mg/kg) dosis repetida, en ratones, del extracto acuoso de hojas nuevas frescas de Anacardium occidentale. Informe TRAMIL.PRONAPLAMED. Depto de Fisiología, Escuela de Medicina, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.

33 GarcIa-GONZÁLEZ M, BARBOZA CJ, 2005 Toxicidad aguda (5000 mg/kg) dosis repetida, en ratones, del extracto acuoso de hojas nuevas frescas de Anacardium occidentale. Informe TRAMIL.PRONAPLAMED. Depto de Fisiología, Escuela de Medicina, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.

DISCLAIMER

The information provided is for educational purposes only for the benefit of the general public and health professionals. It is not intended to take the place of either the written law or regulations. Since some parts of plants could be toxic, might induce side effects, or might have interactions with certain drugs, anyone intending to use them or their products must first consult with a physician or another qualified health care professional. TRAMIL has no responsibility whatsoever towards the user for any decision, action or omission made in relation to the information contained in this Pharmacopoeia.