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The multifarious benefits of Kokum: Indian tree spice
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Monday, 01 November, 2021, 13 : 00 PM [IST]
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Ranjeetha, Nagendraprasad, Veeresh & Pruthvi B Basavaraj
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Kokum is scientifically called as Garcinia indica, an Indian spice and a medicine known by various names across India including Bindin, Biran, Bhirand, Bhinda, Kokum, Katambi, Panarpuli, Ratamba or Amsol. It belongs to mangosteen family, Guttiferae or Clusiaceae. It is originated in Western Ghats and popularly cultivatedin coastal belt of Konkan region of Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada Districts of Karnataka, Kasaragod area of Kerala and Goa.
Its growing habitat is evergreen and semi evergreen forests and also found in home gardens. The crop has gained multifarious uses: It is a popular additive and recognised as an Indian spice with pleasant acceptable flavour and have a sweet acidic taste. It is used in traditional Indian dishes as an acidulant. Kokum is extensively used in South India (Western Ghats), for culinary purpose. It is used since time immemorial to make the dish more fulfilling. It is particularly used as a condiment for flavouring curries, meat, seafood dishes in place of tamarind or lemon. The food extract serves as an unique flavour enhancer for beverages. In addition to this, the traditional system of herbal medicine, in Indian Ayurveda, kokum is considered to be one of the prime herbs that are beneficial for health.
Ripe kokum fruit are coloured, either dark purple or red tinged with yellow. Itcontains 3-8 large seed embedded in a red acid pulp. Kokum rind, fruit and seeds have varied applications. They are used in culinary, pharmaceutical, processing or beverage industries. The three important chemical constituents present in kokum rind are ‘garcinol’, ‘hydroxycitric acid (HCA), and anthocyanin pigment. The HCA acts as an acidulant and it is a physiologically active compound which has shown to significantly reduce body weight due to its pivotal role in fat/lipid metabolism.
The kokum fruit has multi medicinal uses: acts as an anti-oxidant, acidulant, appetite stimulant,helps to fight cancer, paralysis, cholesterol, digestive tonic, improves skin health, anti ulcer property, cures diarrhoea, dysentery, liver and stomach disorders, boosts the immunity, cures skin ailment, relieves excessive flatulence, improves cognitive function, improves cardiac function, is good for pregnant and lactating mother.
The kokum seed contains about 33 to 44% oil, commercially known as“kokum butter”. Kokum oil or kokum butter is nutritive, softening, astringent, demulcent, smoothening and emollient (natural moisturizer). It has a great demand in pharmaceutical industry. In addition, due to its suitability for ointment, suppositories and other purposes, kokum is accommodating greater export potentiality. Kokum butter naturally has no scent unlike cocoa, coconut, and shea butters which have distinctive fragrances. Kokum butter is absorbed quickly and easily by the skin as it is remarkably light and not greasy.
It is used for making candles, and the cake which is left behind after all the oil has been extracted is then used for manure. Kokum butter is one of the most structurally and chemically stable plant butters available, which works great as a natural emulsifier or hardening agent for homemade cosmetics.
Kokum is also recognised as an ornamental fruit crop with dense canopy of green leaves and red-tinged, tender, emerging leaves and grown in home gardens as well as found on waste lands. Kokum known to be a ‘zero attention crop’ is grown organically under favourable agro-climatic conditions.
Kokum called as ‘the Kool King’ of Indian fruits, has been reported to have multiple benefits. Kokum’s rich bioactive profile makes it a highly nutritious and desirable tree spice crop of India. As all parts of the kokum tree are useful and need to be processed, awareness of the medicinal and healing properties of kokum and value-added products is necessary. It is known to generate employment opportunities in the rural area and help in earning foreign exchange through export.
(Ranjeetha is technical assistant horticulture, Taluk Panchayat, Chintamani; Nagendraprasadhas M.Sc. in Ag. horticulture (Floriculture and Landscape Architecture), Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya; Veereshhas M.Sc. in Agricultural Economics, UAS, Raichur; Pruthvi B Basavaraj hasM.Sc. (horticulture) in Vegetable Science, UHS, Bagalkot. They can be reached at Ranjeetha.R.Gowda@gmail.com)
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