Synonyms —
Coumarouna odorata Aubl., Coumarouna punctata Blake
Medicinal Uses (Tonka Bean) —
The plant is used as an anticoagulant, antidyspeptic, antipyretic, antitussive, cardiotonic, diaphoretic, fumigant, narcotic, stimulant, and stomachic (DAV). The fluid extract has been recommended in whooping cough. In China, seed extracts are used rectally for schistosomiasis. Guyanese use the astringent gum for sore throat. Brazilians apply the seed oil for buccal ulcers and earache. Black Caribs are said to use the fruits as an aphrodisiac (CRC). Brazilians make a cough pill by balling up the crushed seed. In Peru, seeds soaked in rum (alias “agiadiente”) are used by locals for snakebite, contusions, and rheumatism. Wayapi Indians use the bark decoction as antipyretic baths; Palikur as fortifying baths for infants.
The spice plant is used in folk remedies for cacoethes, cancers, indurations, and tumors, especially of the diaphragm, abdomen, liver, spleen, stomach, and uterus (Hartwell, 1982). I think of the coumarin as more checking than causing cancer, at least in reasonable doses. L-Dopa (from faba and velvet beans) may possibly activate malignant melanomas, which, however, can be checked by 100 mg/day coumarin, found in the tonka bean. Marles et al. (1987) and Tisserand (1995) have dispelled the myth of the carcinogenicity and toxicity of coumarin, not to be confused with the furanocoumarins. Marles et al. (1987) suggest that the potential for coumarin toxicity to humans is quite low, if the subject has normal liver function. “Coumarin does not appear to have anticoagulant, carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, or allergenic properties” (Marles et al., 1987). Tis-serand (1995) concluded rather adamantly that “coumarin cannot be regarded as hepatotoxic in humans.” In clinical trials, only 0.37% of patients developed abnormal liver function (reversible). Most (of >2000) patients got 100 mg/day coumarin for 1 month, followed by 50 mg/day for 2 yr. Only 8 patients developed elevated liver enzyme levels, which returned to normal following coumarin curtailment (Tisserand, 1995). Coumarin is, however, a highly active, interesting compound. Reported to anesthetize and depress the heart and respiratory rates. In a review of more than 300 coumarins, including the tonka coumarin (1,2-benzopyrone), Hoult and Paya (1996) note coumarin’s long-established efficacy in slow-onset long-term reduction of lymphedema in man (confirmed in recent double-blind trials for elephantiasis and postmastectomy swelling). The mechanism may possibly involve macrophage-induced proteolysis of edema protein. Coumarin has low absolute bioavailability in man (< 5%), due to extensive first-pass hepatic conversion to 7-hydrox-ycoumarin followed by glucuronidation. It may, therefore, be a pro-drug.
Indications (Tonka Bean) —
Bacteria (1; FNF); Brucellosis (1; FNF); Bruise (f; DAV); Cachexia (f; APA; CRC); Cancer, kidney (1; FNF); Cancer, prostate (1; FNF); Canker (1; CRC; FNF); Cardiopathy (f; DAW); Cough (f; DAV); Cramp (f; APA; CRC); Diabetes (1; FNF); Dyspepsia (f; DAW); Earache (1; CRC; FNF); Edema (1; FNF); Elephantiasis (2; X8853310); Escherichia (1; FNF); Fever (1; DAV; FNF); Fungus (1; FNF); Hyperglycemia (1; FNF); Infection (1; FNF); Inflammation (1; FNF); Insomnia (1; FNF); Lymphedema (2; X8853310); Lymphoma (1; FNF); Melanoma (1; FNF); Metastasis (1; FNF); Mononucleosis (1; FNF); Mycoplasm (1; FNF);
Mycosis (1; FNF); Nausea (f; APA; CRC; DAD); Nephrosis (1; FNF); Pain (1; FNF); Pertussis (f; APA; CRC; FEL; PHR; PH2); Prostatosis (1; FNF); Psittacosis (1; FNF); Rheumatism (1; DAV; FNF); Schistosomiasis (f; CRC; DAD); Snakebite (f; DAV); Sore (1; CRC; FNF); Sore Throat (f; CRC); Spasm (f; CRC); Stomatosis (1; CRC; FNF); Toxoplasmosis (1; MAB); Tuberculosis (1;
APA); Ulcer (1; CRC; FNF).
Tonka Bean for cancer:
• Antiaggregant: coumarin; ferulic-acid
• Antiandrogenic: coumarin
• Anticancer: coumarin; ferulic-acid; p-hydroxy-benzoic-acid; salicylic-acid; umbelliferone
• Anticarcinogenic: betulin; ferulic-acid
• Antihepatotoxic: ferulic-acid
• Antiinflammatory: betulin; coumarin; ferulic-acid; gentisic-acid; lupeol; salicylic-acid; umbelliferone
• Antimelanomic: coumarin
• Antimetastatic: coumarin
• Antimutagenic: coumarin; ferulic-acid; p-hydroxy-benzoic-acid; umbelliferone
• Antineoplastic: ferulic-acid
• Antinitrosaminic: ferulic-acid
• Antioxidant: ferulic-acid; lupeol; p-hydroxy-benzoic-acid; salicylic-acid
• Antiperoxidant: lupeol
• Antiprostaglandin: umbelliferone
• Antitumor: betulin; coumarin; ferulic-acid; lupeol; retusin; salicylic-acid
• Antiviral: betulin; ferulic-acid; gentisic-acid; lupeol
• COX-2-Inhibitor: salicylic-acid
• Chemopreventive: coumarin
• Cyclooxygenase-Inhibitor: salicylic-acid
• Cytotoxic: betulin; lupeol; retusin
• Hepatoprotective: ferulic-acid
• Immunostimulant: coumarin; ferulic-acid
• Lipoxygenase-Inhibitor: umbelliferone
• Lymphocytogenic: coumarin
• Lymphokinetic: coumarin
• Ornithine-Decarboxylase-Inhibitor: ferulic-acid
• Prostaglandigenic: ferulic-acid; p-hydroxy-benzoic-acid
• Sunscreen: ferulic-acid; umbelliferone
Tonka Bean for infection:
• Analgesic: coumarin; ferulic-acid; gentisic-acid; salicylic-acid
• Antibacterial: ferulic-acid; gentisic-acid; o-coumaric-acid; p-hydroxy-benzoic-acid; salicylic-acid; umbelliferone
• Antiedemic: coumarin; lupeol
• Antiinflammatory: betulin; coumarin; ferulic-acid; gentisic-acid; lupeol; salicylic-acid; umbelliferone
• Antilymphedemic: coumarin
• Antiseptic: salicylic-acid; umbelliferone
• Antiviral: betulin; ferulic-acid; gentisic-acid; lupeol
• Bacteristat: coumarin
• COX-2-Inhibitor: salicylic-acid
• Cyclooxygenase-Inhibitor: salicylic-acid
• Fungicide: coumarin; ferulic-acid; o-coumaric-acid; salicylic-acid; umbelliferone
• Fungistat: p-hydroxy-benzoic-acid
• Immunostimulant: coumarin; ferulic-acid
• Lipoxygenase-Inhibitor: umbelliferone
Other Uses (Tonka Bean) —
D. odorata, D. oppositifolia (syn. of Taralea oppositifolia Aubl.), and D. pteropus are cultivated for the seed, which yield coumarin, used to give a pleasant fragrance to tobacco, a delicate scent to toilet soaps, and a piquant taste to liqueurs (EB2:337). Extract is also used in foodstuffs, e.g., baked goods, cakes, candies, cocoa, ice cream, preserves, and as a substitute for vanilla; as a fixing agent in manufacturing coloring materials; in snuffs; and in the perfume industry. Black Caribs of Nicaragua celebrate “maypole” festivities when the Central American species D. oleifera is ripe. The Caribs make a paste of the seeds, mix it with coconut water or milk, and make a rich nut-flavored beverage, more satisfying than a malted milk (CRC, FAC). The most important use of coumarin in the U.S. is for flavoring tobacco. Coumarin has been more maligned than deserved (unlike furanocoumarins). More than a century ago, the Eclectics said Tonka depends undoubtedly upon coumarin for its virtues; it’s narcotic effects from coumarin, which is also a cardiac stimulant, can paralyze the heart. Dr. Laurence Johnston attributes the effects of cigarette smoking to this principle, since substances used in preparing cigarettes are plants which contain coumarin, notably Liatris odoratissima (FEL).
Around Explorama Lodge, Iquitos, Peru, the timber of this huge buttressed tree, or a closely related congener, is used for bridges, dormers, posts, etc. The buttresses are used to make jungle telegraphs, the flat drums made from such buttresses. The edible solitary coumariniferous seed is imbedded in a clam-like shell, and several of these are strung on a waistelet (bracelet-like waist band) which clatters like castanets when one dances.
The timber is said to be resistant to marine borers, perhaps because it contains 0.01% silicon dioxide. And from the new CD, Forestry Compendium (CAB International, 2000), one can find several forestry descriptors: round wood, transmission poles, posts, stakes, building poles, sawn or hewn building timbers for heavy construction, beams for light construction, carpentry/joinery, flooring, shingles, railway sleepers, woodware, industrial and domestic woodware, tool handles, sports equipment, wood carvings, turnery, furniture, boats, vehicle bodies, pulp, short fibre pulp. For more information, the CAB International e-mail address is cabicabi.org.
For more information on activities, dosages, and contraindications, see the CRC Handtopic of Medicinal Herbs, ed. 2, et al., 2002.
Cultivation (Tonka Bean) —
Usually harvested from the wild, but sometimes cultivated in plantations or planted as windbreaks for cacao. Propagation usually by seed, but the trees can be propagated by budding, cuttings, and marcottage. Seeds lose viability soon after ripening. Germination takes place in 4-6 weeks for whole seeds, and in 1-2 weeks for endocarpless seeds. Seed should be sown in place as they do not transplant well. No particular cultivation is required in native regions. Bown (2001) recommends well-drained gravelly or sandy soil, with ample rainfall and humidity. Bulk of crop is still produced from wild trees (CRC). The ripe seeds after removal from their shells (shells made into castanets) are dried in the shade and then immersed in 65% alcohol for a half day. The alcohol is then poured off and the beans allowed dry 5-6 days in the shade. In this, they accumulate an exterior “frost” of the coumarin crystals (Anon, 1948).
Chemistry (Tonka Bean) —
Showing how little we know about tropical forest products, 138 volatile constituents were found, 131 of which have not previously been described as tonka-bean constituents. One compound, undecylfuran, identified for the first time in nature, could be used as a marker for tonka bean, often used as an adulterant or fraudulent substitute for vanilla. Tonka beans are a rich source of coumarin, to 3.5% ZMB; deer tongue, to 1.6%; woodruff, to 1.3%; peru balsam seeds, 0.4%; jujube leaves, 0.3%; and sweet clover, to 0.2% coumarin, on a dry weight basis (ZMB). Deer’s tongue, at 1.6% coumarin, is second only to the tonka bean as a cheap source of the controversial coumarin. Too many alarmists warn about the toxicity of the sweet-smelling coumarin, used to make the poor man’s vanilla. Lest you be frightened off, let me remind you that coumarin is the odor that gives new-mown hay its pleasing aroma. Coumarin is the lactone of cis-o-hydroxycinnamic acid. Related compounds occur as bound coumarin in sweet clover (Melilotus spp) and other aromatic species like sweet vernal grass, vanilla grass, and woodruff. The derivative dicoumarol is a serious anticoagulant. Here are a few of the more notable chemicals found in tonka bean. For a complete listing of the phytochemicals and their activities, see the CRC phytochemical compendium, and , 1993 (DAD) and the USDA database .
Coumarin —
Allelochemic IC100 = 2 mM; Analgesic; Anesthetic; Antiaggregant; Antiandrogenic; Antibrucellosic; Anticancer 5-25 ng/ml; Antidiuretic; Antiedemic; Antiescherichic; Antiinflammatory; Antilymphedemic; Antimelanomic 50 mg/day; Antimetastatic 50 mg/man/day; Antimitotic; Antimononuccleotic; Antimutagenic; Antimycoplasmotic; Antipsittacotic; Antipso-riac; Antitoxoplasmotic; Antitumor 50 mg/day; Antitumor (Kidney) 400-7000 mg/day; Antitumor (Prostate) 400-7000 mg/day; Bacteristat; Bruchiphobe; Carcinogenic 200 mg/kg orl mus; Car-diodepressant; Cardiotonic; DME-Inhibitor IC50 = 57.5 | M; Chemopreventive; Emetic; Estro-genic; Fungicide; Hemorrhagic; Hepatotoxic 0.8-1.71 mM/kg orl rat, 2500 ppm diet, 100 mg/kg dog; Hypnotic; Hypoglycemic 250-1000 mg/kg orl; Immunostimulant; Juvabional; Larvistat; Lymphocytogenic 100 mg/day; Lymphokinetic; Narcotic; Ovicide; Phagocytogenic; Piscicide;
Respiradepressant; Rodenticide; Sedative; LD50 = 202 orl gpg; LD50 = 293 orl rat; LD50 = 680 orl rat; LD50 = 720 orl rat.
Linoleic-Acid — 5-Alpha-Reductase-Inhibitor; Antianaphylactic; Antiarthritic; Antiatherosclerotic; Anticancer; Anticoronary; Antieczemic; Antifibrinolytic; Antigranular; Antihistaminic; Antiinflam-matory IC50 = 31 | M; Antileukotriene-D4 IC50 = 31 | M; Antimenorrhagic; Anti-MS; Antipros-tatitic; Carcinogenic; Hepatoprotective; Hypocholesterolemic; Immunomodulatory; Insectifuge; Metastatic; Nematicide.
Oleic-Acid — 5-Alpha-Reductase-Inhibitor; Anticancer; Antiinflammatory IC50 = 21 |jM; Antile-ukotriene-D4 IC50 = 21 | M; Choleretic 5 ml/man; Dermatitigenic; Hypocholesterolemic; Insecti-fuge; Irritant; Percutaneostimulant; LD50 = 230 ivn mus; LDlo = 50 ivn cat.
