I was reading up about Australian native Burdekin Plums, and found they are related to Anacardaceaes. So I read a little about them too, and found they are much more than just fruit and nuts.
Family: Anacardiaceae
Genus: Anacardium
Species: occidentale
Synonyms: Acajuba occidentalis, Anacardium microcarpum, Cassuvium pomiverum
Common Names: Cajueiro, cashew, cashu, casho, acajuiba, caju, acajou, acaju, acajaiba, alcayoiba, anacarde, anacardier, anacardo, cacajuil, cajou, gajus, jocote maranon, maranon, merey, noix d’acajou, pomme cajou, pomme, jambu, jambu golok,
jambu mete, jambu monyet, jambu terong
Parts Used: Leaves, bark, fruit, nut
PLANT DESCRIPTION
Documented Properties
& Actions: Antibacterial, antidysenteric, antimicrobial, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, antitussive, aphrodisiac, astringent, diuretic, febrifuge, hypoglycemic, hypotensive, purgative, refrigerant, stomachic, tonic
Plant Chemicals
Include: Alanine, alpha-catechin, alpha-linolenic acid, anacardic acid, anacardol, antimony, arabinose, benzaldehyde, beta-sitosterol, caprylic acid, cardanol, cardol, europium, folacin, gadoleic acid, galactose, gallic acid, gingkol, glucuronic acid, glutamic acid, hafnium, hexanal, histidine, hydroxybenzoic acid, isoleucine, kaempferol-glycoside, L-epicatechin, lauric acid, leucine, leucocyanidin, leucopelargonidine, limonene, linoleic acid, methylglucuronic acid, myristic acid, naringenin, oleic acid, oxalic acid, palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid, phenylalanine, phytosterols, proline, quercetin-glycoside, salicylic acid, samarium, scandium, serine, squalene, stearic acid, tannin, trans-hex-2-enal tryptophan
Cashew is a multipurpose tree of the Amazon that grows up to 15 m high. It has a thick and tortuous trunk with branches so winding that they frequently reach the ground. Cashew trees are often found growing wild on the drier sandy soils in the central plains of Brazil and are cultivated in many parts of the Amazon rainforest.
The cashew tree produces many resources and products. The bark and leaves of the tree are used medicinally, and the cashew nut has international appeal and market value as a food. Even the shell around the nut is used medicinally and has industrial applications in the plastics and resin industries for its phenol content. Then there is the pseudo-fruit—a swollen peduncle that grows behind the real fruit, which yields the cashew nut. This large pulpy and juicy part has a fine sweet flavor and is commonly referred to as the "cashew fruit" or the "cashew apple." Fresh or frozen cashew fruit concentrate is as common a juice product in South American food stores as orange juice is here.
The cashew nut is defined botanically as the fruit. It grows externally in its own kidney-shaped hard shell at the end of this pseudo-fruit, or peduncle. The nut kernel inside is covered with an inner shell, and between the two shells is a thick, caustic, toxic oil calledcardol. Cashew nuts must be cleaned to remove the cardol and then roasted or boiled to remove the toxins before they can be eaten. Native to the northeast coast of Brazil, cajueiro was domesticated long before the arrival of Europeans at the end of the fifteenth century. It was "discovered" by European traders and explorers and first recorded in 1578; from Brazil it was taken to India and East Africa, where it soon became naturalized. In sixteenth-century Brazil, cashew fruits and their juice were taken by Europeans to treat fever, sweeten breath, and "conserve the stomach."
The cashew tree and its nuts and fruit have been used for centuries by the indigenous tribes of the rainforest, and it is a common cultivated plant in their gardens. The Tikuna tribe in northwest Amazonia considers the fruit juice to be medicinal against influenza, and they brew a tea of leaves and bark to treat diarrhea. The WayÃpi tribe in Guyana uses a bark tea for a diarrhea remedy or colic remedy for infants. Tribes in Surinam use the toxic seed oil as an external worm medicine to kill botfly larvae under the skin. In Brazil a bark tea is used as a douche for vaginal secretions and as an astringent to stop bleeding after a tooth extraction. Botanist James Duke reports that the green fruits are used to treat hemoptysis; the seed oil and fruit juice are used for warts; a leaf infusion is used for diarrhea; expectorants are made from the tender shoots; wine made from the fruit is used as an antidysenteric in other parts of the Amazon rainforest. The fruit juice and bark tea are very common diarrhea remedies throughout the Amazon today, used by curanderos and local people alike.
In Peruvian herbal medicine today, cajueiro leaf tea (called casho) is employed as a common diarrhea remedy, a bark tea is used as an antiseptic vaginal douche, and the seeds are used for skin infections. In Brazilian herbal medicine the fruit is taken for syphilis, and as a diuretic, stimulant, and aphrodisiac. A leaf tea is prepared as a mouthwash and gargle for mouth ulcers, tonsillitis, and throat problems, and is used for washing wounds. An infusion and/or maceration of the bark is used to treat diabetes, asthenia, muscular debility, urinary disorders, and asthma. The leaves and/or the bark is also used in Brazil for eczema, psoriasis, scrofula, dyspepsia, genital problems, and venereal diseases, as well as impotence, bronchitis, cough, intestinal colic, leishmaniasis, and syphilis-related skin disorders. North American practitioners use cajueiro for diabetes, coughs, bronchitis, tonsillitis, intestinal colic, and diarrhea, and as a general tonic.
Cajueiro and its many products, even its "fruit," cover a wide range of uses. In addition to being delicious, it is a rich source of vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients (it has up to five times more vitamin C than oranges and contains a high amount of mineral salts). Volatile compounds present in the fruit include esters, terpenes, hydrocarbons, carboxylic acids, aldehydes, alcohols, ketones, lactones, and an isoprenoid. The fruit is used to make highly-nutritive snacks and juices, and fruit extracts are now being used in body care products. Because of the high amount of vitamin C and mineral salts, cashew fruit is used as a catalyst in the treatment of premature aging of the skin and to remineralize the skin. It is also an effective scalp conditioner and tonic and is often used in shampoos, lotions, and scalp creams for the conditioning activity of its proteins and mucilage.
The different compounds produced from this tree offer a wide range of applications. The bark and leaves of cajueiro are a rich source of tannins, a group of phytochemicals with documented biological activities. These tannins, in a 1985 rat study, demonstrated anti-inflammatory and astringent effects, which may be reasons that cajueiro is effective in treating diarrhea. Anacardic acids are found in cashew; their highest concentration is in the nut shells. Several clinical studies have shown that these chemicals inhibit tyrosinase activity (they curb the darkening effect of aging), have molluscicidal properties, and are cytotoxic to certain cancer cells. Cashew's antimicrobial properties were first documented in a 1982 in vitro study. In 1999, another study was published indicating it had good in vitro antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Most recently, a 2001 study reported that a methanolic bark extract exhibited in vitro antimicrobial activity against 13 of 15 microorganisms tested. In 1999, researchers reported that cashew fruit exhibit antibacterial activity against the Gram-negative bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which is now considered to cause acute gastritis and stomach ulcers. Its effectiveness against leishmanial ulcers also was documented in two clinical studies. Finally, two studies (one in mice and the other in rats) in 1989 and 1998 document the protective quality of a leaf extract against lab-induced diabetes: although the extract did not act as hypoglycemic as some others, it did stabilize blood glucose levels near pretest levels.
Traditional Remedy: The natural rainforest remedy for diarrhea is 1/2 cup of a standard decoction of leaves and twigs, taken 2 to 3 times daily.
Contraindications: Skin contact with various parts of the fresh plant (leaves, bark, fruit, fruit oil) have been found to cause dermatitis and, otherwise, to react as an allergen. Cashew nuts and apple have also been documented to cause food hypersensitivity reactions.
Drug Interactions: None reported.
ETHNOBOTANY: WORLDWIDE USES
Africa- Intoxicant, malaria, tattoo
Brazil- Analgesic, aphrodisiac, asthenia, asthma, bronchitis, callosity, corn, cough, diabetes, diuretic, dyspepsia, eczema, fever, gargle, genital, impotence, intestinal colic, leishmaniasis, mouthwash, muscular debility, psoriasis, scrofula, stimulant, syphilis, throat, tonsillitis, ulcers (mouth), urinary, venereal disease, vesicant, wart, wounds
Haiti- Caries, diabetes, stomatitis, toothache, wart
Malaysia- Catarrh, constipation, dermatosis, diarrhea, nausea, thrush
Mexico- Caustic, diabetes, diarrhea, freckle, leprosy, liqueur, poison, skin, swelling, syphilis, ulcer, wart
Panama- Asthma, cold, congestion, diabetes, diarrhea, hypertension, inflammation
Peru- Antiseptic, diarrhea, douche, flu, infection, skin infections
Trinidad- Asthma, cough, diarrhea, dysentery, dyspepsia, stomachache
Turkey- Diarrhea, fever, poison, wart
Venezuela- Dysentery, gargle, leprosy, sore throat
Elsewhere- Asthma, astringent, cold, colic, congestion, corn, cough, debility, diabetes, diuretic, dysentery, liqueur, piscicide, poison, purgative, scurvy, skin, tumor, vesicant, warts
