138 PHILIPPINE RESINS, GUMS, AND OILS 
The flowers are small and inconspicuous. The seeds are borné 
in capsules which are usually three-angled and from 1.5 to 2 
centimeters in length. 
This species is found wild in the Philippines from northern 
Luzon to southern Mindanao. It is also cultivated to a limited 
extent. 
Genus JATROPHA 
JATROPHA CURCAS L. (Fig. 48). TUBANG-BAKOD or PHYSIC NUT. 
Local names: Galumbdng (Pampanga); kirisél (Bulacan); takumbdau 
(Zambales); tagumbau (Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan, Bontoc); tangan-tangan 
(Bataan, Manila); tangantangan-tuba (Bulacan); tau-wa (Ilocos Sur); 
taua-tauad (Abra); tuba (Rizal, Manila, Camarines, Mindoro); tuba-tuba 
(Leyte) ; tubang-bdkod (Laguna, Rizal). ‘ 
PHYSIC-NUT OIL 
The seeds of this species furnish an oil used as an emetic 
and purgative. The oil has been used for illuminating purposes 
in some parts of the Philippines. It is known in commerce as 
cureas oil. According to Richmond and Del Rosario ~* this oil 
belongs to the class of semidrying oils and is employed in the 
manufacture of soaps and candles and also as an illuminant and 
lubricant, but because of its drying properties it is not well 
adapted for the last-mentioned purpose. In India it is used as 
a purgative. A single fresh seed, eaten raw, may cause both 
vomiting and severe diarrhoea. 
Lewkowitsch + states that the fresh oil has a pale color, bute 
becomes yellow with a reddish tint on exposure to the air. Its 
unpleasant odor is characteristic, and may serve to distinguish 
curcas oil from other oils; it is further characterized by its 
strong purgative properties, which are much more pronounced 
than those of castor oil. The constants of curcas oil are given 
in Table 24. € 
TABLE 24.—Constants of physic nut oil. 






= = al 
Constants. (a) (b) (c) 
l Agidwalue 2.220. <2. De eae A Pee 8.5 19 1 
Saponification-value—*!-< Se ee ee ee {iis A ee 192.4 192.6 
Unsaponifiable value.2=. =. -... 23 =e ee ee ee 0.5 |_--224-5253| 2a 
Acetyl value... 5-2 as 2 ee ee ee eee 8.4 | 222250 -- 4/5 ae 
Reichert-Meiss] value:2 2-222 ee ee eee 0.5 0.5 
lodine value). =. 22) 2b ee ee ee ee eee 89 88 




4 Lewkowitsch, J. Oils, fats, and waxes. 
band °¢ Heyne, K., De Nuttige Planten van Nederlandsch-Indié (1913). 

* Richmond, G. F., and Rosario, M. V. del, Commercial utilization of some 
Philippine oil-bearing seeds; preliminary paper. Philippine Journal of* 
Science, Section A, Volume 2 (1907), page 446. 
+ Lewkowitsch, J., Oils, fats, and waxes (1915). 
