Feb. 1908. J 



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141 



Timber, 



classes. The Sonthals combine these seeds 

 with mahwa flowers in their dietary. 



STATED INJURIOUS EFFECT, POSSIBLY 

 DUE TO HUSK. 



It has been reported from some dis- 

 tricts that tamarind seeds nsed alone 

 produce untoward effects. For instance, 

 it is said that in Bhopal they produce 

 depressing effects. In Anantapur and 

 Cuddapah they cause constipation ; in 

 Bellary, North Arcot, diarrhoea ; and 

 Jhalawar, inflamation. There is no 

 doubt that if the husks are not entirely 

 removed they are liable to cause irrita- 

 tion from the astringent and fibrous 

 matter they contain, but, as will be seen 

 from the analysis of the almonds 

 themselves, they are comparatively 

 nutritious and free from mechanically 

 disagreeable ingredients. 



MEDICINAL USES. 



The seeds in some district?; are 

 regarded as medicinal. They are 

 powdered and given tor rheumatism 

 in the Hindu system of medicine, 

 and are administered for herpes 

 according to the Yunani system. Some 

 people regard the seed as stomachic. 

 According to Wight a paste made of the 

 seeds simply smeared on the skin has 

 the property of promoting suppuration 

 in indolent ulcers. They are also said to 

 form a convenient poultice for boils. 

 The powdered seeds boiled in a small 

 quantity of water make a tenacious glue 

 or size used by wool-weavers, saddlers 

 and book-binders. This is used to dress 

 country-made blankets. According to 

 Nesbit, in Burma, silk thread is dyed red 

 on being dipped into boiling water into 

 which the seeds have been thrown. Fin- 

 ally the seeds boiled to a glue are said to 

 form a strong wood cement. 



COMPOSITION. 



Analysis was made of the entire seeds, 

 and also of the kernel without the brown 

 covering. They had the following com- 

 position : — 





Seeds. 



Kernels. 



Water ... 



10-50 



9-35 



Albuminoids 



13-87 



18.06 



Fat 



4-50 



6-60 



Carbohydrates .. 



63-22 



62 88 



Fibre ... 



5'36 



■66 



Ash 



255 



2-45 





100-00 



100-00 



Nitrogen 



200 



2-89 



Phosphoric 



•40 



55 



There is a decided difference in the 

 composition of the shelled and the un- 

 shelled seeds. The shells contain the un- 

 desirable constituents, namely, the tanin 

 matter and fibre, and the kernels re- 

 present a nutritious food, white in ap- 

 pearance and with no disagreeable odour 

 and taste. 



OIL : ONLY PRESENT IN SMALL 

 QUANTITIES. 



A statement appeared fifty years ago 

 in the Journal of the Agri-Horticultural 

 Society of India (Vol. IX., 1857,1366), that 

 a certain Captain Davis in experimenting 

 with some .iungle seeds pressed some 

 seeds of the common Indian tamarind 

 and obtained an oil of a fine amber colour 

 which he thought w ould prove a substi- 

 tute for olive oil. The odour of linseed 

 oil was attributed to the mill having pre- 

 viously been used for the extraction of 

 linseed oil. The oil was favourably 

 reported upon by Babu Ramgopal Ghose. 



These statements were repeated in 

 Exhibition Catalogues and standard 

 works in oils, as that of Brandt, who 

 states that the seeds contain 20 per cent, 

 of oil of a thickly fluid nature. Another 

 writer expresses regret that the oil has 

 escaped the attention of natives. But 

 no blame is attached to the natives of 

 this country. Tamarind seeds are not 

 oil seeds. It was pointed out in " Phar- 

 macographia Indica," 1890, that the dry 

 seeds yield no oil by expression, and by 

 solvents the yield was only 3'9 per cent. 

 In the above analyses the seeds are 

 shown to yield 4 - 5 per cent., and the ker- 

 nels 6'6 per cent, of oil, a portion not 

 much above that found in the pulses. 



NATURE OF OIL. 



The oil obtained by ether is thick and 

 light yellow in colour. It solidifies at 

 15° C, and gave the following con- 



stants :— 



Acid value ... ... 0'84 



Saponification value ... 18-33° 



Iodine value ... ... 87 - l 



Fatty acids ... ... 94'9 



Melting point of ... 46° 



The fatty acids crystallised twice from 

 alcohol afforded an acid melting at 74 5°, 

 resembling arachidic acid of ground nut. 



Elaidin reaction gives a buttery con- 

 sistence. The oil is semi-drying, forming 

 a skin only after 12 days.— Agricultural 

 Ledger, 1907, No. 2. 



19 



