Hydnocarpus wightianus

Chaulmoogra
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Achariaceae
Genus: Hydnocarpus
Species:
H. wightianus
Binomial name
Hydnocarpus wightianus

Hydnocarpus wightianus or chaulmoogra is a tree in the Achariaceae family. Hydnocarpus wightiana seed oil has been widely used in traditional Indian medicine, especially in Ayurveda, and in Chinese traditional medicine for the treatment of leprosy. It entered early Western medicine in the nineteenth century before the era of sulfonamides and other antibiotics for the treatment of several skin diseases and leprosy.[2] The oil was prescribed for leprosy as a mixture suspended in gum or as an emulsion.[3][4]

  1. ^ Rumphia 4: 22. 1849. See IPNI [late Oct 1849]
  2. ^ Norton, SA (October 1994). "Useful plants of dermatology. I. Hydnocarpus and chaulmoogra". Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 31 (4): 683–6. doi:10.1016/s0190-9622(08)81744-6. PMID 8089304.
  3. ^ Cottle, Wyndham (28 June 1879). "Chaulmoogra Oil in Leprosy". The British Medical Journal. 1 (965): 968–969. doi:10.1136/bmj.1.965.968. JSTOR 25251370. PMC 2239681. PMID 20749243.
  4. ^ Parascandola, J (2003). "Chaulmoogra oil and the treatment of leprosy". Pharmacy in History. 45 (2): 47–57. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.2.164. PMID 12894769.