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General Information
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Uncaria is
a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae, native to Asia, Africa,
and South America. They are known colloquially as Gambier, Cat's Claw or Uņa
de Gato.
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Gambier
(U. gambir) is a large tropical vine with typical leaves.The leaves are oval
or oblong in shape measuring 8 to 14 cm. in length with 4 to 5 pairs of
nerves.
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The flower
heads measure around 2.5 cm in length and are separated across by 3 to 4.5
cm. The flowers are slender with white coloured lobes and a red coloured
corolla.
Preparation
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Traditional gambier is prepared by boiling the young leaves, pressing them
to extract juice, making the juice into a concentrated form and drying it.
There are different ways of moulding the final produce, in a block, cube or
cake form. Different ways of boiling parts of the gambier plant result in
different products of a varying taste.
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Besides catechol tannins, which predominate, GAMBIER also contains sugars,
salts, waxes, oils and even mineral substances.
Properties
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Gambir is
"usually in cubical or rectangular pieces from 20 to 30 mm. in diameter;
externally pale grayish-brown to reddish-brown, more or less dull and
porous; friable; internally of a light brown or dull earthy color;
inodorous; taste bitterish and very astringent.
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Gambir is
light and porous, so that it floats when thrown in water. It is partially
soluble in cold water, and almost wholly so in boiling water, which deposits
a portion upon cooling.
Applications
- Gambier is used in
Malaysia for chewing with areca and betel, for tanning, and for dyeing.
- Cat's claw and the
Chinese species are used medicinally. The glycosidic compounds have
anti-inflammatory properties, while the alkaloids increase the reactivity
of lymphocytes, granting higher response to viral infection.
- Gambier is widely
used for Leather Tanning, as Eco friendly dyes and as Mouth Freshener.
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