Carissa carandas

Carissa carandas
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Carissa
Species: C. carandas
Binomial name
Carissa carandas
Synonyms
  • Arduina carandas (L.) Baill.
  • Arduina carandas (L.) K. Schum.
  • Capparis carandas (L.) Burm.f.
  • Carissa salicina Lam.
  • Echites spinosus Burm.f.
  • Jasminonerium carandas (L.) Kuntze
  • Jasminonerium salicinum (Lam.) Kuntze
Fruit

Carissa carandas is a species of flowering shrub in the dogbane family Apocynaceae. It produces berry-sized fruits that are commonly used as a condiment in Indian pickles and spices. It is a hardy, drought-tolerant plant that thrives well in a wide range of soils. Common names in English include Bengal currant, Christ's thorn,[1] carandas plum and karanda.[2][3]

The supposed varieties congesta and paucinervia actually refer to the related conkerberry (C. spinarum).

Distribution

Carissa carandas grows naturally in the Himalayas at elevations of 30 to 1,800 metres (98 to 5,906 ft), in the Siwalik Hills, the Western Ghats and in Nepal and Afghanistan and Bangladesh. It flourishes well in regions with high temperatures. In India it is grown on a limited scale in Konkan area of Maharashtra, Goa, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. It also grows in the Sri Lanka lowland rain forests.

Propagation

The plant is grown from seed sown in August and September. Vegetative propagation also is practiced in the form of budding and inarching. Cuttings may also succeed. The first monsoon shower is planting time. Plants raised from seed start bearing two years after planting. Flowering starts in March and in Northern India the fruit ripens from July to September.

Chemistry

Isolation of many terpenoids has been reported.[4] In particular mixture of sesquiterpenes namely carissone [5] and carindone as a novel type of C31 terpenoid have been reported.[6] Other products include pentacyclic triterpenoid carissin.[7]

Uses

Fruits ready for consumption

Mature fruit is harvested for pickles. It contains pectin and accordingly is a useful ingredient in jelly, jam, syrup and chutney. Ripe fruits exude a white latex when severed from the branch.

The roots of the plant are heavily branched, making it valuable for stabilizing eroding slopes.

References

  1. ↑ <Khare CP. Indian Medicinal Plants: An Illustrated Dictionary Springer Berlin; 2007 pg. 123.
  2. ↑ Lim TK. Edible Medicinal and Non-Medicinal Plants; Volume 1, Fruits Springer Berlin; 2012. p. 240–245
  3. ↑ "Carissa carandas". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  4. ↑ V Devmurari, P Shivanand, MB Goyani, S Vaghani, NP Jivani. Carissa Congesta: Phytochemical constituents, traditional use and pharmacological properties 2009; 3: 375-377.
  5. ↑ J. Reisch, R. Hussain, B. Krebs, M. Dartmann. The structure of carissone. Monatshefte fuer Chemie 121(11): 941-4 (1990).
  6. ↑ B. Singh, R.P. Rastogi . The structure of carindone. Phytochemistry, 11(5):1797-801 (1972).
  7. ↑ Siddiqui BS, Ghani U, Ali ST, Usmani SB, Begum S. Triterpenoidal constituents of the leaves of Carissa carandas. Natural Product Research. 2003; 17:153-8.
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