Horse radish tree

            Moringaceae

            Horse radish tree

            Phak i-hum (for leaves and shoots), bakhom kom, ma khon kom (Northern), Phak nuea kai (Shal Mae Hong Son), bak i-hum, mak rum (Northeastern), rum (Southern), ka naeng terng (Karen-Mae Hong Son) (Phennapha Sapcharoen and Kanchana Diwiset, eds., 1999 p. 166)

            Small tree, 15-20 m. high; bark gray and smooth. Leaves compound, tripinnate, 20-40 cm. long, leaflets 1-3 cm. long, 1-1.5 in. wide, alternate, opposite, elliptic-obovate, slightly hairy, thin green. inflorescence of loose penicles, yellow spatulate petals, 1 in. long. Capsule prismatic, furrowed, slightly swollen over the seeds, pendant, 20-50 cm. long, lightly red when young and green when mature. Seeds trigonal, 1 cm. in diameter, with 3 wings. (Agricultural Extension Department). Propagated by seeds or by rooting cuttings (Kanchana Diwiser, et al., comp., 1999, p. 213)

            100 gm. gives energy 32 kilocalories, water 89.9 gm., carbohydrates 5.4 gm., protein 2.2 gm., fat 0.2 gm., fiber 1.2 gm., Calcium 9 mg., phosphorus 26 mg., iron 1.5 gm., Vitamin A 532 IU Vitamin B1 0.05 mg., Vitamin B2 0.05 mg., niacin 0.6 mg., and Vitamin C 262 mg. (Phennapha Sapcharoen and Kanchana Diwiset, eds., 1999, p. 169) Young leaves and shoots are a little bitter-sweet, young pods are sweet. Lanna people make kaeng ba khon-kom from the pods and chio phak i-hum from it. The young pods are made into kaeng som or kaeng lao. In Chaiyaphum, the young pods are eaten raw with som tam or namphrik. People in the Central plain make kaeng som from the young pods, whereas the flowers are blanched or pickled to eat with namphrik.

Leaves taste a little bitter and are used to treat scurvy, wounds. Flowers are used to cure urinary problems and as a tonic. Pods are sweet and good to relieve fever. Seeds are bland and oily, roasted and ground , are applied to painful joints and swollen parts of the body. Bark has a spicy hot taste and is good to release gas, balance the elements, cure worms and boils, used as a tonic for longevity and to cure asthma. Fresh bark can be placed on the side of the tongue to detoxify drunken effects. Wood core can ease fever and the roots boost cardiac activities and prevent swelling (Wut Wuththamwet, 1997 p. 365)
In Lanna Pharmacy the bark of the pods are used in tablet form to treat dizziness, also placed in cut wounds to stop bleeding, used to boost appetite. The roots are used to treat skin problems. (Rattana Phromphichai, 1999, p. 1309)

            End of the rainy season and beginning of winter (Kanchana Diwiset, et al., comp., 1999, p. 213)

            

Phennapha Sapcharoen and Kanchana Diwiset, eds. (1999). Mai Rim Rua: Samunphrai Kap Wattanatham Thai, Part 2. Nonthaburi: Institute of Traditional Thai Medicine. (in thai).

Agricultural Extension Department. (2007). Phak Phuen Ban. Retrieved 10 June2007from http://singburi.doae.go.th/acri . (in thai).

Kanchana Diwiset et al., comp. (1999). Phak Phuen Ban Phak Klang. Kanchana Diwiset, ed. Nonthaburi: Project on Text Development, institute of Traditional Thai Medicine. (in thai).

Rattana Phromphichai. (1999). Khon Kon, Ba. inSaranukrom Wattanatham Thai Phak Nuea (Vol. 3,p. 1309). Bangkok: Siam Commercial Bank Foundation for the Encyclopedia of Thai Culture. (in thai).

Wut Wuthithamwet. (1997). Saranukrom Samunphria: Ruam Lak Phesatchakam Thai. Bangkok: Odeon Store. (in thai).