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Botanical Name: Eugenia Jambolana (LANK,)
Family: N.O. Myrtaceae
Synonyms: Jambul. Jamum. Rose Apple. Java Plum. Syzygium Jumbolana.
Part Used: Seeds, bark.
Habitat: India. East Indies. Queensland.The jambul grows indigenously in parts of south Asia as well as in the Australian region. Tropical forests in India, Indonesia, and large parts of Africa have good populations of the jambul tree. Commercially, the jambul is cultivated for its fruit, which is used in many herbal preparations. The growing jambul plants require good exposure to sunlight and well drained soils to grow in, the jambul is propagated using stored seed or from semi-ripe cuttings done in summer. The fruits ripen fully in the fall, and are harvested before winter.

Description: A tree from 20 to 30 feet high, with long narrow peach-like leaves; flowers a greeny-yellow colour, in terminal bunches, blooming in July; the fruit about the size of a hen’s egg, varying from white to red and rose colour, in scent and taste like a ripe apricot. It was cultivated in England by Miller in 1768. The bark is dense and hard, pinky or reddy-brown colour, with a thick corky substance, whitish grey mottled, often ridged; the inner surface has a silky lustre; freshly fractured it shows a colour varying from fawn to a pinky purple, abruptly shortly fibrous; seeds are oval, 1/2 inch long and 1/5 inch round, hard, heavy, blacky-grey colour, almost tasteless.

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Constituents:Essential oil, chlorophyll, fat, resin, gallic and tannic acids, albumen and in their seed ellagic acid.

Jambul contains: phenols (methylxanthoxylin), tannins, alkaloid (jambosine), triterpenoids, volatile oil.

Medicinal Action and Uses: In India Jambul has long been used as a carminative in diarrhoea; stomachic and astringent. The fresh seeds have been found most effective in diabetes, as they quickly reduce sugar in the urine; also very beneficial in glycosuria. No poisoning or other harmful effects have been reported from its use.

Preparations and Dosages: Van Morden advises: Fluid extract 1/2 fluid ounce should be taken in 8 oz. hot water 1 hour before breakfast and before going to bed. Fluid extract, 1 to 2 drachms. Powdered seeds, 5 to 30 grains.
Origin and Distribution :
The jambul fruit has been cultivated in the Indo-Malaysian region for a long time. It is considered to be native of India or further east, but is now found in all tropical regions and grows abundantly during the rainy season. It is a common tree, found wild or cultivated in most parts of India.

Jambul or Jamun or Jamblang (Syzgium cumini) is an evergreen tropical tree in the flowering plant family Myrtaceae, native to India, Pakistan and Indonesia. It is also grown in other areas of southern Asia including Myanmar and Afghanistan. The tree was also introduced to Florida, USA in 1911 by the USDA, and is also now commonly planted in Suriname. In Brazil, where it was introduced from India during Portuguese colonization, it has dispersed spontaneously in the wild in some places, as its fruits are eagerly sought by various native birds such as thrushes, tanagers and the Great Kiskadee. The various names for this fruit are (in Java) plum, jambul, jamun, jaman, black plum, faux pistachier, Indian blackberry, jambol, doowet, jambolan, jambolão, nava pazham (Tamil) and pring (Khmer). Scientific synonyms include Syzygium jambolanum, Eugenia cumini and Eugenia jambolana.

A fairly fast growing species, it can reach heights of up to 30 m and can live more than 100 years. Its dense foliage provides shade and is grown just for its ornamental value. The wood is strong and is water resistant. Because of this it is used in railway sleepers and to install motors in wells. It is sometimes used to make cheap furniture and village dwellings though it is relatively hard to work on.

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The Jamun tree starts flowering in March-April. The fragrant flowers of Jamun are small, nearly 5 mm in diameter. This is followed by the fruit which appears in May-June and resembles a large berry. The berry is oblong, ovoid, green when just appearing, pink when attaining near maturity and shining crimson black when fully ripe. Another variety comes in white and is said to have medicinal properties. Jamun fruit is a mixture of sweet, slightly sub acid and astringent flavour that stands out even after eaten since it turns the tongue into purple color. The fruit is universally accepted to be very good for medicinal purposes, especially diabetics. The seed is also used in various alternative healing systems like Ayurveda, Unani and Chinese medicine for digestive ailments. The leaves and bark are used for controlling blood pressure and gingivitis. Wine and vinegar are also made from the fruit.

Fruits:The jambul fruit is a well-known common fruit. It has two varieties. The big one is oval in shape and is commonly called as Suva-jamun. The small one is round in shape and is commonly called as Kutta-jamun. The bigger variety is sweeter than the smaller one.

The fruit is a juicy berry with a single stone. It is black outside and violet inside; has a sourish-sweet pulp and greenish yellow seed.

Natural Benefits and Curative Properties

Diabetes
The jambul fruit is regarded in traditional medicine as a specific against diabetes because of its effect on the pancreas.The fruit as such, the seeds and fruit juice are all useful in the treatment of this disease. The seeds contain a glucose

‘Jamboline’ which is believed to have the power to check the pathological conversion of starch into sugar in cases of increased production of glucose. They are dried and powdered. This powder in doses of three grams should be given three or four times a day mixed in water. It reduces the quantity of sugar in urine and allays the unquenchable thirst.In Ayurveda, the inner bark of the jambul tree is also used in the treatment of diabetes. The bark is dried and burnt, which produces an ash of white color. This ash should be pestled in the mortar, strained and bottled. The diabetic patient should be given 65 mg. of this ash on an empty stomach with water in the morning and 135 mg. each time in the afternoon and in the evening, an hour after meals, if the specific gravity of the urine is 1.02 to 1.03. If the specific gravity ranges between 1.035 and 1.055, the ash should be given thrice daily in the quantity of about 2 gm. at a time.’

Polyuria
The powder of the seeds is valuable in Polyuria or production of excess urine. It should be taken in dose of I gm. in the morning and evening.

Diarrhoea and Dysentery
Powder of the seed is an effective remedy for diarrhoea and dysentery. About 5 to 10 gm. of this powder should be taken with butter‑milk in these conditions. An infusion of the tender leaves, which contain a high concentration of gallic and tannic acid is also given as a medicine in diarrhoea and dysentery. This infusion, prepared from 30 or 60 gm. of leaves, should be given twice or thrice daily. A decoction of the bark taken with honey is also an useful medicine for chronic diarrhoea and dysentery.

Piles
The jambul fruit is an effective food remedy for bleeding piles. The fruit should be taken with salt every morning for two or three months in its season. The use of the fruit in this manner in every season will effect radical cure and save the user from bleeding piles for entire life. Fresh jambul fruit taken with honey is also an effective medicine for bleeding piles.

Liver Disorders
Natural acids in the jambul fruit play an important role in the secretion of digestive enzymes and stimulate the liver functions. Charaka, the well-known physician of the ancient India, used this fruit in the treatment of enlargement of the liver.

Female sterility
An infusion of the fresh tender leaves of jambul fruit, taken with honey or butter-milk, is an effective remedy for sterility and miscarriage due to overian or endometrium functional disorder. The leaves presumably stimulate the secretion of progrestrone hormone and help absorption of vitamin E.

Precautions

The jambul fruit should not be consumed in excess. Its excessive use is bad for throat and chest. It may cause cough and accumulation of sputum in the lungs.

RESEARCH
The jambul herbal remedy also seems to induce a very potent hypoglycemic action in the body according to clinical research conducted on the action of the herb in the body – this property of the herbal remedy is similar to the action of a number of other well known medicinal plants and results in the lowering of elevated blood glucose levels in the body of an affected person. For this reason the herbal jambul remedy is considered very valuable as a remedy for treating diabetes and glucose related problems. The level of glucose in the urine is also actively reduced by the jambul remedy.
Click to learn more about Jambul

Resources:

http://www.indiangyan.com/books/healthbooks/food_that_heal/jambul_fruit.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jambul

http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/j/jambul05.html

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