Averrhoa bilimbi (Bilenmbi) : medicinal properties in alcoholic extraction

Averrhoa bilimbi (Bilenmbi) — family Oxalidacées.

This database documents alcoholic (ethanol) extractions of active substances. Our monograph currently lists 36 indications in alcoholic extraction for this species. The monograph draws on 58 scientific references recorded for the species.

Therapeutic indications in alcoholic extraction:

Note: scientific reference excerpts are kept in their original language (most often English), without translation, to respect the source text of publications.

1. Bacterial infection : Plant part used: Sheet. Documented pharmacological profile: Chloramphénicol-like.
   According to Hasdiana F (2012): Typhoid fever is caused by Salmonella typhi. Therefore, researchers examined the use of starfruit leaf extract against Salmonella typhi bacteria. According to Siddique I (2013): bilimbi revealed moderate antibacterial activity against some microorganisms used in the screening.
2. Cancer : Plant part used: Fruit. Documented pharmacological profile: Doxorubicine-like.
   According to Ali R (2013): bilimbi possesses effective cytotoxic properties & hence can be à potential source for the isolation of active principle(s) for cancer therapy. According to Yan SW (2017): Collectively, this study suggests bilimbi ethanolic extract as a potential anticancer agent capable of inducing growth inhibitory effect & apoptosis on cervical cancer cell line. This study investigated the growth inhibitory & antiproliferative effect as well as the underlying cell death pathway induced by bilimbi (Averrhoa bilimbi) ethanolic extract on human cervical cancer cell line, HeLa.
3. Type II diabetes mellitus : Plant part used: Fruit. Documented pharmacological profile: Glibenclamide-like. Mentioned synergistic association: Catharanthus roseus-feuille.
   According to Daud N (2013): Hypercoagulation, which is often associated with diabetes mellitus may lead to several health problems such as thrombosis, stroke & heart attack. An ethanolic extract of leaves & fruits of Averrhoa bilimbi (250 mg/kg) was orally administered to normal & diabetic male rats for 14 consecutive days. According to Pushparaj P (2001): The hypoglycemic property of each fraction was assessed by the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at a dose of 125-mg/kg-body weight in streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic rats (STZ 60 mg/kg i.p.).

Further indications (including other extraction modes where applicable), dosages, precautions for use and full scientific references are available in the complete monograph.

Photo credit : Photo by Forest and Kim Starr without modification (CC BY-SA 3.0). License : CC BY-SA 3.0.