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Kerdas - Archidendron bubalinum (Jack) I.C.Nielsen - Fabaceae [1
Synonym:
Other names:
Jering tupai [1], keredas padi, keredas antan [2], genuak [1,3]
General information:
Distinguish botanical characteristics:
Leaf – young shoot – purple, mature leaf – soft texture, green [4]
Inflorescence – huge panicle, flower – creamy yellow, fragrant [4]
Fruit pod – green (young), dark brown (fully ripe), seed – pale yellow (young), black (ripe)[4]
Heart wood – freshly cut wood and twig has a smell of garlic[1], hard bark, gray brown, cream coloured, sapwood – white to pale yellow[4]
Uses:
Medicinal uses – for diabetes and heart problems[5]
Seed – used for flavouring food (the djenkolic acid is removed by boiling the seed in 2-3 changes of water), also eaten raw as an appetiser by the Malays[2]
Wood – firewood[4]
Major/bioactive phytochemicals:
Seed – djenkolic acid (a poisonous compound), can cause djenkolism[2]
Fruit husk – hexadecanoic acids and their ester derivatives[5], immunostimulatory flavonoid – quercitrin[6]
References:
[1] https://www.mybis.gov.my/sp/4120
[2] https://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Archidendron+bubalinum
[3] http://uses.plantnet-project.org/e/index.php?title=Archidendron_bubalinum_(PROSEA)&mobileaction=togglr_view_mobile
[4] https://www.frim.gov.my/colour-of-frim/pithecellobium-bubalinum-kerdas-the-local-appetizer
[5] Chandra, I. et al., 2018 Pharmacogn J, 10(1), 92-98
[6] https://doi.org/10.33263/BRIAC122.26912700
SK & NMH, 2022
