New Crop FactSHEET
Contributor Dr. Chiranjit Parmar
Copyright © 2000. All Rights Reserved. Quotation from this document should cite and acknowledge the contributor.
Amla, Aonla
Species: Emblica officinalis Gaertn.
Syn.: Phyllanthus emblica L.
Family: Euphorbiaceae
India.
A deciduous tree of small to medium size up to 5.5 meters.
Fruits, fleshy, almost depressed to globose, 2.24 cm in diameter, 5.68 g in weight, 4.92 ml in volume, primrose yellow 601/2 (Horticultural Colour Chart of the Royal Horticultural Society).
The stone of the fruit is six ribbed, splitting into three segments, each containing usually two seeds: seeds 4–5 mm long, 2–3 mm wide, each weighing 572 mg, 590 microliters in volume.
Analysis of the fruit pulp:
|
Fruit pulp |
90.97% of the whole fruit by weight |
|
70.5% moisture. | |
|
Total soluble solids (juice) |
23.8% of the juice |
|
Acidity |
3.28% |
|
Total sugars |
5.08% |
|
Tannins |
2.73% |
|
Pectin |
0.59% |
|
Protein |
0.75% |
|
Minerals (represented by ash) |
2.922% |
|
Ascorbic acid |
1094 mg/100 ml of juice |
The fruits are used for making preserves and pickles, several Ayurvedic medicinal preparations, hairwash powders, hair oils etc. The fruit and bark is also used in tanning of leather by the village tanners.
Amla is a very rich source of vitamin C. Its ascorbic acid content ranges from 1100 to 1700 mg per 100 grams which is said to be the second highest among all the fruits next only to the Barbados cherry (Malpighia glabra).
Amla has been held in very high esteem in old Sanskrit and other Indian language books on medicinal plants.
The root bark is useful in ulcerative stomatitis and gastrohelcosis. The bark is useful in gonorrhoea, jaundice, diarrhoea and myalgia. The leaves are useful in conjuctuvitis, inflammation, dyspepsia, diarrhoea and dysentery. The fruits are useful in diabetes, cough, asthma, bronchitis, cephalalgia, ophthalmopathy, dyspepsia, colic, flatulence, hyperacidity, peptic ulcer, erysipelas, skin diseaes, leprosy, haematemesis, inflammations, anaemia, emaciation, hepatopathy, jaundice, strangury, diarrhoea, dysentery, haemorrhages, leucorrhoea, menorrhagia, cardiac disorders, intermittent fevers and greyness of hair. It is the principal constituent of the famous Ayurvedic restorative tonic called CHAYAVAN PRASH.
The cultivated amla is basically a tropical fruit and is highly sensitive to temperatures below 32 F. It is grown as an orchard crop in several parts of warmer India. There is a great demand for its fruits.
A wild strain grows in the forests of the Western Himalayas up to an altitude of 5000 ft even at places experiences mild snowfall during winter months. So it is cold resistant. The fruits of wild amla are relatively smaller.
This variant can be planted at places where the winter temperatures do not fall below 25 F. Superior cold hardy cultivars might be produced by breeding.
Dr. Chiranjit Parmar
186/3 Jail Road
Mandi HP 175 001 INDIA
Phone:
01905-22810
Fax: 01905-25419
E-mail: parmarch@vsnl.com