"Lodoicea Maldivica", commonly named "Coco de Mer" or "Double Coco-Nut", is a native palm of the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean. The plants, which are enormous reaching about 40 meters of height and more than 800 years of age, grow exclusively in the Mai Valley, in the islands of Praslin and Curieuse. The particularity of the Coco de Mer fruits is the impressive resemblance with the female pelvis. For that reason, in the ancient times, people attribute to Coco de Mer supernatural and earthly powers, since was used as aphrodisiac in the Middle Ages. The dried Coco de Mer kernel is exported in various parts of the world, especially the Middle East and China, where it has been used for centuries in traditional medicine and in ayurvedics, both as an aphrodisiac and for rejuvenating cosmetic creams and to treat other pathologies such as coughs. Despite the characteristics mentioned above for which the Coco de Mer fruit is actually the symbol of the Seychelles Islands, it never has been study from a chemical point of view. The analyical study here presented intends to fill this gap with particular attention to highlight the possible presence of chemical compounds interesting from a pharmacological point of view.
ANALYTICAL STUDY OF LODOICEA MALDIVICA FRUITS BY GC-MS TECHNIQUE
SEBASTIANI, Bartolomeo;FALCINELLI, Stefano
2005
Abstract
"Lodoicea Maldivica", commonly named "Coco de Mer" or "Double Coco-Nut", is a native palm of the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean. The plants, which are enormous reaching about 40 meters of height and more than 800 years of age, grow exclusively in the Mai Valley, in the islands of Praslin and Curieuse. The particularity of the Coco de Mer fruits is the impressive resemblance with the female pelvis. For that reason, in the ancient times, people attribute to Coco de Mer supernatural and earthly powers, since was used as aphrodisiac in the Middle Ages. The dried Coco de Mer kernel is exported in various parts of the world, especially the Middle East and China, where it has been used for centuries in traditional medicine and in ayurvedics, both as an aphrodisiac and for rejuvenating cosmetic creams and to treat other pathologies such as coughs. Despite the characteristics mentioned above for which the Coco de Mer fruit is actually the symbol of the Seychelles Islands, it never has been study from a chemical point of view. The analyical study here presented intends to fill this gap with particular attention to highlight the possible presence of chemical compounds interesting from a pharmacological point of view.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
