Context: 

Garcinia pedunculata, a medicinal plant commonly called ‘Borthekera’ in the Assamese language, traditionally forbidden for raw consumption, has been found to protect from heart diseases.

Image Source: PIB

About Borthekera:

• It is an evergreen tree, endemic to the south-eastern regions of Asia such as parts of Bangladesh and north-eastern parts of India.
• The sun-dried slices of the ripe fruit are used for culinary and medicinal purposes and are known to have therapeutic properties like anti-inflammatory, anthelmintic, antibacterial, antifungal, antidiabetic, hypolipidemic, nephroprotective, and even neuroprotective activity.
• It is a rich source of antioxidants.
• The chemical characterization of the chloroform fraction revealed the presence of active phytocompounds like hydroxycitric acid, hydroxycitric acid lactone, and parvifoliquinone along with compounds like GB-1a, Garcinone A, 9-Hydroxycalabaxanthone, Chlorogenic acid, and Garcinol as well. 
• The therapeutic effects reported in study are likely due to the presence of all these compounds. All these results strongly infer the good cardioprotective potential of G. pedunculata fruit.

Uses: 

• The ripe fruit is eaten cooked or raw. Sun-dried slices are much valued and used for preparing delicacies like “tenga diya masor jol” meaning Assamese sour fish curry.

News Source: PIB

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