Every part of the palm is useful in one way or another. Coconut’s historical, cultural, and health significance in India, includes its uses in food, medicine, and religious ceremonies.
In this Article
COCOS NUCIFERA
Family: Palmae
Sanskrit: Narikela
Hindi: Nariyal नारियल
English: Coconut palm
There are many theories regarding the origin of the coconut and each has its proponents. For some, it is South America for others it is Malesia, a bio-geographical region that includes Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Australia, New Guinea, and several Pacific Island groups.
Cocos nucifera is called Narikela in Sanskrit, Niyor for oil and Kolai for nut derived from of South Asian origin. The coconut is also alluded to as “Sriphala” signifying “The God’s fruit.”
The flesh, water, milk, and oil found in the coconut are healthy and nutritious.
Coconut contains more fat than carbohydrates and, however, some important vitamins such as folate (B9), thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), B6, vitamin E, vitamin C, and vitamin K.
Medicinal properties of various coconut parts
The tree might have the following properties:
| Coconut kernel | antibacterial – prevent the growth or spread of bacteria, antifungal – prevent the growth or spread of fungus, antiviral – help your body fight off certain viruses, antiparasitic – cures an infection or disease caused by parasites, antidermatophytic – kills fungus of Arthrodermataceae that commonly causes skin disease, antioxidant – molecules that fight free radicals in your body, hypoglycemic – reduces blood sugar, glucose, hepatoprotective – prevents damage to the liver, immunostimulant – induces, amplifies, attenuates, or prevents immune response. |
| Coconut protein | Immunomodulatory properties – induces, amplifies, attenuates, or prevents immune response. |
| Coconut water | Hepatoprotective effect – prevents damage to the liver. |
| Virgin coconut oil | Antithrombotic effect – reduces the formation of blood clots (thrombi). |
| Coconut oil | Exhibited bactericidal activity against P. aeruginosa, E. coli, Proteus vulgaris, and Bacillus Subtilis and has an antiseptic effect – preventing infection. |
Geographical distribution of coconut producing countries
The coconut has been recorded in archaeological excavations and epigraphic inscriptions in India – in scriptures of religious, agricultural, and Ayurvedic importance. There is no reference on the plantCocos nucifera in Vedas; however, several references occur in post-Vedic works, as in the epics: Mahabharata (3139 BC), Ramayana (5114 BC), Puranas (350 to 1000 CE), and Buddhist stories of Jataka (300 BC and 400 CE).
Indonesia, the Philippines and India produce around 72% of the world’s total copra (dry coconuts for oil production), with Indonesia and the Philippines also being the world’s main coconut oil exporters.
Cocos nucifera production is dominated by Indonesia. North Sulawesi produces the vast majority of the nation’s coconut. Coconuts are grown in abundance in the Philippines, which is the world’s second largest producer. Indonesia had previously surpassed it as the world’s largest producer.
India ranks third in the world in terms of coconut production. The palms are grown on the entire coastal belt. Extensive shares go to Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh followed by Goa, Maharashtra, Odisha, West Bengal, and the islands of Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar.
A Tamil proverb says:
“Plant coconut trees, they feed you and your children.”
Coconut farming is critical to India’s agrarian industry and economy, particularly in rural areas. The island country of Sri Lanka is the world’s fourth-largest producer of Cocos nucifera. Brazil is the fifth largest producer of coconuts in the world.
ETHNOBOTANY: The Coconut, the tree that provides all necessities of life
The study of how people of a particular culture and region interact and use indigenous plants and how they classify, identify and relate to them is called Ethnobotany. Its multiplicity of uses has earned it epithets like the Kalpavriksha (a tree that provides all necessities of life) in India. Its advantages and multipurpose property have earned it sobriquets such as “Tree of life” or “Tree of heaven” for a Filipino, “Tree of abundance” or “Three generations tree” for an Indonesian.
The many uses of the Coconut palm
The multiplicity and versatility of the tree can be best judged by an Indonesian saying:
“There are as many uses for the coconut as there are days in the year.”
…household utensils, baskets, cooking oil, furniture, and cosmetics are made from the palm. More uses of various parts of the palm range from food to stuffing of coir in pillows, preparation of beds, ropes, mats, utensils of daily use such as spoons, drainers, brooms, chains, toddy drawers, door mats, floor mats, musical instruments, furniture, cots, rosary boxes, brush, fuel, scoops, containers, oil bottles, toothbrushes, hooka- bases, neck belts and blinds for bulls used for plowing and oil crushing, cricket bats, and various types of children’s toys…
The Coir
is the fiber between the outer coat and the shell and is used for:
- ropes, strings, fishing nets,
- doormats, mats, rugs and sacks,
- as potting compost,
- mattress stuffing,
- brushes,
- joint sealer for boats (caulking).
Coconut flesh
Products extracted from the coconut meat, or solid endosperm:
- dried coconut or copra,
- Coconut oil and Virgin Coconut oil
- Desiccated Coconut,
- pickle, chips, candy, sweets
- Milk
- Cream
- Flour
Core at the tip of the coconut trunk
where the palm stalks grow, the young stalks (Apical buds) are known as “palm cabbage” or heart of palm.
- They are edible and considered a rare delicacy as harvesting the buds kills the palms.
Coconut Tree Trunk
- used as timber to make houses and furniture,
- in bridge building,
- for drums,
- boats and canoes:
- Roots: were used to make dyes and used as a toothbrush and mouthwash.
Coconut water or milk
liquid endosperm is drunk as:
- a refreshing drink,
- Coconut vinegar (fermented),
- Tender Coconut
- Snowball tender nut
- Nata-de-coco
Coconut inflorescence
The unopened inflorescence of the palm is tapped for
- Neera
- Toddy and
- Jaggery, coconut molasses
- Palm suagar
Coconut Leaves
- are used as a roofing material for houses, mats, baskets and brooms,
- to build temporary shelters,
- to wrap rice, for cooking, and for storage,
- for kindling arrows,
- to make toys,
- to produce brooms,
- burnt to ash for lime,
- toothpicks and
- cooking skewers are also been made out of the ribs on the leaves.
Coconut Husk & Shell
the outer part of the Cocos nucifera, is used for:
- buffing floors,
- fuel, for charcoal,
- as handicrafts, like buttons,
- as drinking vessels, bowls, utensils,
- sponges,
- bodies for musical instruments, theatrical sound effects,
- burnt to ward off mosquitoes and
- when ground down, the husk is used in cosmetics as a skin exfoliant.
Coconut tree tapping for palm wine and arak
Palm wine is an alcoholic beverage obtained by the natural fermentation of a sugar-containing juice from coconut palms and is obtained by tapping the unopened inflorescence of the palm. The methods of tapping the palm are very ancient and vary from place to place.
A young well-maintained tree can produce around 300 liters of palm wine per year while a forty year old tree may yield around 400 liters. Toddy is drunk as neera (palm nectar) also known as tuba (Philippines), tuak (made from coconut and other palms in Indonesia and Malaysia) or karewe in Kiribati.
The tapping process
When the palm has reached the normal bearing stage, each leaf axils produces a spadix or inflorescence.
The tapping begins when the inflorescence is 1 month old. This unopened flower inflorescence is prepared by slightly bruising it by gentle tapping with a small round piece of wood or bone (mallet). To prevent it from opening, the inflorescence is tightly bound with fiber or leaves. When the inflorescence is nearly ready to produce juice, which is about 3 weeks, a length of about 5–8 cm is cut from the end.
During the preparation, the inflorescence is gradually bent over, so that when the coconut palm juice flows from the vascular bundles, an earthen or plastic receptacle containing the crust of microorganisms formed from the previous fermentation is placed for its collection.
The flow of juice increases gradually, and the pot is changed twice daily, at the same time shaving a thin slice from the end of the inflorescence, tapping slightly with the mallet, and smearing on a mixture of bruised leaves to stimulate the flow of palm wine from the inflorescence.
When the collection of sap is over, fermentation sets in immediately, and the sap is converted into fresh palm wine or sweet toddy. This product is a milky white and effervescent liquid. Fermentation continues for few more hours after the sap has been pooled from various pots. The average yield of toddy per inflorescence for a tapping period of about 1 month is 18 l.
Fresh coconut palm wine is sweet in taste and is considered to be a high-energy health drink. It contains a considerable amount of the natural antioxidant ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, and the amount of ethyl alcohol is 2–5%.
When fermentation proceeds, the nutritive value of fresh toddy and concentration of ascorbic acid decrease, while the concentrations of alcohol and acetic acid increase. Left standing, after a few weeks, it becomes vinegar.
Excerpted from Coconut palm, in Encyclopedia of Food Sciences and Nutrition. 2003.
Palm wine
The cloudy liquid is also easily boiled down to syrup, called jaggery, coconut molasses, or dhiyaa hakuru and then crystallized into a rich dark sugar.
Coconut fenny is a distilled product from palm wine (toddy).
It ferments quickly into palm wine with an alcoholic percent up to 8% which can be distilled to produce arak. Arak or Mokke is a common spirituous liquor consumed in Asia. Palm wine has a special place in traditional celebrations and ceremonies such as marriage and burial.
Alcoholic beverages do not play a role in the formal rituals of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam alike.
Alcohol is, however, a ubiquitous part of men’s social gatherings, where beer, toddy (fermented palm wine), arrack (distilled palm wine), and kassipu (an illegally distilled beverage) are consumed in great quantities.
Pulastya, an ancient sage and author of one of the original smrities (Hindu canons) has enumerated 12 kinds of liquors of which narikelaja or coconut liquor is prepared from toddy or milk mixed with plantains, ripe Indian gooseberry (Emblica officinalis), and the drug Indrajiva.
Kalidasa refers in his poems about the coconut liquor and its profuse use by men and women during Gupta period.
“These days the mouths of people are fragranced with the fragrance of liquors made from the essential oils of flowers, and their bodies are fragrant with the same fragrancy by their puffs of suspires, and while lying on beds jointly with their bodies in tight embrace, they are slipping into sleep, entwined with the essence of passion [sic]
The Hindu scripture, Vishnudharam Sutra (100–300 AD) refers to narikelasava prepared from juice of the palm and also to prohibition against usage by Brahmans of ten kinds of intoxicating drinks plant parts including that from coconut.
The Mānasollāsa, also known as Abhilashitartha Chintamani, is an early 12th-century Sanskrit text composed by the Kalyani Chalukya king Someshvara III, who ruled in present-day South India. In Food and entertainment- Bhartur Upabhogakāraṇa:
The text mentions fresh coconut water and drinks called Panakas. The art of preparing wine is described in Manasollasa from grape and sugarcane, with unusual sources being based on brewing of Talimadya (palm), Narikelasava (coconut) and Khajurasava (date).
Traditional uses of Cocos nucifera to treat different diseases
Ethnomedicinal information gathered from indigenous knowledge relating to traditional coconut uses revealed, that the plant enjoys a wide array of traditional medicinal uses also outside of the Indian subcontinent.
Coconut Oil
At present, Cocos nucifera oil and fruit is used in folk medicine, Ayurveda, Siddha, Tibetan, and Unani systems of medicine. Coconut oil is made by pressing fresh coconut meat or dried coconut meat called copra. Virgin coconut oil uses fresh meat, while refined oil typically uses copra, the dried, white flesh of the fruit.
Topical Uses of Coconut Oil on the skin
Coconut oil is a natural skin softener and moisturizer, it can:
- reduce fine lines, puffiness and dark circles under the eyes,
- prevent skin infections,
- soothe Sunburn and treat blisters and burns,
- be used as a makeup remover,
- improve skin tone, elasticity, and age spots,
- heal itchy skin and can ease the burning from insect bites including snake bites,
- lessen varicose vein occurrences,
- help to remove head lice,
- heal nail fungal conditions,
- condition the hair, prevent split-ends and treat dry flaky scalp including dandruff.
The curative use of the Coconut in Ayurveda
The coconut plant provides a wide range of medicinal benefits. The tree and its fruits are utilized in Ayurveda, particularly Indian traditional medicine, as a component in the creation of a number of herbal remedies used to cure a variety of illnesses. Here are a few ailments listed where coconut has been found to be beneficial:
The ethnomedicinal benefits of different parts of coconut
| Part | Ailment | Ethnomedicinal belief |
| Root | Gingivitis | Boiling coconut roots in water and potash alum can be used as a mouthwash to cure gingivitis. |
| Stem bark | Gastritis | Ash generated from burning coconut tree stem bark combined with water may be used to relieve gastritis and indigestion-related pain. |
| Meristematic stem This tissue is found in the growing regions of plants such as the tips of roots, stems, and branches | Allergies | It lessens any potential negative effects that occur on eating pickles, cuttlefish, and tuna fish. |
| Leaves | Allergies | Skin eruptions and inflammation caused on by some allergies are reduced when the skin is fumigated by smoke produced by burned raw, delicate coconut leaves. |
| Inflorescence | Vaginal bleeding due to gynecological disorders | Tender coconut inflorescence, rhizome of native banana—Musa paradisiaca, Syzygium cumin or jamun in Hindi, and stem bark of wood apple are boiled with water and consumed. |
| Fractures | Palm stem bark, lodh tree bark, and coconut inflorescence are squeezed out to get juices and applied extremely thick before being applied and bandaged. | |
| Diarrhea | For the treatment of diarrhea in children, nutmeg seeds are rubbed on a stone along with freshly squeezed juice from young coconut inflorescence. | |
| Tender coconut water also known as Sheetala (cold) | Besides relieving thirst it is considered to be cardioprotective, digestive stimulant, Aphrodisiac (Promoting semen), removes burning sensation in urination, headache, it is used as an agent in cholera, diarrhea and dysentery; treatment of cancer; as a hair nutrient in alopecia in India. Retards aging and helps in treatment of degenerative brain diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Organic pesticide. | Burning sensation in Urination: To lessen the burning during micturition, one should drink young coconut water. Also acts as a laxative Tender coconut water mixed with sugar is believed to relieve headache. Sugars in water reduce blood sugar levels and are believed that liver is healthier and gets more energetic life. Intake of coconut water by infants can help prevent nutritional rickets as it is a major source of calcium to the body Cytokines present in coconut water slows aging and treats brain diseases. Panchagavya is prepared as a concoction by mixing five products of cow like cow dung, urine, milk, curd and ghee. These are mixed in proper ratio and then allowed to ferment using yeast bananas, groundnut cake, and the water of tender coconut, is a potent growth promoter and organic pesticide. |
| Poisoning of Nerium indicum known as Karavira | Leaves of Dregia volubilis known as Murd bel in Hindi language is mashed and combined with water from tender nuts and consumed to remove poisoning. | |
| Coir | Scorpion sting | Old coir fiber ashes combined with coconut oil can be placed to a scorpion sting to lessen the pain and swelling. |
| Coconut shell | Fracture | A paste of coconut shell, turmeric, unrefined salt, and stem bark of mango is applied as bandage in a fracture to hasten healing. |
| Coconut shell oil | Toothaches | Coconut shells that have been dried out to burn and the extinguish shells will be shedding a small amount of oil. The oil is gathered and used to treat toothaches. |
| Kernel | Rheumatic arthritis | Finely grated fresh coconut, fresh turmeric, and beetle nut flower are cooked in a pan together the mixture is compressed and bandaged over the swollen joints in rheumatoid arthritis while still warm. |
| Coconut milk | Poisoning, weight reduction | Coconut milk is administered as a poisoning remedy. Coconut milk consumption helps feel full and in weight loss. |
| Coconut oil | Dermatitis | Heated coconut oil is combined with an equal amount of common salt water and applied to the body. After an hour which Pogostemon parviflorus juice is put over followed by warm water bath to treat dermatitis, this process is performed daily for seven days. Used in case of healthy skin and hair. |
| The root, leaves, stem bark, flower and the pith of coconut tree | Treat all kind of snake bites | The coconut tree’s stem, root, barks, leaves, flowers, and pith are mashed together; the juice obtained by squeezing the mixture is mixed with millet seeds before being cooked in an earthen pot over a fire. After cooking, it is eaten after being combined with cow’s ghee. |
Ayurvedic uses of Coconut Oil
Gulakari Komal Sandesh, Kad Vilas, Waghmare Ramesh explain in, “Coconut (Cocos Nucifera) Oil as A heart protective diet”:
Beside the beneficial effect in hair and skin care coconut oil helps in stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, heart diseases, hypertension, diabetes and cancer. These benefits can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid.
Coconut oil mostly contains medium-chain fatty acids that can bypass the blood circulation and are said to prevents accumulation in coronary arteries possibly reducing chances of heart diseases. It is said to possibly:
- ease acid reflux and gives relief in gallbladder disease.
- stabilize blood sugar levels and insulin production.
- kill viruses such as flu and infectious diseases.
- protect against cancers in the colon, breasts, and digestive tract.
- protect against intestinal disorders.
- reduce pain and inflammatory conditions such as arthritis.
- strengthen the liver.
- relieve symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
- soothe earaches when combined with olive oil and garlic.
- help against Alzheimer’s disease.
- improve calcium and magnesium absorption, promoting strong bones.
- helps stabilize female hormones and prevents hot flushes and vaginal dryness during menopause.
Some limitations must be considered. More studies are required to elucidate the mechanisms exerted by coconut extracts and compounds. Also pre-clinical and randomized clinical trials, are needed to better understand the beneficial effects of coconut tree extracts and compounds on human health.
Each and every part of the palm is useful in one way or another. No part goes to the waste as every layer has or had a use, making it worthy of the title the tree of life. The coconut palm is intertwined with life itself, from the food eaten to the beverages drunk, people derived almost everything necessary to sustain life from the tree.
Note:
This post does not contain medical advice. Please ask a health practitioner before trying therapeutic products new to you. If you do wish to experiment, we suggest doing further research.
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Works Cited & Multimedia Sources
- Ahuja Siddharth. Ahuja Uma. Coconut – History, Uses, and Folklore. Asian Agri-History Vol. 18, No. 3, 2014.
- COCONUT PALM in Encyclopedia of Food Sciences and Nutrition (Second Edition). 2003.
- Different Uses for a Coconut. https://owlcation.com/stem/Different-Uses-for-a-Coconut
- Coconut Palm: Food, Feed, and Nutraceutical Properties.
- Kalidasa – poems. 2012. Poemhunter.com – The World’s Poetry Archive.
- Kottankulangara Devi Temple. https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXoypizjW3WknFiJnKLwHCnL72vedxjQkDDP1mXWo6uco/wiki/Kottankulangara_Devi_Temple.html
- Mahabharata.
- The ell and the coconut tree. http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/folk_tales /the_ell_and_the_coconut_tree.htm#Dx0ZilAxlxvVm0Be.99
- Upadhyaya K. D. Indian Botanical Folklore. Asian Folklore Studies, Vol. 23, No. 2 .1964. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1177747
- https://www.researchgate.net/profile/E-R-H-S-S-Ediriweera/publication/346951709_Medicinal_uses_of_coconut/links/5fd8367145851553a0ba1097/Medicinal-uses-of-coconut.pdf
- The use of coconut in rituals and food preparations in India: a review
- Traditional uses of Cocos nucifera to treat different diseases. Cocos nucifera (L.) (Arecaceae): A phytochemical and pharmacological review
- Coconut Palm: Food, Feed, and Nutraceutical Properties.