Aleurites moluccana

Aleurites moluccana

PLANT NAME: Aleurites moluccana (L.) Willd.

COMMON NAMES: Kukui ("Light") [Hawai'i]; candlenut [USA]; tuitui [Cook Islands; Tonga]; lama [Samoa]; ti'a'iri [Tahiti]; 'ama [Marquesas]; tutu'i [Austral Islands]; shi li [China]; lauci [Fiji]; kurup [Papua New Guinea].

TOXICITY: TOXIC. Kukui is used as a "poison" in Haiti and Turkey. If too much kukui was taken in old Hawai'i, and diarrhea resulted, specially prepared Tacca leontopetaloides (pia) root was given with poi.

CAUTIONS AND CONTRAINDICATIONS: Not in pregnancy. Not with diarrhea. (Please note: Kukui was once used for digestive infections such as dysentery to remove pathogens. This is NOT recommended.)

ENERGETIC CAUTIONS: Not with weak central Qi. ~

DOSAGE: For constipation, 1 roasted nut. Topical as needed.

MERIDIAN AFFINITIES: Stomach, large intestine ~.

COSMETIC
• Oil is used topically to stimulate hair growth in Fiji.

DERMATOLOGICAL
• Coral cuts [Tahiti (bark infused)].
• Septic wounds [Samoa (bark, root); Tahiti (bark infused)]. A salve is made from the nuts for external ulcers and sores [Hawai'i, Malaya].

DIGESTIVE
• Constipation or cleansing [Costa Rica; Hawai'i (flowers/roasted nuts); Papua New Guinea (leaves)]. Raw Kukui nuts are more cathartic than cooked ones.
• Diarrhea, dysentery [Fiji, Java].

OTHER USES:
• In old Hawai'i soot from burning nuts were used for tattoos and fixed with the juice of Plumbago zeylanica ('ilie'e).

CONSTITUENTS: Moluccanin, moretenone, moretenol, alpha-amyrin, and beta-sitosterol. The oil contains linoleic acids. The fruit contains alkaloids. The nuts have 626 calories, 7 grams of water, 19 grams of protein, and 63 grams of fat. They also contain 8 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of ash, 80 milligrams of calcium, 200 milligrams of potassium, 2 milligrams of iron, and 0.06 milligrams of thiamine.

RANGE: Pan tropical. Native to Malaysia.

HABITAT: Likes moist valleys. Up to 1200 meters.

GATHERING: Fruits twice per year. Gather fruits from trees or nuts from the ground. Throw away nuts that float in water. Kukui is kinolau of Lono or Kamapua'a.

PROPAGATION & CULTIVATION: From seed: Use nuts that sink. Soak in hot water 5 minutes before planting. Seeds take 3-4 months to germinate. To transplant seedling, keep soil surrounding the start intact.

RESEARCH:
• Methanol extract lowers cholesterol in rats [Pedrosa 2002].
• Constituents inhibit Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa [Locher 1995].

NOTES 'N QUOTES
• A kukui tree can be one beeg buggah, up to 3 feet in diameter and 60 feet tall.