Kino (botany)

Astringent tannin compounds are a major active component of kinos. The chief constituent of kino is kinotannic acid, of which it contains 70 to 80 per cent. It also contains kino red, a phlobaphene produced from kinotannic acid by oxidation. Kino also yields kinoin, a crystalline neutral principle. In cold water it is only partially dissolved, leaving a pale flocculent residue which is soluble in boiling water but deposited again upon cooling. It is soluble in alcohol and caustic alkalis, but not in ether. It consists of dark red angular fragments, rarely larger than a pea. Of the small angular glistening fragments, the smaller are reddish, and the larger are almost black; thin pieces are ruby red. It is brittle and easily powdered. It has no smell, but a very astringent taste. ==Applications and sources==

Kinos are used in medicine, tanning, A West Indian or Jamaica kino is believed to be the product of Coccoloba uvifera, or seaside grape. It is possible that the same plant is the source of the South American kino. Kino is not absorbed at all from the stomach and only very slowly from the intestine. The drug was frequently used in diarrhoea, its value being due to the relative insolubility of kinotannic acid, which enabled it to affect the lower part of the intestine. In this respect it is similar to catechu. It ceased being used as a gargle when antiseptics became recognized as the rational treatment for sore throat. A medicinal tincture of kino was used as a gargle for the relaxation of the uvula; it contained kino, glycerin, alcohol, and water. As they are usually soluble in water, kinos found use in traditional remedies: Eucalyptus kino is used by Aboriginal Australians in a tea for treating colds. Kino was employed to a considerable extent in the East Indies as a cotton dye, giving to the cotton the yellowish-brown color known as nankeen. ==References==