Kamias (Averrhoa bilimbi L.
) flower extract
as a feasible marker ink
Nychi Airon Q. Sitchon
IV-Kelvin
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This study aims to determine the viability of Kamias (Averrhoa bilimbi L.) flower extract
as a feasible marker ink.
Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions:
1. What are the chemical substances present in the kamias flower extract that makes it
potential in the production of marker ink?
2. What treatment yields the best marker ink?
3. Is there a significant difference between the Kamias flower extract marker in and the
commercialized marker ink in terms of:
a. Acceptability
b.
c. Cost
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERARTURE
Kamias
Averrhoa bilimbi L.
BILIMBI TREE
Scientific names Common names
Averrhoa bilimbi L. Iba (C. Bis., P. Bis., Sul., Tag.)
Ibag (Mbo.)
Ibe (Yak.)
Kamias (Tag.)
Kolonanas (Tag.)
Kolonauas (Tag.)
Kalamias (Tag.)
Kalingiwa (Bis.)
Kiling-iba (Bik.)
Pias (Ilk.)
Puis (Ig.)
Bilimibi (Engl.)
Bilimbi tree (Engl.)
Cucumber tree (Engl.)
Tree sorrel (Engl.)
Huang gua shu (Chin.)
Botany
Kamias is a small tree, growing 5 to 12 meters high. Leaves are pinnate, 20 to 60
centimeters long, with hairy rachis and leaflets. Leaflets are opposite, 10 to 17 pairs, oblong, 5 to
10 centimeters in length. Panicles growing from the trunk and larger branches are hairy, 15
centimeters long or less. Flowers are about 1.5 centimeters long, and slightly fragrant. Fruit is
green and edible, about 4 centimeters long, subcylindric, or with 5 obscure, broad, rounded,
longitudinal lobes.
Constituents
• Study on volatile components of fruits showed 6 mg/kg of total volatile compounds; 62
compounds were identified, nonanal and (Z)-3-hexenol were dominant.
• Fruit contains potassium oxalate.
Nutrition
- Eaten raw.
- Prepared as a relish and food flavoring.
- Made into sweets and jams; used in making pickles.
Folkloric
• Skin diseases, especially with pruritus: Reduce the leaves to a paste and apply tolerably warm
to areas of affected skin.
• Fruit juice used as eye drops.
• Post-partum and rectal inflammation: Infusion of leaves.
• Mumps, acne, and localized rheumatic complaints: Paste of leaves applied to affected areas.
• Warm paste of leaves also used for pruritus.
• Used for boils, piles, rheumatism, cough, hypertension, whooping cough, mumps and pimples.
• Cough and thrush: Infusion of flowers, 40 grams to a pint of boiling water, 4 glasses of tea
daily.
• For fevers, fruit made into syrup used as a cooling drink.
• The fruit has been used for a variety of maladies: beriberi, cough, prevention of scurvy.
• Infusion of leaves also drank as a protective tonic after childbirth.
• In Malaysia, leaves are used for venereal diseases.
• In Java, a conserve of fruit used for beriberi, biliousness, coughs.
• In Indonesia, leaves used for boils, diabetes, mumps, fever.
• In French Guyana, fruit decoction or syrup use for hepatitis, diarrhea, fever and other
inflammatory conditions.
Other
• Stain remover: Because of high oxalic acid content, fruit used to remove stains from clothing
and for washing hands, removing rust and stains from metal blades.
Ink
Ink is a liquid or paste that contains pigments or dyes and is used to color a surface to
produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, or quill.
Thicker inks, in paste form, are used extensively in letterpress and lithographic printing.
Ink can be a complex medium, composed of solvents, pigments, dyes, resins, lubricants,
solubilizers, surfactants, particulate matter, fluorescers, and other materials. The components of
inks serve many purposes; the ink’s carrier, colorants, and other additives affect the flow and
thickness of the ink and its appearance when dry.
Oxalic Acid
Oxalic acid is an organic compound with the formula H2C2O4. It is a colorless crystalline
solid that dissolves in water to give colorless solutions. It is classified as a dicarboxylic acid. In
terms of acid strength, it is much stronger than acetic acid. Oxalic acid is a reducing agent [3] and
its conjugate base, known as oxalate (C2O42−), is a chelating agent for metal cations. Typically,
oxalic acid occurs as the dihydrate with the formula H2C2O4·2H2O. Oral consumption of oxalic
acid in excess or prolonged skin contact can be dangerous.
