The benefits of tamarind as a traditional medicine to cure coughs

Coughing is a common symptom found in a fairly high prevalence in Indonesia. Cough can be treated using modern medicine or with traditional ingredients extracted from natural sources. Tamarind is a plant whose fruit has been known to be useful for relieving coughs in the Indonesian population.

Here are some types of cough that can occur:

1. Dry Cough

This type of cough is characterized by an itchy throat that triggers a cough. Dry cough usually occurs in the late stages of a cold or when the respiratory system becomes irritated.

2. Coughing up with phlegm

While a cough with phlegm is a type of cough that produces phlegm. The phlegm can come from the throat, sinuses, and lungs.

3. Cough in Infants & Children       

Coughs experienced by infants and children can be caused by the same factors as coughs in adults, including respiratory infections, asthma, and GERD. If the cough in your little one lasts a long time, it could be a serious respiratory infection. Therefore, it's best to see a doctor to discuss the severe cough problem your Little One is experiencing.

4. Whooping Cough in Children and Infants

• Screeching sound with every deep breath after coughing.

• A vigorous, intense cough that produces thick phlegm.

Causes of cough:

Based on the cause, cough is divided into two types, namely acute cough (lasting for a short period) and chronic cough (lasting for a long time):

1. Acute Cough

Causes of this short-term cough include:

• Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (URTI) affecting the throat or sinuses, including colds, flu, laryngitis and sinusitis.

• Lower Respiratory Infection (LRTI) affecting the lungs or lower airways, for example acute bronchitis or pneumonia.

• Allergies, such as allergic rhinitis or hay fever.

• Improvement of long-term health conditions, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or chronic bronchitis.

• Inhalation of dust or smoke.

• In rare cases, an acute cough can be an early symptom of a medical condition that causes a chronic cough.

2. Chronic Cough

In general, the causes of chronic cough are:

• Long-term respiratory tract infections, such as chronic bronchitis.

• The disease is also usually accompanied by other symptoms, such as wheezing, shortness of breath and chest pain.

• Smoking.

• Bronchiectasis, which is a condition in which the airways of the lungs expand abnormally.

Cough symptoms are characterized by:

Cough is usually characterized by an initial symptom of an itchy throat. Apart from itching, coughing is often accompanied by inflammation that makes the throat sore when swallowing.

Coughing is a symptom of a disease that many people complain about, with a prevalence of 15% in children and 20% in adults. There are two types of coughs, those that produce phlegm (wet or productive cough) and those that don't (dry or non-productive cough). Wet cough is the body's protective mechanism because it removes or expels phlegm that contains foreign substances (germs, dust, etc.). A dry cough occurs as a result of stimulation by a foreign object, irritant or allergen, and often accompanies a cold so it's best to suppress it.

The tamarind pulp of Javanese fruit is one of the traditional ingredients of traditional ingredients which is believed from generation to generation to relieve coughs and is commonly used to shed phlegm in the respiratory tract. Apart from being a food ingredient and cooking spices for meat, tamarind is commonly used to relieve asthma, coughs, fever, rheumatism, stomach aches, morbilli and hives. Ripe Javanese tamarind fruit per 100 grams contains 239 calories, 2.8 g protein, 0.6 g fat, 62.5 g carbohydrates, 74 mg calcium, 113 mg phosphate, 0.6 g iron, 30 SI vitamin A , 0.34 SI vitamin B1, and 2 mg vitamin C. Tamarind fruit also contains apples, citric acid, grape acid, tartric acid, succinic acid, pectin, and invert. To what extent the infusion of Javanese tamarind pulp reduces the disturbance of the ventilation efficiency of the system. respiration induced by cough has not been widely studied.

Tamarind fulfills the requirements as a traditional medicine, namely: (a) the tamarind tree is widespread, including in residential areas, (b) the fruit is abundant during the season, (c) the ripe fruit on the tree can be stored for a long time, and (d) the tamarind fruit Java is available in traditional markets at a fairly cheap price.

drinking Javanese tamarind brew as a traditional cough medicine can improve the airway of cough sufferers Drinking Javanese tamarind steeping as a traditional cough medicine can not only reduce the frequency of coughs, but also help expel phlegm. Thus it can be said that the substances contained in Javanese tamarind brew are antitussive and expectorant which can cure coughs.