Tonka Bean
Historical document, translated for reference. It reflects medical knowledge of the 1920s–30s and is not medical advice.
Summary
The tonka bean is a plant from the Leguminosae family whose beans are used for medicinal purposes, particularly as an extract against whooping cough, and for flavoring tobacco and as a vanilla substitute. The primary component of the beans is coumarin.
Encyclopedia entry (1928–1936)
TONKA BEAN, Dipterix (s. Coumarouna) odorata Willd., Dipterix (s. Coumarouna) oppositifolia Willd., tonko tree of the Leguminosae family. The beans are collected (tonka bean, semen Tonco, Fa-bae Tonco). In the USA, a liquid extract, Extr. fluid. Fabae de Tonco, is used against whooping cough in a dose of 0.32-0.5 g for 5-year-old children. T. is used for flavoring snuff tobacco and as a substitute for vanilla. In Holland, tonka bean oil is found in trade as a fatty product. The main application of T. is for obtaining coumarin.-Components of the T. beans: fat up to 25%, sugar, free malic acid, starch, gum, and contained between the bean lobes from 1% to 3%, sometimes up to 10% coumaric acid anhydride-coumarin (see).
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“Tonka Bean.” Soviet Medical Encyclopedia. English translation of Bolshaya Meditsinskaya Entsiklopediya, 1st ed. (Moscow, 1928–1936), ed. N. A. Semashko. https://sovietmedicalencyclopedia.pages.dev/article/tonka-bean/