chaulmoogra

American  

[chawl-moo-gruh] / tʃɔlˈmu grə /

noun

1. any of several trees of the genus Hydnocarpus (orTaraktogenos ), of southeastern Asia, especially H. kurzii, the seeds of which yield chaulmoogra oil.

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chaulmoogra British  

/ tʃɔːlˈmuːɡrə /

noun

1. a tropical Asian tree, Taraktogenos (or Hydnocarpus ) kurzii: family Flacourtiaceae

2. oil from the seed of this tree, used in treating leprosy

3. any of several similar or related trees

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Etymology

Origin of chaulmoogra

First recorded in 1805–15, chaulmoogra is from the Bengali word cālmugrā

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chaulmoogra

Modified chaulmoogra oil, based on the Ball Method, was distributed worldwide and helped free countless people from isolated leper colonies.

From New York Times ● Apr. 8, 2023

During the time of Ball’s chaulmoogra research, leprosy was still steeped in stigma, just as it was in the biblical era.

From New York Times ● Apr. 8, 2023

While she was an instructor at the College of Hawaii in 1915, Ball invented a process for producing an anti-leprosy drug from the tropical chaulmoogra tree.

From Nature ● May 17, 2020

At that time, the best potential treatment for leprosy was oil from the chaulmoogra tree, but the oil was extremely thick, causing blisters and making usage painful and ineffective.

From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019

Before sulfone, the main form of treatment was chaulmoogra oil, which produced dubious results and hampered the patients’ quality of life.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

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