Saturday, September 13, 2008

BUAH GOREK

In my post about Friday Ceramah In Kota Bharu I did post a picture of buah gorek as it is locally known. It is really the seed and not the fruit of the gorek plant or Caesalpinia bonducella as it is scientifically named.


Biji gorek as was posted in the pervious post.

Well what about it? It caught the attention of a reader who used to comment as LadyZ on my blogs. She and hubby whom I will call Nik can be considered as my good friends by now and become a referral to me whenever I need to find out the botanical name of a plant so that I can pretend to be knowledgeable whener I talk about plants by indicating its botanical names.Their being a biologist and biochemist respectively make them quite an authority on the subject. Probably with a home library as big as my old school library, they are a source of information next to Google or Yahoo itself.


A few days back she sent me an email seeking request to help her find some buah gorek as her husband is lecturing again and needs some stock of buah gorek to research on. Unfortunately my stock of buah gorek is only 20 in numbers which is too far short of his requirement of at least half a kilogram or better still if I can get him one kg. Both of them have failed to get any after searching for the past two months even after enlisting the help of his nephew who works for MPKB Kota Bharu.So I said OK I will help.


My stock of 20 biji gorek (Caesalpinia bonducella), and 2 biji beluru. The biji beluru (Entada phaseoloides) is called buah gomok in Awang Goneng's Trengganu.

Anyway to shorten the story, I went early to Kota Bharu at the place where Tok Guru and others usually give the ceramah. Immediately after walking into the area I found my previous peddlar who sold me my 20 numbers of biji gorek and bought a kilogram from her at RM23.00.





She sold me the biji gorek.
This is the remaining stock of biji gorek.

Since Nik is in KL, he asked his nephew to collect them for him.It was while waiting for Nik's nephew to arrive and pickup the biji gorek that I moved around the area taking pictures as well as listening to the sermon for the day delivered by Dr. Mazian who is also an ADUN and the main speaker Ustaz Nasaruddin in the place of Tok Guru who needs to rest and recuperate from an illness.


YB Dr.Mazian was the first speaker


Ustaz Nasaruddin was the second and main speaker.

The crowd listening to the speakers

It was while doing so that I heard another peddlar calling for customers to try is dark grey coloured liquid in bottles of 350 ml. He said its the air biji gorek, claiming it to be good for many illnesses. I approac
hed him and informed him of a friend's intention to scientifically study the seeds for it's chemical ingredients to find out what makes the biji gorek so good as an alternative medicine to cure those illnesses. The peddlar whose name is Nik Man was very happy since he will benefit from the research too. He will have scientific back up to the product's efficacy. Especially now since he has started bottling it at a place in Pasir Pekan. I bought a bottle of his biji gorek solution for RM10.00 and he gave me another free bottle in the hope that I will tell him the result of the study. He said his product is not labelled yet since he will just produce and will let others use their own stickers to market it under their own brand names. Pretty smart move there. That will allow his retailers to mark up their own prices and determine their own margin of profits.

Nik Man with his product

Air biji gorek in unlabelled 350 ml bottles.

LadyZ's husband Nik sent me another SMS asking for another kilogram of the seeds to which I told him to buy more as supplies maybe difficult due to the seasonal nature of the plant. He agreed and so when the nephew came I told him to collect another 5 kg of biji gorek at Nik Man's home in a village called Kg. Tar Tujoh quite close to my home in Mekasar, Pasir Mas.


These are the diseases claimed to be able to be cured by taking his product made from biji gorek:
1. Diabetes by regulating the sugar content in the blood.
2. Hypertension by thinning the blood.
3. Asthma
4. Heart Problem by making the veins in the heart to become normal again.
5. Gout by reducing the uric acid in the blood.
6. Piles by reducing constipation.
7. Obesity by removing wind and excess fat daily.
8. Acne (Resdung)
9. Kidney or bladder stones by slowly dissolving them and excereting them out.
10. Sengugut in females by normalizing the cervix, ovary and the uterus.
11. Stroke by reopening of blocked veins and arteries.
12. Vaginitis in females by using it as douches.
13. Toothache by using it as mouthwash when having a toothache.
14. Treatment of cataract by using it as eyedrops.
15. Badang (To be translated)
16. As an aphrodisiac, this is the killer. He claim that his product contain the archidionic fatty acid a precursor to the production of the hormone prostaglandin which can stimulate sex and helps in the attainment of the true climax. Wow!
Its a one medicine that cures all.
For me if it can cure me of my gout, that is good enough for the RM10.00 investment. Last night's dose seemed to have an effect on my faecal discharge which was earlier seem destined to be a constipated one. That is one tick for the eficacy of the product in preventing piles.
Pictures at the Fridah Ceramah on 12th September 2008


Here is someone who can help you to stop smoking. The Bates Dispensary is in the background. I have yet to post the blog about Dr. Bates because I have yet to get his OK.

Some non moslems enjoy looking around for items on sale at the ceramah site.

or participate in the economic activity as this guy in blue T shirt is doing.

There are donation boxes placed in many strategic places to collect donations. If you are the shy kind to put your donation in the box, you can put it in a cloth bag these guys from Unit Amal will be coming to the places where you are sitting.

If you have 'resdung' this guy will treat you there and then

An aching leg can also be treated. The piece of bone used seems to be abit scary.

A wheelchair ridden 'saudara baru' looking for donations.

No suitable dress for a meeting in Kota Bharu tomorrow? No problem, second hands ones are available and ready to wear. Just find one that suits you. Even a matching tie is provided.

Who says you have to go to the middleeast to buy dates? Kurma Arab is available in Kota Bharu

With that, my purpose of going to Kota Bharu was a success as I have managed to help some friends whom I have never met to get their supply of biji gorek.Now En. Nik will have so much research to do. Hopefully he will find out what makes biji gorek ticks and prove to the world that such humble seeds can provide so many cures.We don't have to wait for Pfizer to market it before buying it.

29 comments:

Sad Open said...

Salam Pak Zawi. Very informative posting about buah gorek. Near my mother in law's kampung in kok majid is a kampung named pulau gorek. Maybe there are many buah gorek there.

Pak Zawi said...

sad,
The sandy soil in Tumpat is where the gorek trees thrive best. So that area that you mentioned must have alot of them. In fact the lady who was selling the biji gorek came from Kampong Oh near the sleeping Buddha area in Tumpat.

Unknown said...

Seems like buah gorek is very beneficial. Arachidonic acid is essential for processes in body biochemistry, especially fat metabolism, which is of course needed to synthesis prostaglandin, a fatty-acid derivative hormone on our body.

Pak Zawi said...

Akmal,
In that case all we need to prove is the presence of Arachidonic acid present in buah gorek. Si it is not a false claim at all if the acid is proven to be present in high quantity in buah gorek. The rest can take care by itself right?
Sorry for not putting the pictures of the dove on my flickr yet. Will do it today.

Anonymous said...

Salam Zawi,
Didn't expect you to blog about this... he,he.. Anyway, we thank you so much for your help in getting those gorek seeds. When our nephew went to Nik Man's house, he had asked for 5kg, but Nik Man was being very generous when he gave an extra couple of kg. So far, we have not come across any published work on studies done locally. As a chemist, Nik wants to look closely at the chemicals in the seeds and their pharmacological activities. Well, we'll be back home in KB this raya and hope to meet up with you, insyaAllah.

J.T. said...

Hi Zawi

This is the first time I am hearing about biji gorek. I could have seen them as a child but probably forgot all about it.

Thanks for the informative post. Hope all is well with you. :)

Pak Zawi said...

LadyZ,
I am happy to be of help. Hopefully Nik's study will confirm the presence of Arachidonic acid as mentioned by our soon to be doctor Akmal which is essential for fat metabolism. Thanks to Nik Man for being so generous and with that kind of stock maybe you can start geminating some of the seeds for planting.
The State Government will be happy if some investors were to come and invest in planting gorek for the pharmaceutical industry. Starting a small farm to produce the gorek seed is the way to go for now.
According to Nik Man, he has already started processing the gorek to produce it in liquid form for sale. My own personal experience from drinking the bitter liquid was an immediate bowel movement akin to colon cleansing. This is good as during the puasa month my intake of fluid is low and I am experiencing constipation. The gorek juice was thus timely.
I wish the two of you success in your quest for knowledge about the chemical content of gorek.
Let us meet this Raya.

Pak Zawi said...

j.t
I had to post this one first even though my draft of the post on The Last Great Doctors of Kelantan is ready. The reason is I have to get Dr. Bates clearance before I can post it. Since I will be meeting him this Tuesday 16th, I had to post this one first.
In the time of plenty, we used the gorek seeds as congkak seeds. They are just the right size and the skin is smooth enough to easily slip between the fingers when released. Alas they are so scarce now. Thanks to the interest of the gorek as a medicinal use, it maybe planted again and ensure plentiful supplies which maybe enough not only for the pharmaceutical industries but also for congkak players hehehe.
I doubt that you have ever seen it.

fokd said...

Pak Zawi:

Salam Perkenalan dr Ambo. (I am one of yr silent readers who always look forward to yr writings esp on Kelantan info.)

Many thanks for an informative writing abt `Buah Gorek'. Lets us pray that Allah will ease Mr Nik in his research abt 'Buah Gorek'.

Selamat Menyempurnakan Ramadhan.

-SK-

Pak Zawi said...

SK,
First and foremost I would like to welcome your first comment on my blog.
I am happy if I could share with you all whatever new things that I have learn't myself. We all took it for granted that the buah gorek is only good to play congkak with.

farah, s. said...

i never knew this buah gorek until i read ur blog =)
but it's interesting~

Pak Zawi said...

farah,
They are getting to be very rare now since development and lack of knowledge about it's usefulness beside being used to play congkak make people kill off the plants. The lant is also quite thorny and becomes a nuisance.
I am glad you learn something after coming here.

pB said...

Buoh gorek ????

Rajin dengar tapi tok tahu pulok buleh buat ubat ....


Buat main cho'kok buleh jugok tu


hi hi hi

Pak Zawi said...

pb,
PB dok bandar Kota Bharu mana pb nak jupo benda lagu tu. Kita dok kampong pun payoh nak jupo lo ni. Buah berangan pun payoh doh, buah gorek lagi payoh.
Pb main cokok guna buah gurah kaca kan?

Count Byron said...

I still remember vaguely how fascinated I was with buah gorek. Perhaps they were rarities even back then in the 60's. Perhaps because you cannot chew on it, the more you feel helpless in staking your ownership claim to the hard-round thing. And perhaps too because it is such an artistic delight of watching a near perfect round 'ball', very unlike the perfect and utterly non unique buah mata kucing or buah meneting.
Thanks Zawi for sharing.
Klinik Bates.. ahh.. I grew up 'almost' literally in that dispensary :)
CB

pB said...

Pok Awi ,

buoh gorek dengae buoh bera'gae tu srupo kor ??

Klinik Bates tu klinik kegemarae muloh mok ...

Sor lagi klinik hok lamo situ
Klinik Izanie ....

Pak Zawi said...

Count Byron,
Thanks for sharing your memories.
Bates Dispensary will be in my next blog.Watch out for it.

Pak Zawi said...

pb,
Buah gorek ngan buah berangan lain la. Buah berangan (chestnut) sedap dimakan kalau di goreng dengan pasir. Berangan dari negeri Cina lagi sedap dan lemak.
Cerita Dr. Bates dan Dr. Izani akan diposkan tak lama lagi. Harap bersabar dan datang lagi ya.

Anonymous said...

Salam Pak Zawi,

I used to play congkak using biji gorek in my childhood days but I can't remember where did i get them.

I'm actually looking for a place to buy a lot of kurma and thanks to you (your picture of kurma arab), I can buy them at Medan Ilmu this coming Friday.

Pak Zawi said...

nor haniza,
In those days we have plenty of such things as buah gorek andbuah beluru. Nowadays they are almost extinct. Hopefully the reslization that such things have high medicinal values will make them available again via new plantings.
Lots of kurma arab available there.

trueblue said...

Hi Pak Zawi...
Don't know much about buat gorek. Just nak wish you Selamat Berpuasa :)

Pak Zawi said...

trueblue,
At least now you know abit more about Buah Gorek. Selamat berpuasa to you too.

Anonymous said...

salam pak zawi. Saya ana dari Kuantan. boleh tak kalau pak zawi belikan saya buah ni? kawan saya nak buat ubat buah pinggang. katanya buah ni boleh buatkan buah pinggang berfungsi semula (sakit buah pinggang). setengah kilo pun takpe..kalau boleh pak zawi tolong email ana di amieyna_8075@yahoo.com

Pemancing Ikan said...

Saya copy khasiat buah gorek dalam fotopages saya. Ada gambar pokok3 juga

http://pemancingikan.fotopages.com/?entry=2155490&back=http://pemancingikan.fotopages.com/?page=0#CommentsTop

sidiq said...

Saya ada jumpa satu website yg jual buah gorek.

Sesiapa yg xtahu nk beli kt mana boleh beli kt website tu...

ni linkny : http://diqziz.com/herbal

Unknown said...

Salam kenal Mr.Zawi,
I'm veny from Balikpapan Indonesia, i was so happy when i found this article as i'm really interested in this buah gorek for my research study majoring in antiaging medicine. I know this seed from the local people in balikpapan who usually use this seed to cure some illnesses as a traditional medicine, so i became so curious about what the chemical content it contains. If u dont mind, may i know how to contact you or Mr.Nik or Mrs. Lady Z since i really need as much information as possible to Salam kenal Mr.Zawi,
I'm veny from Balikpapan Indonesia, i was so happy when i found this article as i'm really interested in this buah gorek for my research study majoring in antiaging medicine. I know this seed from the local people in balikpapan who usually use this seed to cure some illnesses as a traditional medicine, so i became so curious about what the chemical content it contains. If u dont mind, may i know how to contact you or Mr.Nik or Mrs. Lady Z since i really need as much information as possible to complete my research. I'm so appreciate ur willingness to help me. Thank you very much for your attention.
Regards.

Unknown said...

Sesiap boleh bagitahu saya di manakah saya dapat menbeli buah Gorek
untuk kawan saya yang sakit buah pinggang.sekian Ini adalah Email// yipfm@yahoo.com atau contect saya TEL 019 9802210 .terima kasih

Ruzita said...

Salaam, adakah buah gorek sama dengan buah gurah, agen pembiakan mekanisma letupan, macam buah getah.habitatnya di tepi sungai. org Terengganu panggil buah gurah, sy baca khasiat macam sama. saya kena sakit buasir semasa hamil anak sulung, ibu mertua sy bagi makan serbuk buah gurah yag telah digoreng jadi hitam, alhamdulillah sudah anak 3 tidak kena sakit buasir.

warisan meranti said...

Salam sejahtera. Saya distributor buah gorik semua ukuran ( putik, muda, dan tua/matang). Jika berminat, sila hubungi saya 085271155297 a/n: abdul ghani - Riau).
Terima kasih
Salam sehat selalu