Tamarindus indica L.: or tamarind as it is commonly known, belongs to the Fabaceae family, Caessalpiniaceae subfamily.

http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1028-47962012000100012 

MSc. Jesús Rodríguez-Amado,^I Dr. Renato Pérez Rosés,^II MSc.Julio César Escalona-Arranz,^I MSc. Ariadna Lafourcade Prada,^I Dr. C. Gustavo Sierra González^III

^I University of Oriente. Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. 
^II University of Barcelona. Spain. 
^III Finlay Institute. La Habana, Cuba.

Researches with medicinal plants are focused on the identification of new active molecules; specially, in plants that have a broad ethnopharmacological use. Tamarindus indica L. or tamarind as it is commonly known, belongs to the Fabaceae family, Caessalpiniaceae subfamily, and it is a tropical tree, native of Africa, Southern Asia, America and the Caribbean. Tamarind is rich in fatty acids and heavy alcohols. Leaves also contain protein and essential aminoacids, carbohydrates and minerals as zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, selenium, and calcium;¹ volatile oils,² steroids, resins, mucilage and sugars are reported in this species too.³ Tamarind also contains iron, vitamins A, B and C and organic acids like citric, tartaric and malic;¹ as well as polyphenols and flavonoids,⁴ who are the main responsible of the strong antioxidant;^5,6 hepatoprotective^7,8 and antimicrobial activity^9,10 of the tamarind leaf extract.

In Cuba, ethnobotanical use of tamarind is extended for the treatment of hepatitis.¹¹ The ethnopharmacological broad spectrum of Tamarindus indica L. leaves extract and all recent studies that confirm its pharmaceutical activity, compelled us to establish the quality control parameters of the tamarind soft extract (TSE) in order to use it as an active ingredient in pharmaceutical formulations.