The incredibly sour tamarind fruit is eaten in a variety of ways in Thai cuisine and it also has a variety of medicinal uses: the bark is used as an astringent the flowers can reduce blood pressure, and the fruit has laxative effect. A refreshing tamarind drink can relieve constipation. The leaves are used in herbal steams as the acidity is thought to help the skin absorb the other herbal ingredients faster. Traditionally, wet tamarind was used as a beauty product: its high AHA content makes it an effective natural exfoliator and it was put on the face and body to brighten and smoothe the skin.