Calotropis

October 27th, 2008

Botanical Name: Calotropis procera (R. BR.) and gigantea
Family: N.O. Asclepiadaceae
Subfamily: Asclepiadoideae
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Gentianales
Genus: Calotropis

Synonyms: Mudar Yercum. mudar or mader.
Parts Used: Bark, root-bark.
Habitat: Native of Hindustan, but widely naturalized in the East and West Indies and Ceylon.

Description:Calotropis is a genus of plants that produce milky sap. It is considered a common weed in some parts of the world. The flowers are fragrant and are often used in making ‘floral tassels’ in some mainland Southeast Asian cultures. Fibers these plants are called mudar or mader.

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Click to see :->pictures of Calotropis gigantea
.The dried root freed from its outer cork layer and called Mudar. It occurs in commerce in short quilled pieces about 1/5 to 1/10 of an inch thick and not over 1 1/2 inch wide. Deeply furrowed and reticulated, colour greyish buff, easily separated from periderm. Fracture short and mealy, taste bitter, nauseous, acrid; it has a peculiar smell and is mucilaginous; official in India and the Colonial addendum for the preparation of a tincture.

General Uses: Calotropis yields a durable fiber (commercially known as Bowstring of India) useful for ropes, carpets, fishing nets, and sewing thread. Floss, obtained from seeds, is used for stuffing purposes. Fermented mixture of Calotropis and salt is used to remove the hair from goat skins for production of “nari leather” and of sheep skins to make leather which is much used for inexpensive book-binding (Singh et. al. 1996). Fungicidal and insecticidal properties of Calotropis have been reported (Ganapathy and Narayanasamy 1993).

Allelopathic effects of Calotropis on different agricultural crops have not been well studied. Extracts of different plant parts viz. root, stem, leaf ,and stem+leaf of Calatropis affect germination and seedling vigor of many agricultural crops have been reported (Oudhia and Tripathi 1997, 1999; Oudhia et al. 1997, 1998a,b). However, extracts of Calatropis failed to produce any detrimental effects on weeds such as Chenopodium album Melilotus alba, Melilotus indica, Sphaeranthus indicus, and Phalaris minor (Oudhia and Tripathi 1997).

Constituents: A yellow bitter resin; a black acid resin; Madaralbum, a crystalline colourless substance; Madarfluavil, an ambercoloured viscid substance; and caoutchouc, and a peculiar principle which gelatinizes on being heated, called Mudarine. Lewin found a neutral principle, Calatropin, a very active poison of the digitalis type. In India the author’s husband experimented with it for paper-making, the inner bark yielding a fibre stronger than Russian hemp. The acrid juice hardens into a substance like gutta-percha. It has long been used in India for abortive and suicidal purposes. Mudar root-bark is very largely used there as a treatment for elephantiasis and leprosy, and is efficacious in cases of chronic eczema, also for diarrhoea and dysentery.

Medicinal Uses:Calotropis is used as a traditional medicinal plant (Rastogi and Mehrotra 1991; Oudhia and Dixit 1994; Oudhia 1999a,b,c,d) with unique properties (Oudhia and Tripathi 1998, 1999a). Traditionally alotropis is used alone or with other medicinals (Caius 1986) to treat common disease such as fevers, rheumatism, indigestion, cough, cold, eczema, asthma, elephantiasis, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea (Das 1996). According to Ayurveda, dried whole plant is a good tonic, expectorant, depurative, and anthelmintic. The dried root bark is a substitute for ipecacuanha. The root bark is febrifuge, anthelmintic, depurative, expectorant, and laxative. The powdered root used in asthama, bronchitis, and dyspepsia. The leaves are useful in the treatment of paralysis, arthralegia, swellings, and intermittent fevers. The flowers are bitter, digestive, astringent, stomachic, anthelmintic, and tonic (Agharkar 1991; Warrier et al. 1996). Calotropis is also a reputed Homoeopathic drug (Ghosh 1988; Ferrington 1990).

Click to see :->Calotropis Gigantea - Homeopathic Remedies

The plant is known as aak in Ayurveda. The latex is said to have a mercury-like effects on the human body, and is some times referred to as vegetable mercury and is used in place of mercury in aphrodisiacs. It is used variously but sometimes leaves are fried in oil for medicinal purposes.

Root bark has Digitalis like effect on the heart, but was earlier used as a substitute of ipecacuanha.

It is a poisonous plant; calotropin, a compound in the latex, is more toxic than strychnine. Calotropin is similar in structure to two cardiac glycosides which are responsible for the cytotoxicity of Apocynum cannabinum L. Extracts of flower of Calotropis procera has shown a strong cytotoxic activity in the patients of colorectal cancer.

Preparations: Tincture of Calatropis, 1/2 to 1 fluid drachm. Powder, 3 to 12 grains.

Antidotes: As an antidote to poisoning atropine may be administered. In severe cases the stomach pump may be used and chloral or chloroform administered. Amyl nitrite may also be useful.

Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/calotr09.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calotropis
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/CropFactSheets/calotropis.html