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Herbs & Plants

Anamirta paniculata

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Botanical Name : Anamirta paniculata
Family: Menispermaceae
Tribe: Fibraureae
Genus: Anamirta
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Ranunculales

Synonyms:  Anamirta cocculus, Anamirta paniculata Colebr ,Cocculus indicus Royle

Common Names: Levant Nut. Fish Berry, Arai ,Bañasin, Bayati, Bayating, Labtang , Lakdang,  Cocculus

Other vernacular names
Hindi: Kakamari.
Malayalam : Polla, Pollakkaya, Kollakkaya, Pettumarunnu.
Sanskrit: Garalaphala, Kakamari.

Habitat:Anamirta paniculata   grows in  India, Ceylon, Malabar.
Description:
Anamirta paniculata is a large woody vine with a ash-coloured corky  bark and white wood. Stems are sometimes 10 centimeters thick, longitudinally wadded, porous, with stout, smooth branches. Leaves are ovate or ovately-cordate, 10 to 20 centimeters long, with pointed or tapering apex and rounded or nearly heart-shaped base, smooth above, hairy on the nerve axils beneath, and 3-nerved from the base. Petioles are 5 to 15 centimeters long. Flowers are yellowish, sweet-scented, 6 to 7 millimeters across, crowded on 3- to 4.5 centimeters long, they  are pendulous panicles, male and female blooms on different plants. Fruit is a drupe, nearly spherical, about 1 centimeter in diameter when dry, smooth and hard.It is round and kidney shaped, outer coat thin, dry, browny, black and wrinkled, inside a hard white shell divided into two containing a whitish seed, crescent shaped and very oily….CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

Part Used in medicines :  Dried fruit.

Constituents:  The chief constituent is the bitter, crystalline, poisonous substance, picrotoxin; the seed also contains about 50 per cent. of fat.

Medicinal  Uses:
The powdered berries are sometimes used as an ointment for destroying lice; the entire fruits are used to stupefy fish, being thrown on the water for that purpose. Picrotoxin is a powerful convulsive poison used principally to check night sweats in phthisis by its action in accelerating respiration, but it is not always successful. It was at one time used to adulterate beers, increasing their reputation as intoxicants; it is an antidote in Morphine poisoning.

This has use in Homeopathy remedy: A constituent in a homeopathic remedy for vertigo, Vertigoheel: A grisea, A cocculus, C maculatum and P rectificatum.

Known Hazads: The pleant is poisonous. It is  well known as a fish poison. Fruit is first heated and roasted, then crushed and powdered.
The toxic properties are not altered by roasting. In India, dried berries are used to stupefy fish.  In South American, used as blowgun dart poison.

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

Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anamirta
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/coccul79.html

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