Tag: Leaf

Gleditschia

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Botanical Name: Gleditschia triacanthos
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Gleditsia
Species: G. triacanthos
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Fabales
Synonyms: Gleditschine. Honey Locust. Gleditschia Ferox. Three-(t)horned Acacia. Gleditschine. Gleditschia triacanthos, Gleditschia macracantha.
Parts Used: The twigs and leaves.
Habitat: Eastern and Central United States.

Description: A small, thorny tree, with pinnated leaves and greenish flowers growing in dense spikes. The younger and smaller branches have strong, triple tapering thorns. In the autumn they bear thin, flat pods resembling apple-parings. They contain seeds surrounded by a sweetish pulp from which it is stated that sugar has been extracted. The wood is chiefly used for fencing.

Click to see the pictures

Gleditschia triacanthos L., or Honey Locust, and G. Macracantha Desf. (Fam. Leguminosae), and are small, thorny trees having pinnate leases and forming elongated pods filled with a sweetish pulp. The trees grow in rich woods in the Eastern and Central United States and are common in cultivation. G. Macracantha is indigenous to China. These trees were chemically studied by B. F. Lautenbach (P. M. T; 1878), who abstracted from them an alkaloid, which he found to produce in the frog stupor and loss of reflex activity, due to an action upon the spinal cord. To this alkaloid Lautenbach gave the name of gleditschine. In 1887 (Med. Rec., 1887) Goodman, Seward, and Claiborne brought before the profession, as a local anesthetic, an alkaloid under the name of stenocarpine which was asserted to be obtained from the Gleditschia triacanthos. In November, 1888, however, F. W. Thompson, of Detroit (Med. Age), and T. G. Novy (Ph. Rund.) and John Marshall of the University of Pennsylvania (Phila. Med. News), published analyses of this solution, showing that it contained 6 per cent. of cocaine, besides some atropine or other mydriatic alkaloid.

Constituents: An alkaloid, Gleditschine, has been abstracted, and another called Stenocarpine. It also contains cocaine, and probably atropine.

Medicinal Action and Uses: Stenocarpine was introduced as a local anaesthetic in 1887. Gleditschine was found to produce stupor and loss of reflex activity in a frog.

Other Species: G. Macracantha possesses similar properties, and is indigenous to China.

Resources:
http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/g/gledit19.html
http://www.henriettesherbal.com/eclectic/usdisp/gleditschia.html

Tags Aesculus glabra, Conium, Evolutionary anachronism, Fruit, Honey locust, Leaf, List of poisonous plants, Livestock, Maclura pomifera, Oak

Herbs & Plants

Kurchi (Holarrhena pubescence)

Post author By Mukul
Post date March 13, 2008
3 Comments on Kurchi (Holarrhena pubescence)

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Botanical Name:Holarrhena pubescence (Buch.-Ham.) Wall ex DC. (Apocynaceae)
Family : Apocynaceae

Syn : Holarrhena antidysenterica (L.) Wall., Echites pubescens Buch.-Ham.

English names: Bitter oleander, Conessi bark, Dysentery rosebay, Easter tree, Ivory tree, Tellichery bark.

Sanskrit names: Girimallika, Indrayava, Kalinga(ka), Kalingyava, Katuka, Katuja, Mahagandha, Mallikapushpa, Panduradruama, Pravrishya, Sangrahi, Shakrapadapa, Vatsika, Vrikshaka, Yavaphala.

Vernacular names: Asm : Dhurkhuri, Ducikhuri; Ben: Kurchi, Katuraj, Kuteswar, Indrajava; Guj : Dhowda, Kuda, Kari; Hin : Kurchi, Karchi, Karra; Kan : Beppale coodsaloo, Korchie; Lep : Fajeerip; Mal: Kodagapala; Mar: Kura, Kala-kura, Kear, Kewar, Kodago, Kuda, Dola-kuda, Pandhrakura;’Mun : Ludu-ba, Toa-ba; Nep : Khuria; Ori : Kherwa, Pita, Korwa, Patru kurwa; Orn : Koraia; Pun: Kawar, Kura, Kear, Kewar; Sad: Koraia; San: Hat; Tam: Kuda-sappalai, Veppalei, Kodagapalei, Indrabam; Tel: Kodisepala, Palakodsa, Pala, Kodaga.

Trade name: Kurchi.

Habitat : Major parts of India up to 1500 m in the Himalaya; Bangladesh, also in Africa-mostly in drier regions.Native to: tropical areas of Africa and Asia

Description:
Deciduous tree or large shrub; leaves sessile or subsessile, broadly ovate to elliptic-oblong, abruptly acuminate, often unequal, rounded or obtuse at base, lateral nerves 10-15 pairs, arching near the margin; flowers white(very sweet smell), bracts small, follicles 20-42 by 0.8-1.2 cm; seeds up to 1 cm long, linear-oblong, coma about twice as long as seeds, seeds brown.

.click to see the pictures…>…..(01)…...(1).…….(2).……..(3).…..(4)....(5)….

Flowering and Fruiting: May-January.

Ecology and cultivation: Common in village surroundings; sometimes in private gardens.

Chemical contents: Root-bark: holacetine; Stem-bark: L-quebrachitol, dihydroisoconessimine, kurcholessine, 3-a-aminoconan-5-ene, 7-a-OH-conessine, holonamine; Leaf: aminoglycosteroids, aminode-oxyglycosteroids, kurchiphylline, kurchiphyllamine, kurchaline, holadysine, holadysamine, holantosines A, B, C & D, holarosine A, B, E & F.

Medicinal Uses:

Traditional use: MANIPURI : Bark (boiled extract) : in diarrhoea, dysentery; GARO : Bark and Leaf: in dysentery; ETHNIC COMMUNITIES AROUND GUAHATI: Seed: as anthelmintic; BODO (of Assam) : Bark: in diarrhoea, dysentery, piles; Flower: as appetiser and in intestinal worms; Seed.. in leprosy; ASUR (of Bihar) : Bark: in snake bite; Seed: diarrhoea, fever, intestinal worms; MUNDA : Root and Leaf: in diarrhoea, bleeding from nose, haemorrhage after childbirth; SANTAL : Root: in bite of dog or jackal, blood and mucous in bowel excretion, diarrhoea, dysentery, hematuria, spermatorrhoea, spleen complaints; Bark.. in bronchitis, chameleon’s bite, cholera, cold, colic, fever, menorrhagia; Fruit: in anaemia, colic, constip5ltion, diarrhoea, dry cough, epilepsy, gravel, postnatal complaints, stomachache; TRIBAL SOCIETIES OF HAZARIBAGH AND RANCHI : Bark: in gastric disorder, to revive taste in tongue; ETHNIC COMMUNITIES OF ORISSA: Latex: in eczema and other skin diseases; ETHNIC COMMUNITIES OF ABUJH-MARH (Madhya Pradesh) : Bark: in menstrual complaints; TRIBAL COMMUNITIES OF SAGAR (Madhya Pradesh) : Seed: in dysentery; THARU (of Uttar Pradesh) : Bark: in fever; Bark and Seed (together) : in dysentery; KOL (of Uttar Pradesh) : Seed: in digestive complaints; ETHNIC COMMUNITIES OF DEHRA DUN AND SIWALIK: Seed: in diarrhoea, dysentery, fever; ETHNIC COMMUNITIES OF EAST RAJASTHAN: Bark and Seed (together) : in dysentery; ETHNIC COMMUNITIES OF MOUNT ABU: Bark: as antidote to snake bite; DANG: (of Gujarat ): Bark: in diarrhoea; VASAVA (of Gujarat ) : Root: in fever; Root and Bark (together) : in gout; ETHNIC COMMUNITIES OF SAURASHTRA: Bark: in bronchitis; ETHNIC COMMUNITIES OF DAHANU FOREST DIVISION (Maharashtra) : Bark and Leaf (together) : in dysentery; Latex: as antidote to snake bite, Seed: in asthma, colic.

ATHARVAVEDA : increases semen, tightens the slackened muscles; CHARAKA SAMHITA : Bark (paste) : good for skin diseases, leprosy, ringworm, piles, fistula, adenitis; Fruit: in vomiting, beneficial in disorders caused by vitiated phlegm and bile, as galactagogue; Seed: in piles; SUSHRUTA SAMHITA: Flower: beneficial in deranged phlegm and bile, and a good remedy for leprosy; CHAKRADATTA: Bark: in diarrhoea; BHAVAPRAKASHA: pungent, drying, refrigerant, excitant, cures piles, diarrhoea, phlegm, bile, leprosy, alleviates thirst; RAJANIGHANTU : pungent, bitter, thermogenic, astringent, cures diarrhoea, vitiated bile, skin diseases and piles; DHANVANTARINIGHANTU: pungent, bitter, astringent, drying, cooling, cures skin diseases, gastroenteritis, vitiated bile; MADANANIGHANTU : excitant, digestive, astringent, beneficial in bleeding tendency, worms, skin diseases; SALIGRAMNIGHANTU : appetising, beneficial in vitiated phlegm, cures diarrhoea, skin diseases, worms; KAIYADEVANIGHANTU : astringent, cooling, drying, excitant, pungent, beneficial in vitiated phlegm, bile, skin diseases, diarrhoea, piles; Flower: refrigerant, bitter, astringent, excitant.

AYURVEDA: Bark and Seed: acrid, anthelmintic, antiperiodic, aphrodisiac, astringent, bitter, carminative, expectorant, febrifuge, stimulating, beneficial in asthma, bronchitis! blood dysentery, diarrhoea, dropsy, dysentery, fever, haemorrhages, haemorrhoides, hepatopathy, malaria, piles, rheumatism, skin diseases, urinary troubles, verminosis, vomiting; Leaf: useful in boils, bronchitis, dysentery and wounds.

SIDDHA: Root and Bark: used as constituents for the preparation of Kutacap patai.

UNANI : in the preparation of Sufuf Habis and Majnum Bawasir.

Click to see:> Research Article By Pankaj Oudhia on Kurchi

Modern use: Bark (50% EtOH extract) : hypotensive; Bark-powder: in abdominal and glandular tumours; Fruit (50% EtOH extract) : anticancer, anti protozoa, hypoglycaemic, astringent, febrifuge, useful in diarrhoea, intestinal worms, and to regulate menstruation.

Remarks: Tribals of East Rajasthan give root to cattle in a disease in which tongue ejects out and gets swollen. Tribals of Maharashtra eat flower and seed as vegetables. Ethnic communities of Ratan Mahal Hills use latex to curdle milk. Santal women use flowers to decorate their hairdos. Tribals of Madhya Pradesh use wood to make combs and many household articles.

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.bsienvis.org/medi.htm#Euphorbia%20tirucalli
http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Conessi

Tags CHARAKA SAMHITA, Flower, Gujarat, India, Leaf, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, New Delhi, Rudyard Kipling, Seed, Special Economic Zone, SUSHRUTA SAMHITA, Uttar Pradesh

Herbs & Plants

Bishalanguli(Gloriosa superba )

Post author By Mukul
Post date March 11, 2008
2 Comments on Bishalanguli(Gloriosa superba )

Botanical Name: Gloriosa superba
Family: Colchicaceae
Genus: Gloriosa
Species: G. superba
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Liliales
Syn : Methonica superba Lamk., Gloriosa simplex Don.
Common names: flame lily, climbing lily, creeping lily, glory lily, gloriosa lily, tiger claw, and fire lily.

Names in other languages: kalihari (Hindi), Kaanthal (Tamil), lis de Malabar (French), aranha de emposse (Portuguese), bandera española [Spanish flag] (Spanish), mkalamu (Swahili), klänglilja (Swedish), riri (M?ori), and jia lan (Chinese).

English names: Malabar glory lily, Glory lily.

Sanskrit names: Agninukhi, Agnisikha, Ailni, Garbhaghatini, Kalikari, Lanyli, Vishalya.

Vernacular names: Asm : Utatchandal; Ben: Bishalanguli, Ulatchandal; Guj : Dudhiovachnay, Varhvareli; Hin : Kalihari, Kaliari, Kulhari, Languli; Kan : Agnisikha, Akkatangaballi, Karadikanninagadde, Kolikuttuma, Sivasaktiballi, Mal: Kantal, Medoni, Mattamara, Mettonsi, Mentonni; Mar: Bachnag, Indai, Kariannag, Khadyanag, Nagharia, Nag karia; Mun : Bulung chukuru; Orn : Jhagrahi; Ori : Agnisikha, Garbhhoghhatono panjanyulia, Meherlaphulo, Panchaangula; Pun: Kariari, Mulim; Sad: Jhagar; San: Siricsamano; Tam: Akkinichilam, Kalappaikkilanku, Kalaippaikkishangu, Kannuvalikkodi, Nabhikkodi, Tel: Adabhinabhi, Agnisikha, Gangeri, Kalappagadda.

Habitat: Bishalanguli is native to much of Africa and Asia, but it is known worldwide as an ornamental plant, a medicine, a poison, and a noxious weed.Common in forests. Under cultivation in fairly large areas of India.Throughout tropical India ascending up to 2000 m on the hills; Indo-China, Malaysia.

Useful Parts: Tubers, leaves, and flowers.

Description:
Herbaceous, tall, stout climbing herb. Root-stock of arched, solid, fleshy-white cylindric tubers. Leaves sessile. Ovate lanceolate, tip ending in a tendril-like spiral. Flowers large solitary, axillary, changing colors from greenish yellow, orange, scarlet and crimson from blooming to fading. Fruits cupsule. Flowering time July in October to Indian conditions.Fruiting: throughout the year.

CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES
Height: Climbing 1.5 m or more. Leaves:Long-lanceolate to narrowly ovate-lanceolate.Leaf length: 10.2-12.7 cm . width:1.3-2.5 cm. Flowers: linear to narrow lanceolate. Flower length: 5.1-7.6 cm. Flower color:Yellow changing to red

Cultivation: Kalihari is under cultivation in many states of India particularly in South India.

Propagation: From its ‘V’ shaped tubers.
Maturity: 170â€“180 days after sowing.

Yield: 200 kg seed and 150 kg pericarp.

Related Species: Six tuberous-rooted species in tropical Africa and Asia have been reported. Difference between two major varieties G. superba and G. rothschildiana

Chemical Constituents: Seed contain high level of colchicines. Cornigerine, 3-demethyl-N-formyl-N-deacetyl-b-lumicolchicine, 3-demethyl-g-lumicolchicine, 3-demethyl colchicines have been isolated from plant. b-sitosterol, its glucoside, a long chain fatty acid, b and g-lumiccolchicines from fresh tubers and luteolin, colchicines, N-formyldeacetylcolchicines and glucosides of 3-demethylcolchicine have been isolated from flowers.

Root: colchicine, b-sitosterol and its glucoside, band t-Iumicolchicine, 2-0H-6-MeO benzoic acid; Young leaf: cholidonic acid; Flower: luterlin and its glucosides, N-formyl-de-Ac-colchicine, lumicolchicine; Seed: colchicine.

Medicinal Properties and Uses: In Ayurveda and Yunani systems of medicine it is a reputed medicine. According to Ayurveda, tuber is pungent, bitter, acrid, heating, anthemirtic, laxative, alexiteric, abortifacient, and useful in ulcers, leprosy, piles, iflommations, abdominal pains, itching and thirst.

Traditional use: ETHNIC COMMUNITIES OF NORTH-EAST INDIA: Root: in gout, stomachache and as tonic; MUNDA AND ORAON: Tuber: for antifertility purpose; SANTAL : (i) Tuberous root: for abortion purpose, in intermittent fevers, wounds; (ii) Plant: in spleen complaints, syphilis, tumours; (ii) Leaf: in asthma; ETHNIC COMMUNITIES OF BIHAR: Root: in cholera, to facilitate childbirth; ETHNIC COMMUNITIES OF ORISSA: Tuber : as abortifacient; TRIBES OF VARANASI : Root: in gout; TRIBES OF PITHORAGARH: Tuber: in gonorrhoea, leprosy, piles; ETHNIC COMMUNITIES OF DEHRA DUN AND SIWALIK: Root: as anthelmintic; ETHNIC COMMUNITIES OF GARHWAL : Tuberous root: for abortion;

CHARAKA SAMHITA : useful in itching, skin diseases including wounds and ailments caused by vitiated kapha (phlegm) and vata (wind); SUSHRUTA SAMHITA: can be administered to a delivered mother along with spirituous drink to give relieve to her postnatal complaints, roots are poisonous; RAJANIGHANTU: it is pungent, thermogenic, eliminates deranged kapha (phlegm) and vata (wind), terminates pregnancy; DHANVANTARI NIGHANTU: in addition to the above, it is also useful in dropsy, labour pain, wounds, and as a purgative; MADANADI NIGHANTU : it is bitter, pungent, thermogenic, abortifacient, removes abdominal pain, expels the placenta, cures phlegm, skin diseases; BHAVAPRAKASHA : it is apperient, alkaline, astringent, pungent, bitter, highly potent, light, abortifacient, helps storing up energy, excites pitta (bile), it cures dropsy, piles, wounds, acute spasmodic pain, and removes worms; CHAKRADATTA : Root-paste: if smeared over’ the palms and feet of a pregnant woman, delivery of child becomes easier.

AYURVEDA : (i) roots are abortifacient, acrid, alexiteric, anthelmintic, antipyretic, bitter, depurative, digestive, emetic, expectorant, gastrointestinal irritant, highly poisonous, purgative, rejuvenating, stomachic, thermogenic, tonic, beneficial in vitiated conditions of kapha (phlegm) and vata (wind), debility, dyspepsia, flatulence, haemorrhoids, helminthiasis, inflammations, in promoting labour pain and expulsion of the placenta; (ii) root-paste is effective against paralysis, rheumatism, snake bite, insect bites; (iii) leaf-juice effective against lice.

Modern use: Root (aq. extract) : ecbolic in humans and other animals; Plant (50% EtOH extract) : spasmolytic, Central Nervous System depressant; Leaf-juice: piscicide. Phytography : Herbaceous tendril climber; rootstock tuberous, naked; stem 3-6 m long, sparingly branched; leaves sessile or nearly so, opposite or 3-nately whorled, tip tendrillar; flowers axillary, solitary, nearly 10 cm, at first greenish, becoming yellow and finally scarlet or red; capsules nearly 5 cm long.

Remarks: It is getting less attention in India, though extensive researches are on abroad.

Known Hazards: This plant is poisonous, toxic enough to cause human and animal fatalities if ingested. It has been used to commit murder, to achieve suicide, and to kill animals. Every part of the plant is poisonous, especially the tuberous rhizomes. As with other members of the Colchicaceae, this plant contains high levels of colchicine, a toxic alkaloid. It also contains the alkaloid gloriocine. Within a few hours of the ingestion of a toxic amount of plant material, a victim may experience nausea, vomiting, numbness, and tingling around the mouth, burning in the throat, abdominal pain, and bloody diarrhea, which leads to dehydration. As the toxic syndrome progresses, rhabdomyolysis, ileus, respiratory depression, hypotension, coagulopathy, haematuria, altered mental status, seizures, coma, and ascending polyneuropathy may occur. Longer-term effects include peeling of the skin and prolonged vaginal bleeding in women. Colchicine is known to cause alopecia. One case report described a patient who accidentally ate the tubers and then experienced hair loss over her entire body, including complete baldness. Poisonings can occur when the tubers are mistaken for sweet potatoes or yams and eaten. The plant can be dangerous for cats, dogs, horses, and livestock, as well.

Resources;
http://www.bsienvis.org/medi.htm#Euphorbia%20tirucalli
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/CropFactSheets/gloriosa.html
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=GLSU2&photoID=glsu2_002_ahp.tif

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloriosa_superba

Tags 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2016 Summer Olympics, Aconitum, Africa, Amadiya, Amorphophallus titanum, Anguloa uniflora, Ayurveda, CHARAKA SAMHITA, Dracula simia, Flower, Gloriosa, Gloriosa (genus), India, Leaf, Liliaceae, SUSHRUTA SAMHITA, WordPress

Herbs & Plants

Chalta (Dillenia)

Botanical Name:Dillenia indica L. (Dilleniaceae)
Family : Dilleniaceae
Syn : Dillenia speciosa Thunb.
English name: Dillenia, Elephant Apple
Common name: Chulta, hondapara tree, elephant apple,Outenga
Sanskrit names: Bhavya, Bharija.
Vernacular names: Asm : Chalita, Qutenga; Ben: Chalta; Guj : Karambel; Hin : Chalta; Kan :Betta kanijala; Mar: Mota karmal; Mal: Chalita, Punna; Man: Heigri; Ori : Qu, Uvu; San: Korbhatta; Tam and Tel: Uva.
Trade name: Chalta.

Habitat :Sub-Himalayan tract from Garhwal to Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Central and South India; Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka.

Description:
Evergreen, round-headed tree, 9-42.5 m high; branchlets tomentose, bark cinnamomum-like; leaf alternate, simple, fascicled at the apices of branches, petiole 3.7 cm long, lamina 20-25 cm by 5-10 cm, oblong-Ianceolate, closely set parallel veins from midrib, upper surface glabrous, hairs present on the lower surface, especially on veins; flower terminal or leaf-opposed, solitary, white, 15 cm in diameter, sepals thick; fruit globose with accrescent calyx, 12.5-15 cm in diameter, green when young, yellowish and sweet-scented when ripe; seeds many, compressed, embedded in hairy cells.

It is a spreading tree and has beautiful white fragrant flowers, toothed leaves and globose fruits with small brown seeds. The greenish-yellow fruit, which has a thick protective covering, is edible. Unripe fruits are cooked to make pickle and chutney. The juicy pulp is aromatic but very acidic.

You may click to see the pictures

The fruit is a 5-12 cm diameter aggregate of 15 carpels, each carpel containing five seeds embedded in an edible pulp.

According to the reference literatures, botanically, Dillenia indica (Syn. D. elliptica) is an evergreen tree; Leaves oblong, acute or acuminate, margins dentate; Flowers solitary, pendent; Fruits yellowish-green with enclosed sepals; Seeds reniform, black, margin spiny.

Flowering: May-June; Fruiting: July-August. – ripens in NovemberÂDecember.

Uses:
The natives of many parts of Chhattisgarh prepare Shurbut from Chalta fruits. The Shurbut is consumed for its specific delicious taste. The traditional healers of many region are aware of its health benefits. They recommend this Shurbut to the patients having troubles related to respiratory system. It is also considered as promising heart tonic. As its use is limited to few natives, I personally feel that there is a need to popularise this health drink among the common natives. To prepare the Shurbut, the fruit juice is extracted. Separately, sugar is boiled in water to prepare the Chashni (Syrup). The juice is added in Chashni to prepare the Shurbut. Once prepared in bulk, it is used round the year by diluting with water.The fruit pulp is used in Indian Cuisine in curries, jam, and jellies.

The natives consume its fruit with taste and use it in preparation of different dishes. The natives of Ambikapur and Jashpur region confirmed that the Elephants are fond of its fruits. These regions have wild population of Elephants. Although Chalta is a common tree in different parts but it is a matter of surprise that the traditional healers are not much aware of its traditional medicinal uses and properties. Besides fruits, they use its leaves and bark in treatment of common diseases. According to the traditional healers of Bastar region, the bark in combination with other herbs can be used in treatment of all types of internal bleeding. The traditional healers of Narharpur region suggest the patients having the problem of Leucorrhoea to wash the vagina with the decoction of bark. The decoction is diluted with water according to the condition of the patients. The herb collectors use its leaves as styptic but as other promising alternatives are available, the leaves are used less commonly. The healers of Chhattisgarh Plains use the leaves in popular combinations used externally in form of aqueous paste, in treatment of Headache particularly Adhasisi (Migraine). In many parts of Chhattisgarh, the cattle owners use the decoction of leaves to wash the cattle in rainy days and to dress the open wounds. In reference literatures it is mentioned that the syrup of the juice of unripe fruits allays cough, assists expectoration and cures angina and stomatitis. The healers of Chhattisgarh are aware of these reported uses.

Chemical contents: Stem-bark: betulin, betulinaldehyde, betulic acid, flavonoids, dillentin, dihydroisorhamnetin, lupeol, myricetin, glucosides, B-sitosterol; Wood: betulinic acid, lupeol, Î²-sitosterol; Leaf: betulinic acid, cycloartenone, flavonoids, n-hentriacontanol, BÂsitosterol; Fruit: an arabinogalactan, betulinic acid, Î²-sitosterol.

Medicinal Uses:
Traditional use: MANIPURI : Fruit decoction: for curing dandruff and checking falling of hairs; MIKIR (Assam) : Fruit: eat to combat weakness; TRIBES OFTEJPUR (Assam) : Plant: in fever; TRIBES OF TlRAP (Arunachal Pradesh) : Leaf: in dysentery; SANTAL : (i) Root: as prophylactic at the cholera season, an ingredient of a medicine for burning sensation in the chest; (ii) Stem-bark: component of medicine for sores caused by mercury poisoning, chronic progredient sores and carbuncle, and as a prophylactic at the cholera season; (iii) Mucilage: on wounds of burns; TRIBES OF ABUJH MARH RESERVE AREA (Madhya Pradesh) : Fruit: as tonic; TRIBES OF EAST GODAVARI (Andhra Pradesh) : Fleshy calyx: in stomach disorders.

YAJURVEDA : an important plant; UPAVARHANA SAMHITA : the plant is aphrodisiac and prpmotes virility; CHARAKA SAMHITA : the fruit is sweet, acidic, astringent, removes bile, phlegm, fetid and flatulence; SUSHRUTA SAMHITA : fruit cardiotonic, tasteful, astringent, acidic, removes bile, phlegm, fetid and flatulence; RAJANIGHANTU: green fruit is acidic, pungent, hot, removes wind, phlegm, but the ripe fruit is sweet, sour, appetising and beneficial in colic associated with mucous; MATSYA PURANA : decoction of this plant can be used as universal antidote for poison; AGNI PURANA : spraying water, containing stem extract, on and around the wound caused by spider bite helps in removing the poison.

AYURVEDA: (i) Root (bark extrac_: in food poisoning; (ii) Root-bark(paste): along with leafÂpaste applied externally in sprains; (iii) Young bark and Leaf: astringent; (iv) Fruit-juice : mixed with sugar and water serves as a cooling beverage in fever, fit, and as a cough syrup; (v) Ripe fruit-juice: removes flatulence, increases quantity of semen, galactogogue, combats weakness, external application helps supuration of boil, and checks loss of hair.

.Modern use: Leaf (50% EtOH extract) : shows antiamphetamine activity; Seed-extract: antimicrobial; Seed-oil: antifungal, and its unsaponifiable matter antibacterial.

Resources:
http://botanical.com/cgi-bin/search2/search.pl
http://www.bsienvis.org/medi.htm#Dillenia%20indica
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dillenia_indica
http://www.tropilab.com/elephantapple.html

http://gbpihed.gov.in/envis/HTML/vol13_1/nrai.htm

Tags Arunachal Pradesh, Beta-Sitosterol, Biology, Chashni, Chhattisgarh, Dilleniaceae, Fruit, Leaf

Herbs & Plants

Catharanthus (Nayantara)

Botanical Name:Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don (Apocynaceae)
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Catharanthus
G.Don
Syn: Lochnera rosea (L.) Spach, Vinca rosea L.
English names: Madagascar periwinkle, Old maid, Red periwinkle.
Vernacular names: Ben: Nayantara; Hin : Sada sawagon; Lad: Swet chandu; Mal: Mar: Ushamalari;Sadaphul; Ori : Ainskati; Pun: Rattanjot; Tam: Sudukadu Mallikai; Tel: Billaganneru.

Trade name: Nayantara.
Habitat:A native of West Indies; commonly grown in gardens throughout India;Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Description:An evergreen shrub, it grows to a height of 1m with a spread of 1m. The stem is short, erect and branching; the leaves are glossy gree, oval, 5cm long and opposite acuminate; the flowers are soft pink, tinged with red, 5 petalled, open, tubular and 4cm across, appearing in spring and autumn.

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Catharanthus coriaceus Markgr. Madagascar: A native of tropical Africa and Madagascar, it prefers rich, well drained, moist soils in a protected, sunny position, and is drought and frost tender.
Propagation is by seed and by cuttings.
A small herb or subshrub, up to 75 cm high; leaves elliptic-ovate to oblong, 4-10 by 2-4 cm, glabrous to puberulous, base acute or cuneate, apex obtusely apiculate, lateral nerves 10-12 pairs, petiole 1.0-1.5 cm; flowers in axillary or terminal cymes; solitary or paired, shortly pedicellate, pink or white or white with pink or yellow ring in orifice region; mericarps 3-4 by 0.3 cm, puberulous.
Flowering and Fruiting: throughout the year.

Catharanthus (Madagascar Periwinkle) is a genus of eight species of herbaceous perennial plants, seven endemic to the island of Madagascar, the eighth native to the Indian subcontinent in southern Asia.

Species :
Catharanthus coriaceus Markgr. Madagascar.
Catharanthus lanceus (Bojer ex A.DC.) Pichon. Madagascar.
Catharanthus longifolius (Pichon) Pichon. Madagascar.
Catharanthus ovalis Markgr. Madagascar.
Catharanthus pusillus (Murray) G.Don. Indian subcontinent.
Catharanthus roseus (L.) G.Don. Madagascar.
Catharanthus scitulus (Pichon) Pichon. Madagascar.
Catharanthus trichophyllus (Baker) Pichon. Madagascar.

Ecology and cultivation: Plains from the coasts, in wastelands, fallow fields, less on the hills 800-1400 m, also widely cultivated.

The species are self-propagating from seed; the seeds require a period of total darkness to germinate. Cuttings from mature plants will also root readily.

One species, C. roseus, has been widely cultivated and introduced, becoming an invasive species in some areas.

Chemical contents : Root-bark: vincaline I & II; Root: vinblastine or vinleukoblastine (VLB), vincristine or vinleurocristine (VCR), ursolic acid, oleanolic acid, ajmalicine, alstonine; Stem: vinca rodine, vincoline, vinamidine,leurocolombine, vincathicine, vincubine; Leaf: leurosine, vindoline, catharanthine, lochnerine, tetrahydroalstonine, roseoside, essential oil; Seed: vincedine, vincedicine, tabersonine.

Medicinal Uses:
C. roseus has gained interest from the pharmaceutical industry; the alkaloids vincristine and vinblastine from its sap have been shown to be an effective treatment for leukaemia. Although the sap is poisonous if ingested, some 70 useful alkaloids have been identified from it. In Madagascar, extracts have been used for hundreds of years in herbal medicine for the treatment of diabetes, as hemostatics and tranquilizers, to lower blood pressure, and as disinfectants. The extracts are not without their side effects, however, which include hair loss.

In 1923, considerable interest was aroused in the medical world by the statement that this species of Vinca had the power to cure diabetes, and would probably prove an efficient substitute for Insulin, but V. major has long been used by herbalists for this purpose. Vincristine, a major chemotherapy agent for leukemia, and vinblastin (for Hodgkin’s disease) are derived from the plant. The anti-cancer constituents are very strong and should only be taken under the supervision of a qualified health care practitioner. Use as a fluid extract. It has also been used in traditional herbal medicine to treat wasp stings (India), stop bleeding (Hawaii), as an eyewash (Cuba), and to treat diabetes (Jamaica); contains the alkaloid alstonine which can reduce blood pressure.

Vinca alkaloids:
Vinca alkaloids are anti-mitotic and anti-microtubule agents. They are nowadays produced synthetically and used as drugs in cancer therapy and as immunosuppressive drugs. These compounds are vinblastine, vincristine, vindesine and vinorelbine. Periwinkle extracts and derivatives, such as vinpocetine, are also used as nootropic drugs.

Catharanthus lanceus contains up to 6% yohimbine in its leaves

Indian Traditional use: BODO: (i) Plant: in cancer, diabetes, (ii ) Leaf: in menorrhagia; LODHA : (i) Root-paste: in septic wounds, (ii) Root-decoction (with paste of long peppers) : in fever, (iii) Leaf-juice: in blood dysentery, (iv) Leaf-decoction: to babies in gripping pain; SANTAL : (i) Latex: in scabies, (ii) Seed-powder (with decoction of black pepper) : in epilepsy; ETHNIC COMMUNITIES OF EAST GODAVARI DISTRICT: Root: in cancerous wounds.

Modern use: Plant-extract: antimitotic; Root (alkaloids) : in cancer, and as emetic, hypotensive, sedative and antiviral.

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MADAGASCAR PERIWINKLE (Vinca rosea, Linn.)

Catharanthus roseus (Madagascar Periwinkle)

.Description and Natural History of the Periwinkle
Vinblastine and vincristine are alkaloids found in the Madagascar periwinkle

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_periwinkle
http://www.bsienvis.org/medi.htm#Bauhinia%20vahlii
http://shaman-australis.com.au/shop/index.php?cPath=21_26_66

http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_LMN.htm