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Herbs & Plants

Mishamitita (Coptis teeta)

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Botanical Name:Ranunculaceae/Yunnan goldthread/Coptis teeta WAL
Family: Ranunculaceae
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ranunculales
Genus: Coptis
Species: C. teeta
Common name: Yun lian

Arabic: mamiran chini
Assamese: misimi tita
Hindi: haladiya bachnaga, mahamirana, mamira, mamiram, mamiran, mimira, mishmitita
Malayalam: pitarohini
Sanskrit: mamira, mamirah, mishamitita, mishamlita, pita, pitamula, supita, tikta, tiktamula
Tamil : pitarohini, pitarokini, peetarogini, pidarokini, mamiran
Urdu : mameeran, mameesa (mamira,mamiran), mamiran-i-chini, mamira
Other Common Names: From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
Altin Ipligi [E], Chih Lien [E], Chonlin [H], Chuen-lien [H], Coptidis Radix [H], Coptidis Rhizoma [H], Honglane [H], Huang Lien [E], Hwang-lien [H], Mahmira [H], Mishmi Bitter [H], Mishmi Tita [H], Mu-lien [H], Tita [H], Wang Lien [E]

Mainly Used: In Ayurveda, Unani and Sidha L.

Parts Used: Dried Root

Habitat :E. Asia – N. China to the temperate regions of the Himalayas. Few species are endemic to India recorded only in the Himalayan region across Darjeeling in the West Bengal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in an altitude range of 2500-3000 m. It has been recorded in Lohit district, Dibang Valley district, Siang and upper Subansiri districts of Arunachal Pradesh.

Description: An evergreen perennial growing to 0.15m. . It is in leaf all year. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 1 out of 5 for usefulness.

click to see the pictures...

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Coptis teeta is a rare species of flowering plant in the buttercup family. It is a species of importance in Chinese herbology. Known as Yunnan goldthread, its rhizome is used as an antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory. A number of factors contribute to its endangerment. It is endemic to a very small area in the eastern Himalayas where its habitat is rapidly declining, due in part to deforestation, it is overcollected for medicinal use, and its reproductive success is low. The plant is cultivated on a small scale in Yunnan using techniques that aim to conserve the species within its natural habitat. The Lisu people of the local area earn much of their income from cultivation of the plant, which they grow using traditional agroforestry methods that have little adverse impact on the ecosystem.

Cultivation details
We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in many parts of this country. It is cultivated as a medicinal plant in China. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.

Succeeds in a light moist humus-rich slightly acidic soil with a northerly aspect or light shade.

Propagation
Seed – best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe in an ericaceous compost[164]. Seal the pot in a polythene bag until germination takes place, which is usually within 1 – 6 months at 10°c. Stored seed should be sown as early in the year as possible. Four weeks cold stratification may be beneficial. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow on in a shady part of the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out in mid-autumn or in spring.
The root is harvested in the autumn and can be used fresh or dried.


Medicinal Uses:

Alterative; Anaesthetic; Analgesic; Antibacterial; Antispasmodic; Febrifuge; Ophthalmic; Pectoral.

The root is a pungent, very bitter, cooling herb that controls bacterial and viral infections, relaxes spasms, lowers fevers and stimulates the circulation. It is locally analgesic and anaesthetic and is used in Chinese medicine as a general panacea with alterative, ophthalmic and pectoral activity. The root contains several compounds that are effective in inhibiting various bacteria and they are a safe and effective treatment for many ailments, such as some forms of dysentery, that are caused by bacteria.

Improves appetite, restores digestion, gas, visceral obstructions, jaundice,improves bile flow, chronic gall bladder inflammation, debility, convalescence after fevers, debilitating diseases, atonic indigestion, mild forms of intermittent fevers, catarrhal and rheumatic conjunctivitis, dries excessive body moisture (e.g., water retention), all Pitta disorders, anal fissure, ulcerative colitis, vaginal infections, tumors, boils, carbuncles, inflammatory skin conditions, externally applied to sores (including mouth sores).

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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coptis_teeta
http://www.bicco.com/herb_photo.html
http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Coptis+teeta

http://envis.frlht.org.in/botanical_search.php?gesp=634%7CCoptis+teeta+WALL.

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Herbs & Plants

Delonix Regia or Krishnachura in Bengali

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Botanical Name:Peltophorum
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Tribe: Caesalpinieae
Genus: Delonix
Species: D. regia
Common Names:
Krishnachura, Gulmohar, Peacock Flower, Flame of the Forest, Malinche, and Tabachine, and one of several named the Flame tree. The species was previously placed in a genus Poinciana, named for Phillipe de Longviliers de Poincy who is credited with introducing the plant to the Americas.

Amharic(dire dawa zaf); Arabic(goldmore); Bengali(chura,radha); Burmese(seinban); Creole(poinciana royal); English(flamboyant,flamboyant flame tree,flame of the forest,flame tree,gold mohur,gul mohr,julu tree,peacock flower,royal poinciana); French(flamboyant,poinciana,royal); German(fammenßaum,Feuerbaum); Hindi(gulmohr,kattikayi,peddaturyl,shima sunkesula); Spanish(Acacia roja,clavellino,flamboyán,flor de pavo,framboyán,guacamaya,josefina,Morazán,poinciana); Swahili(mjohoro,mkakaya); Tamil(mayarum,mayirkonrai,panjadi,telugu); Thai(hang nok yung farang); Trade name(gold mohar); Vietnamese(phuong); Yoruba(sekeseke)

Synonyms: Poinciana regia Boj. ex Hook.

Habitat : The Royal Poinciana is endemic to Madagascar, where it is found in the West Malagasy forest. In the wild it is endangered, but it is widely cultivated elsewhere. In addition to its ornamental value, it is also a useful shade tree in tropical conditions, because it usually grows to a modest height (typically around 5 m, though it can reach as high as 12 m) but spreads widely, and its dense foliage provides full shade.

The Royal Poinciana is regarded as naturalised in many of the locations where it is grown, and is seen by some as an invasive species in some parts of Australia, partly because its dense shade and root system prevent the growth of other species under it. It is also found in India, where it is referred to as the Gulmohar. In West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh,
mainly in garden and roadside as avenue tree for its graceful foliage and beautiful flowers. it is called Krishnachura.

The seed pods of the Royal Poincianas are used in the Caribbean as a percussion instrument known as the shak-shak or maraca.

The Royal Poinciana requires a tropical or near-tropical climate, but can tolerate drought and salty conditions. It is very widely grown in the Caribbean, Hong Kong, the Canary Islands, Taiwan and southern China, and is also the city tree of Tainan, Taiwan and Xiamen, Fujian Province, People’s Republic of China. National Cheng Kung University, a university located in Tainan, put Royal Poinciana on its emblem.

In the United States and United States Commonwealth, it grows only in South Florida, Southwest Florida, the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, ranging from the low deserts of Southern Arizona (to as high as Tucson), Southern California, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, where it is the official tree of the islands. It is much adored in the Caribbean; for example, many Puerto Rican paintings feature Flamboyant Trees. The Poinciana is also the national flower of St. Kitts and Nevis. Also Phillipe de Longviliers de Poincy was the first Lieutenant Governor of St. Kitts.

The Royal Poinciana is regarded as naturalised in many of the locations where it is grown, and is seen by some as an invasive species in some parts of Australia, partly because its dense shade and root system prevent the growth of other species under it. It is also found in India, where it is referred to as the Gulmohar. In West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh it is called Krishnachura.

Description:
It is a midium size tree with spreading dome-shaped crown. Leaves are bipinnate and leaflets are small and many. Flowering time is April to June. Flowers are red, showy in terminal corymbs. Fruiting occurs between August and October. Pods are 30-61 cm long, fleshy and become black when dry. The tree’s vivid red/vermilion/orange/yellow flowers and bright green foliage make it an exceptionally striking sight. In areas with a marked dry season, it sheds its leaves during the drought, but in other areas it is virtually evergreen.
click tom see the pictures…>......(01).….(1)……...(2).…….(3)….…(4)..….

 

The flowers are large, with four spreading scarlet or orange-red petals up to 8 cm long, and a fifth upright petal called the standard, which is slightly larger and spotted with yellow and white. The naturally occurring variety flavida has yellow flowers. Seed pods are dark brown and can be up to 60 cm long and 5 cm wide; the individual seeds, however, are small, weighing around 0.4 g on average. The compound leaves have a feathery appearance and are a characteristic light, bright green. They are doubly pinnate: Each leaf is 30-50 cm long and has 20 to 40 pairs of primary leaflets or pinnae on it, and each of these is further divided into 10-20 pairs of secondary leaflets or pinnules.

Fruit green and flaccid when young, turning to dark brown, hard, woody pods, 30-75 cm long, 3.8 cm thick, 5-7.6 cm broad, ending in a short beak when mature, with many horizontally partitioned seed chambers inside, indehiscent, finally splitting into 2 parts. The conspicuous pods hang down and remain attached most of the year even when the trees are leafless. Seeds 30-45, hard, greyish, glossy, to 2 cm long, oblong and shaped very much like date seeds, transversely mottled with a bony testa. They are arranged at right angles to the length of the pod.

Folwering Seasons:
South Florida: June
Caribbean:
May–September
India: April–June
Australia: December–February
Northern Mariana Islands: March-June
United Arab Emirates: April-June


Uses:

Agri-horticulture, Medicines, Phytochemistry, Products

Products
Apiculture: Flowers are reputed to produce bee forage. Fuel: The large pods as well as the wood are used for fuel. Timber: The sapwood is light yellow, and the heartwood is yellowish to light brown. It is soft, heavy (specific gravity 0.8), coarse grained, weak, brittle, takes good polish and is rather resistant to moisture and insects although very susceptible to attack by dry-wood termites. Gum or resin: The tree yields a thick mucilage of water-soluble of gum in yellowish or reddish-brown warty tears; the seeds contain gum that may find use in textile and food industries.

Medicine: Bark has medicinal properties. The traditional healers use the leaves of Peltophorum in form of decoction, to wash the unhealthy skin. It is commonly used in treatment of skin troubles. The healers use its fresh leaves also for this purpose. It is frequently used in treatment of ringworm. The traditional healers use this herb as major ingredient in popular herbal combinations used internally in treatment of constipation. The healers of Southern Chhattisgarh in India, use the leaf decoction in treatment of stomatitis. The patients are advised to gargle with this decoction. Its bark is also used for this purpose. The healers of Chhattisgarh Plains use its flower in treatment of insomnia. The aqueous extract of fresh flowers is massaged on soles before going to sleep. According to the healers, it induces good sleep. This is really surprising that the information on its medicinal uses and properties have not been mentioned in reference literatures related to different systems of medicine in India. As it is introduced herb, possibly due to this reason the ancient researchers have not studied and included this herb in literatures.


The timber is hard and fair.
The heartwood is used for rough posts, supports for flooring and for bridges as it is said to be very durable. General construction and furniture works are also done with the timber.

Services
Shade or shelter: D. regia is planted as a shade tree in dairy farms, tea plantations and compounds. Ornamental: It is mainly valued as a decorative tree, often being planted in avenues and gardens. Boundary or barrier or support: D. regia can be planted as live fence posts.

Often grown as an ornamental tree and given the name Royal Poinciana or Flamboyant,
The tree’s vivid red/vermilion/orange/yellow flowers and bright green foliage make it an exceptionally striking sight.

Other products: The hard, elongated seeds are occasionally used as beads.

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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Poinciana
http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/sea/products/AFDbases/AF/asp/SpeciesInfo.asp?SpID=648
http://botanical.com/site/column_poudhia/395_peela.html
http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/sites/TreeDBS/aft/speciesPrinterFriendly.asp?Id=648

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News on Health & Science

Detect Blood Cancer, the Calcutta Way

Discovery by Scientists at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics :-

 

Ten years ago, when biophysicist Abhijit Chakrabarti started looking at telltale proteins in the red blood cells of children suffering from leukaemia, there weren’t many takers for his research.

Chakrabarti, professor of biophysics at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP) in Calcutta, believed that the intriguing protein signatures might, some day, help doctors identify blood cancer at an early stage and customise cancer therapy for each patient, instead of relying on a one-size-fits-all approach.

“Even experts couldn’t relate to the study of proteins for clinical application,” says Chakrabarti. “Those were the heyday of gene discoveries.” Now things have changed dramatically in favour of proteins, the body’s workhorse molecules. Scientists as well as drug makers have realised the limitations of gene-based data.

A series of publications by Chakrabarti and his team in international journals such as the British Journal of Haematology and the European Journal of Haematology is testimony to how quickly the young field of large-scale analysis of proteins — known as proteomics — is growing. The nascent field of research involves efforts at developing methods for sifting through thousands of different proteins in the blood. The goal is to identify the trace proteins — called markers — that are leaked by tumours into the blood, to be subsequently used for early and more accurate diagnosis of cancer and other diseases.

If all goes well, Chakrabarti hopes their work will some day yield simple tests that will allow for early diagnosis of childhood cancers like acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) — diseases that can prove fatal if not detected at early, and more treatable, stages.

“It is very important, both to diagnose childhood leukaemia as early as possible, and to determine what type of leukemia is present so that treatment can be tailored for the best chance of success,” says Dr Debasish Banerjee, haematologist at the Ramakrishna Mission Seba Pratisthan, Calcutta. “At present the therapy is based on genetic changes in leukaemic cells, which helps in classifying patients into specific risk categories. This is known as risk-based stratification therapy,” he adds.

Haematologists usually deploy gene chips or DNA microarrays to gauge the changes. One big problem with the strategy, however, is that the genetic chips offer a ‘global’ view of cancerous changes, not the ‘ground level’ view in the proteins. “Another very important issue is monitoring the response to a therapy of the diseased cells,” says Banerjee. He believes that the current diagnostic tests fail to tackle these problems. “Proteomics can not only take care of both the problems but also diagnose minimal residual disease (MRD) responsible for a relapse after therapy is complete.”

Chakrabarti’s recent foray — presented at an international symposium on Complex Diseases: Approaches to Gene Identification and Therapeutic Management, in Calcutta — is critical in the search for marker proteins among a vast sea of proteins in blood serum. “It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,” says Sutapa Saha, a co-researcher. “Blood serum is an extraordinarily complex mixture of thousands of proteins,” she adds.

What’s more, any two proteins may exist in concentrations that differ more than a billion-fold from one another. “Systematically searching for the potential candidate proteins from thousands of others is extremely painstaking work,” says Dipankar Bhattacharya, another researcher involved in the project. After years of persistence the SINP team has been able to hunt down 80 such proteins. The study is scheduled for publication in the journal Proteomics – Clinical Application.

To guide their search, the Chakrabarti’s lab uses instruments like mass spectrometers, which can sort mixes of proteins, based on size, weight and electric charge. Since every protein is different, each has an equivalent of a molecular “barcode” to distinguish itself. The goal, Chakrabarti says, is to find proteins that are present only in the blood of people with cancer or are at detectably higher levels in people with cancer than in healthy individuals.

Chakrabarti is pursuing another approach too in finding cancer-specific markers, based on the immune system’s ability to act as a “biosensor” of disease. “It’s well known that the immune system can recognise cancer cells as abnormal and react against proteins made by tumours,” he says. “One of our approaches in finding proteins made by cancer cells is to see what antibodies or immune cells are produced by the immune systems of people with cancer but are not made by healthy systems.”

Despite the stiff challenges the team faces, drug designers have concluded that protein-based diagnostic tests hold greater promise than those exclusively based on genes, which are the DNA blueprints that cells use to make proteins. Proteins are more relevant to the biological functioning of the cell and most drug targets are found in them. Above all, proteomics assays, or protein-based diagnostic measurements, can be applied to readily available biological samples like serum and urine. “ The current dogma is: to understand genes better you need to read the proteins too,” says Chakrabarti.

Sources: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

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Herbs & Plants

Tamala (Garcinia xanthochymus )

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Botanical Name:Garcinia xanthochymus
Genus: Garcinia
Family: Clusiaceae (alt. Guttiferae).
Syn : Xanthochymus tinctorius DC., Garcinia tinctoria Dunn.

English name: Egg tree.

Sanskrit names: Tamala, Tapinjha.

Vernacular names: Ben: Tamal,; Hin : Dampel, Tamal, Tumul; Guj : Kasamala, Ota;Kan:Deva-garige; Mal: Anavaya; Man: Heilbung; Mar: Jharambi, Dampel, Ota; Nep : Chunyel; Ori : Cheoro, Sitambu; Tam: Kulavi, Malaippachai, Mukki, Tamalam; Tel: Sitakamraku, Evarumidi, Tamalamu.

Trade name: Tamala.

Trade name: Tamala.

Habitat:Native to India and Myanmar; distributed widely in the lower hill forests of eastern Himalaya, Meghalaya, Sikkim, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, the Andamans; Bangladesh, Myanmar.

Description: Evergreen tree, trunk straight; branches arising in tiers, drooping, angular; leaves opposite, coriaceous, bright green, shining, 22.5-45.0 cm by 5-10 cm; flowers polygamous, male flowers from axils of fallen leaves, fascicled with 4-8 flowers, white, thick, rough, hermaphrodites like male flowers, ovary ovoid, usually 5:chambered; fruits subglobose, pointed, dark yellow; seeds 1-4, oblong, yields a large quantity of gamboge.

click to see the pictures

Flowering: Spring; Fruiting: Summer.

Ecology and cultivation: Tropical forest; wild.

Chemical contents: Fruit: xanthochymol, isoxanthochymol, maclurin, euxanthone, 1,5-dihydroxy- and 1,3,5-trihydroxy-xanthones, methoxyxanthones, cambogin, volkensiflavone, morello-flavone, biflavones.

Medicinal Uses:

Traditional use: Fruit: antiscorbutic, cooling, digestive, emollient, demulcent and cholagogue. Sherbet made from dried fruit is used in billiousness.

AYURVEOA :
Young branch: paste as ointment on boils; Bark: astringent; Leaf: decoction useful in diarrhoea; Young leaves (roasted in a special method) : used in dysentery; Seed: butter made from seeds useful in pulmonary affections, dysentery, goitre.

Modern use: Xanthochymol : antibacterial against Streptococcus faecallis and Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Remark: In South India, fruits of this species are used in lieu of tamarind.

Reources:

http://www.bsienvis.org/medi.htm#Euphorbia%20tirucalli
http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?423797
http://www.henriettesherbal.com/pictures/p06/pages/garcinia-xanthochymus-1.htm

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Herbs & Plants

Siuli/Shephali(Nyctonthes arbortristis)

Botanical name – Nyctonthes arbortristis
Family: Oleaceae
Kingdom:Plantae
Order: Lamiales
Genus: Nyctanthes
Species: N. arbor-tristis

Names and symbolism:
Nyctanthes arbor-tristis (sometimes incorrectly cited as Nyctanthes arbortristis or Nyctanthes arbor tristis) is commonly known as
Night-flowering Jasmine, Coral Jasmine Parijat (also spelled Paarijat or Paarijaata,Harsinghar, Shephali
Maramalli or Pavazha malli in Tamil (Also spelled pavaza malli or pavala malli)
Common Name : NIGHT JASMINE, CORAL JASMINE
Parts used : Flowers, Leaves, seeds,
Habitat : Cultivated in gardens in India,Bangla Desh, Burma, Sri Lanka,Nepal, Pakisthan & Thailand.

Description:
It is a shrub or a small tree growing to 10 m tall, with flaky grey bark. The leaves are opposite, simple, 6-12 cm long and 2-6.5 cm broad, with an entire margin. The flowers are fragrant, with a five- to eight-lobed white corolla with an orange-red centre; they are produced in clusters of two to seven together, with individual flowers opening at dusk and finishing at dawn. The fruit is a flat brown heart-shaped to round capsule 2 cm diameter, with two sections each containing a single .

click to see >..…(01)…...(1).…(2)..…....(3)..….(4)....(5).….…(6)...

The tree is sometimes called the “tree of sorrow”, because the flowers lose their brightness during daytime; the scientific name arbor-tristis also means “sad tree”. The flowers can be used as a source of yellow dye for clothing. The flower is the official flower of the state of West Bengal, India, and for Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand.

Mythology
Parijat appears in several Hindu myths. In one myth, Parijat appeared as the result of the Churning of the Milky Ocean. In another myth, Parijat was brought to earth by Krishna from Indra’s garden.

In Hindu mythology, there is a story involving Lord Krishna about a parijat and Krishna’s two wives, Satyabhama and Rukmini. Satyabhama wanted this “Parijat” tree from the Heaven to be planted in her garden. Rukmini too, took a fancy to the flower. Krishna, wanting to keep both his wives happy, planted this tree so that the flowers fell in Rukmini’s garden while the tree remained in Satyabhama’s garden.

The tree was planted in the garden of Indra, the Lord of Heavens. Even as Krishna stole a branch of the tree he was spotted by Indra. However Indra desisted from placing a curse on Krisha since he was an incarnation of Vishnu. Still, Indra put forth a curse on the stolen branch that it will never bear fruits even as the flowers may bloom on the tree. Since the day the tree planted at Barabanki does flower but can not reproduce meaning it does not have seeds and the branch also does not take root.

Pharmacology
The seeds, flowers and leaves possesses immunostimulant, hepatoprotective, antileishmanial, antiviral and antifungal activities.

Immunostimulant activity of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis L.(Siuli ).Medicinal & other Uses
The leaves are antibacterial, antiinflammatory and anthelmintic. Further, a dye extracted from the corolla tube is used to lend colour to Tussore Silk. The flowers are bitter astringent, opthalmic, stomachic and carminative. It is an expectorant, bitter and tonic, febrifuge, and mild purgative. It is used in bilious and obstinate remittent fever, sciatica, and rheumatism. It is also very useful in constipation of children.Shiuli’s extracts are used in ayurvedic remedies for common cold and feverThe leaves have been used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat sciatica, arthritis, fevers, various painful conditions and as laxative.These flowers bloom in the night, spreading their wonderful mild fragrance around and early in the morning you’ll find them strewn below the tree in thousands, like a carpet of flowers. It’s a scene to behold !! The stem of the flower give a lovely orange colour and as kids we used to dye our dolls’ clothes with these stems.
These flowers and it’s fragrance always makes me nostalgic.

Click to see :Ayurvedic medicines from Shiuli

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.motherherbs.com/nyctanthes-arbortristis.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night-flowering_Jasmine

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