Tag: Western Ghats

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Zanthoxylum rhetsa

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Botanical name : Zanthoxylum rhetsa (Roxb) DC.
Family: Rutaceae
Subfamily: Toddalioideae
Genus: Zanthoxylum
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Sapindales.

Scientific names :–
Zanthoxylum rhetsa (Roxb.) DC.
Zanthoxylum oxyphyllum F.-Vill.
Zanthoxylum limonella Alston Kayatena (Tag.)
Fagara budrunga Roxb. Kaytana (Tag.)
Fagara rhetsa Roxb. Kayutana (Tag.)
Fagara piperita Blanco

Common names: Kasabang (Ilk.), Kasalang (Sbl.),Kayatena (Tag.),Indian Ivy Rue; Cape Yellowwood

Sanskrit  synonymes:
Lakhuvalkala, Bidalaghni, Asvaghra
Plant name in different languages :
English  : Indian prickly ash-tree
Hindi  : Badrang
Malayalam : Mullilam, Mulliyllam, Karimurikku, Kattumurikku

Habitat :Altitudinal range from sea level to 200 m. Grows in monsoon forest and drier, more seasonal rain forest. Also occurs in Asia and Malesia.
Throughout Western Ghats, growing wild in semi deciduous forests.

Description:
A moderate sized armed tree grows up to 35 meters in height. Leaves compound, imparipinnate and crowded at the end of branches. Leaflets ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, glabrous and scenty. Flowers yellowish green, small, in terminal panicles. Fruits small globose, fragrant berries contain single seed.

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Stem
Corky bumps or squat, conical prickles usually present on the trunk. Dead bark layered, mustard yellow when cut. Blaze finely layered, darkens markedly on exposure.

Leaves
Leaflet blades about 4-9 x 2-3.5 cm, leaflet stalks about 2-3 mm long. Lateral leaflets unequal-sided, particularly towards the base. Oil dots sparsely scattered in the leaflet but always present at the base of each indentation on the margin of the leaflet blade. Midrib depressed on the upper surface. Lateral veins forming definite loops inside the blade margin. Leaf scars on the twigs show three definite bundles of vascular strands.

Flowers
Inflorescence about 8-14 cm long, shorter than the leaves. Sepals about 0.5-1 mm long. Petals 1-2 mm long. Staminal filaments about 2.5-3 mm long, inserted outside the disk, anthers about 1.5 mm long. Disk irregularly lobed, about 0.5 mm high. Ovary about 1 mm long, style eccentric.

Fruit
Fruits globose, about 6-7 mm diam., surface marked by numerous oil glands. Seeds +/- globular, about 6 mm diam.

Seedlings
Cotyledons orbicular to oblong, rather thick, about 5-6 x 5 mm, margins crenate or appearing crenate because of the marginal oil dots. At the tenth leaf stage: leaf compound, with about nine leaflets. Leaflet blades with about 3-6 teeth on each side. Each tooth with a large oil dot at the base of the sinus. Compound leaf rhachis grooved on the upper surface and armed with curved red spines about 1.5 mm long.

Constituents:-
*Fruit with peel yields volatile oil, 5.8 % with 90% terpenene (sabinene).
*Seeds contain 29.7 % volatile oil.

Properities:
*Fruit is considered stimulant, astringent, aromatic, digestive.
*Bark considered aromatic and aphrodisiac.

Medicinal Uses:-
Useful part : Bark, Leaves, Seeds.
Ayurvedic properities:
Rasa    : Tikta, Kashaya
Guna   : Lakhu, Rooksha
Virya   : Ushna

Plant pacifies vitiated vata, kapha, asthma, bronchitis, cardiac ailments, stomatitis, pyorrhea, hemorrhoids, diarrhea, arthritis, boils, ulcers, poison, and traumatic eye injury.

Folkloric:
*Bark, pounded and mixed with oil, used externally as remedy for stomach pains.
*Decoction of bark taken internally for chest pains.
*Bark chewed and applied to snake bites.
*Fruit used for urinary complaints and dyspepsia caused by atrabilis (the melancholic “humor”). Also used in some forms of diarrhea.
*Bark is considered a bitter aromatic and aphrodisiac.
*Fruit, mixed with honey, taken for rheumatism.
*In Goa, root bark used as purgative for kidneys.
*Essential oil used for cholera.
*In India, traditionally used in diabetes and inflammation; as antispasmodic, diuretic and anti-inflammatory. Paste prepared by rubbing the hard spines on rock and water is applied to breasts to relieve pain and increase lactation in nursing mothers.

Studies
• Antiparasitism: Study investigated the efficacy of Z. rhetsa leaf extract against experimental Hymenolepsis diminuta infections in albino rats. The efficacy of the extract was moderate against immature and adult stages of parasite. Results suggest the leaves of ZR possess significant anticestodal property and supports its use in folk medicine.
• Bark Constituents: Study of bark spines yielded dodecanoic acid, 9,12,octadecanoic acid, oleic acid, octadecanoic acid, 2-hydoxyl-1,3-propanediyl ester, and 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, diisooctylester – phytochemicals that showed various properties: antioxidant, antimicrobial, larvicidal, anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic.

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://keys.trin.org.au:8080/key-server/data/0e0f0504-0103-430d-8004-060d07080d04/media/Html/taxon/Zanthoxylum_rhetsa.htm
http://www.stuartxchange.com/Kayetana.html
http://ayurvedicmedicinalplants.com/plants/1192.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zanthoxylum

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Baliospermum montanum

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Botanical Name : Baliospermum montanum (WILLD.) MUELL.-ARG.
Family :        Euphorbiaceae
Common Name : Danti, Dantika, Rachani, Vishodhini, Lowly marketing nut.

Vernacular names in different languages:
Arabic : habbussalatine-sahrai, habbussalatine-barri
Garo : phan-thap
Hindi: danti, hakum, hakun, dante, dantt, jangli jamalghota
Kannada:  danti, kaduharalu, dantika, kaadu haralu, naaga danti, danthi, naagadanthi
Malayalam : danti, dantika, katalavanakku, nagadanti, nakadanti, nervalam, niratimuttu
Marathi : danti, buktumbo
Oriya :  dumajoda
Persian :  bedanjire khatai
Sanskrit:  anukheti, anukula, artagala, bhadra, danti, dantika, erandapatri, erandaphala, gunapriya, jayapala, kakubha, kumbhachitra, kumbhi, kurantaka, madhupushpa, makulaka, makunaka, mukulaka, nagadanti, nagasphota, nepala, nikumba, nikumbha, nikumbhah, nikumbhi, nishalya, nishkumbha, pratyakparni, pratyaksreni, raktadanti, rechani, ruksha, shighra, shwetaghanta, shyenaghanta, sighra, taruni, udumbaraparni, varahangi, vishalya, vishodhini, a, upachitra, upakulya
Tamil : kattamanakku, nirettimuttu, nakatanti, niradimuttu, peyamanakku, cimai amanakku, nir adimuttu, appaiccevakacceti, appaiccevakam, cimaiyamanakku@, ilantanamanakku, irancani1, kanniyucari, kanniyucaricceti, kattamanakku2, kumpam2, maniyamanakku 2, maniyamanakkucceti, nirvetti2, parankiyamanakku 2, tanti3, timpalai, turuvati, nepalam2, niratimuttu2
Telugu : ettadundiga, kanakapata, kondamudamu, nelajidi, kanaka pata, nela jidi, erradundiga, kanakapaata, neelajidi
Tibetan : da nti, da-nti

Habitat : This species in globally distributed in Indo-Malesia. Within India, it is distributed throughout from Kashmir eastwards to Meghalaya, up to an elevation of 1000 m. and southwards into Peninsular India, ascending to an altitude of 1800 m. in the Western Ghats.

Description:A perennial and woody undershrub grows up to 1.5 meters in height. Leaves simple, sinuate-toothed, upper ones small, lower ones are large, flowers are numerous, in axillary recemes with male flowers above and female below. Fruits capsule, 12 mm long, obovoid, seeds ellipsoid and smooth.

You may click to see the pictures

Medicinal Uses:
Plant pacifies vitiated vata, dropsy, constipation, flatulence, jaundice, hemorrhoids, skin diseases, calculi, wounds, splenomeg

The root, leaves, seed and seed oil is used in the form of powder, seed and oil to treat piles, anaemia, jaundice, skin diseases, cyst, as purgative, wound and conjunctivitis.Piles(arasa):Leaves of trivrt(ipomoea turpethum), danti(Baliospermum montanum), cangeri(oxalis corniculata) and citraka(Plumbago indica) fried in oil and ghee (mixed) and added with fatty layer of curd should be given as vegetable (10-15 gms) (CS.Ci.14.122).Skin diseases (Kustha)Danti (Baliospermum montanum), trivrt (ipomoea turpethum)and brahmi (Bacopa monnieri) powder together should be taken with honey and ghee. It is beneficial for skin diseases, diabetes and numbness (10-15 gms) (AH.Ci.19.34)

The seeds of Baliospermum montanum are described as drastic. Like croton seeds they are boiled in milk before use. The root of the plant is considered cathartic. Both are much used in diseases where purgatives are indicated. The following are a few examples of prescriptions containing these medicines.

Naracha rasa.1 Take of mercury, borax and black pepper, one part each, sulphur, ginger and long pepper two parts each, seeds of Baliospermum montanum nine parts; powder the ingredients and make into two-grain pills with water. These are given in constipation and tympanites.

Danti haritaki.2 Take twenty-five large chebulic myrobalans and enclose them in a piece of cloth; then take of the roots of Baliospermum montanum and Ipomosa Turpethum (trivrit), each two hundred tolas, water sixty-four seers, boil them together till the water is reduced to eight seers. Strain the decoction, take out the chebulic myrobalans and fry them in thirty-two tolas of sesa-mum oil. To the strained decoction add two hundred tolas of old treacle; then boil till reduced to the proper consistence for a confection. Now add to the mass the following substances, namely powdered root of Ipomcea Turpethum (trivrit) thirty-two tol?s, long pepper and ginger, each eight tolas, and stir them well; when cool add thirty-two tolas of honey, cinnamon, cardamom, leaves called tejapatra, and the flowers of Mesua ferrea (nagakesara) each eight tolas, and prepare a confection. The chebulic myrobalans should be kept imbedded in the medicine. Two tolas of the confection and one of the chebulic myrobalans are to be taken every morning.

Gud  shtaka.1 Take of danti, triwit and plumbago roots, black pepper, long pepper, ginger and long pepper root, equal parts in fine powder; treacle, equal in weight to all the other ingredients and mix. Dose, about a tola every morning in flatulence and retained secretions, anasarca, jaundice, etc.

You may click to see to learn more:-
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Threat Status Vulnerable / Regional : Used In Ayurveda, Folk, Tibetian, Unani and Sidha

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://envis.frlht.org.in/junclist.php?txtbtname=&gesp=277%7CBaliospermum+montanum+(WILLD.)+MUELL.-ARG.
http://vaniindia.org.whbus12.onlyfordemo.com/herbal/plantdir.asp
http://chestofbooks.com/health/materia-medica-drugs/Hindus-Materia-Medica/Baliospermum-Montanum-Mull-Sans.html
http://dhaarrii.blogspot.com/2009_09_10_archive.html

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Pathar Chur (Coleus Barbatus Mainmul)

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Botanical Name: Coleus barbatus  Mainmul
Family: mint family (Lamiaceae)
Common Name: Coleus, Gundeer, Pakhan bed, Juntiyana, Coleus barbatus Benth
Trade Name :  Pathar chur

Habitat:Growing wild on the Indian plains and the lower Himalayas on sun-exposed arid and semi-arid hill slopes of Uttar Pradesh (India) where it thrives from Simla eastward to Sikkim and Bhutan, the Deccan Plateau, the Eastern Ghats, the Eastern Plateau and the rainshadow regions of the Western Ghats in India. It has also been cultivated as an ornamental plant around the world and its root is used as a spice in Thailand, Myanmar and throughout Southeastern Asia. Makandi is one of 150 Coleus species commonly cultivated, but among a very few of these the roots (and to a lesser extent, the stems) of C. forskohlii are used for therapeutic purposes. In 1973, researchers first isolated the diterpene Forskolin from its roots, making it the only plant source thus far known for the substance.

Description:
It is a perennial, branched, aromatic herb. The entire plant is aromatic (whether fresh or dried). Members of the genus have square stems, branched, and the nodes are often hairy. The pale blue corolla is bilabiate, the lower lobes are elongated and concave, and it grows to a height of 30 cm to 62 cm. The roots are thick, tuberous, fasiculated, up to 20 cm long and 0.5-2.5 cm thick, and are conical, fusiform, straight and strongly aromatic. Leaves appear when the plant becomes pubescent, and are narrowed into petioles. Flowers vary from a very showy bluish to pale lavender. Racemes are perfect, the calyx is fine toothed and deflexed in the front. The plant possesses four parted ovaries. The leaves and tubers have quite different odors, the latter being reminiscent of ginger.
click to see the picture...(01).…...(1)...…(2).…...(3).…(4).…….…………
Cultivation : It grows well in red sandy loam soil. Plants grow well in hot,humid climate and tropical and sub tropical situation under irrigation.

Propagation : Seeds, Roots

Click for:->  More Details

Chemical Constituents : Forskolin

Medicinal Uses: This Herb decreases the blood pressure, cough, heart diseases etc
Coleus barbatus (C. forskohlii) is used medicinally in Africa, Arabia, and Brazil. The root tubers of the plant are prepared and eaten as a condiment in India. Other Indian Coleus spp. are used in traditional Ayurvedic healing. Chemical studies of alcoholic extracts of the tubers of C. barbatus led to isolation of the labdane diterpene forskolin (coleonol), which has become an important research tool in studying the roles of the enzyme adenylate cyclase and cyclic-AMP in cellular physiology. The compound may eventually become a useful drug in treating hypertension, glaucoma, asthma, and certain cancers. This article summarizes the investigations ofC. barbatus.

Click to see:-> MORE USES :

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.springerlink.com/content/r770360k71767484/
http://apmab.ap.nic.in/products.php?&start=10#
http://www.holisticseek.com/articles.php?te_mode=view&te_key=98

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Garcinia Cambogia

Botanical Name: Garcinia cambogia
Family: Clusiaceae
Genus: Garcinia
Species: G. gummi-gutta
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Malpighiales

Botanical Synoms:(in india)r kokum, uppage huli;(in English)Brindel Berry/Uppagi, Malabar tamarind,Brindal Berry, Gorikapuli, HCA, Hydroxycitric acid, Malabar Tamarind.

Common Name : MALABAR TAMARIND, BRINDALL BERRY, CHIKANA RED MANGO, MANGOSTEEN

Part Used :Fruits & Fruit Pulp

Content Synoms: ((-)-HCA).
CAS-No.:6205-14-7
Formula: CaHCA50
Chemical Name:1,2-dihydroxy-1,2,3-Propanetricarboxylic Acid

Habitat :Commonly found in the evergreen and shola forests of Western Ghats in India up to 6,000 ft. high

Description:
It is a moderate sized tree grows in the western ghats of South India and forest of Nilgiris. Leaves dark glossy green, elliptic-obovate, opposite. Flowers orange-reddish. Fruit which is commer­cially important part, globular, brown – dark brown colored with deep ver­tical grooves. Seeds enclosed within the succulent resinous fruit.

.CLICK TO SEE THE PICTURES...(001)....(01).….(1)……..(2)…………..(3)..….(4)

Edible Uses:
Garcinia cambogia is used in cooking, including in the preparation of curries. The fruit rind and extracts of Garcinia species are called for in many traditional recipes, and various species of Garcinia are used similarly in food preparation in Assam (India), Thailand, Malaysia, Burma, and other Southeast Asian countries. In the Indian Ayurvedic medicine, “sour” flavors are said to activate digestion. The extract and rind of G. gummi-gutta is a curry condiment in India. It is an essential souring ingredient in the southern Thai variant of kaeng som, a sour curry.

Garcinia cambogia is used commercially in fish curing, especially in Sri Lanka and South India. The trees can be found in forested areas and also are protected in plantations otherwise given over to pepper, spice, and coffee production.

The dried rind of cambodge is used as a condiment of flavouring curries in Kerala. In Sri Lanka, the fruits are picked under-ripe, the thick pericarp cut into sections. It is used along with salt in the curing of fish.

CLICK TO SEE THE PICTURE

Therapeutic Uses:
Extract made out of Garcinia fruit standardized for (-) Hydroxycitric acid is used in anti-obesity formula­tions world – wide. The extract has very good fat burning properties as it blocks fatty acids as well as cholesterol biosynthesis by reducing the acetyl co-enzyme A.

A decoction of the fruit rind is given in rheumatism and bowel complaints. It is also used as a rinse for some veterinary diseases.

Click to learn ->More Function of Garcina Cambogia

Click to also see ->kokum, and Kokum to the rescue

Other Uses:  It is rich in acids and possess marked antiseptic properties. The dried rind is also used for polishing gold and silver and as a substitute for acetic and formic acids in the coagulation of latex. An yellow translucent resin from the tree is soluble in turpentine and gives an yellow varnish.

Known Hazards: Orally, 500 mg of hydroxycitric acid four times daily can cause nausea, gastrointestinal discomfort, and headaches.

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.kumaonchemicalproducts.com/garcinia-cambogia.htm
http://www.motherherbs.com/garcinia-cambogia.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garcinia_gummi-gutta

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Kokum to the rescue

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A molecule in the popular spice can help prevent the spread of the AIDS virus in the human body.
The fight against the deadly human immuno deficiency virus (HIV) is all set to get a desi flavour. Indian researchers have isolated a compound from kokum  a berry widely used as a flavouring agent in Goan cuisine ” that has a remarkable anti-HIV potential. But the compound may have to cross several hurdles before it becomes a potent weapon in the war against AIDS, an epidemic that has already killed millions and may kill several millions more in the near future.

Tapas Kundu and his team at Bangalores Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) knew for at least three years that the rind of kokum (Garcinia indica, a plant indigenous to the Western Ghats) contains a wonder molecule called garcinol. Kokum is also used as a substitute for tamarind in Konkani cuisine and select dishes in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Kerala. In addition to garnishing curries and soups, it is used for its astringent, cardio-tonic, anti-allergic and digestive properties. Kokum seeds yield a unique fat that is used in making ointments, suppositories, lipsticks and chocolates.

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In 2004, Kundu’s team showed for the first time that garcinol has a unique property of impeding a human enzyme that, incidentally, is marshalled by the HIV virus for its own proliferation in the human body. So if one has a compound that inhibits this protein, called p300, one can substantially curb the multiplication of the dreaded virus to such an extent that the human immune cells can take over from there. Garcinol does possess this capability, but there is one problem: it is toxic to normal human cells which in its presence die in a few hours.

It is here that Kundu’s grounding in biochemistry was of help. Kundu, who has a doctorate in biochemistry from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, chemically tweaked garcinol to create what is known as isogarcinol. Further chemical modification yielded 50 different compounds and one of these   LTK-14   was found to spare human cells but block p300.

“What is remarkable about their work is that they modified this natural molecule in such a way that it has become cell friendly,  says Udaykumar Ranga, a molecular virologist at JNCASR who specialises in HIV. Besides, LTK-14   unlike its parent compound — has the ability to cross the cell membrane with ease, he observes.

According to Kundu, the newly derived molecule was found to reduce the viral load by up to 80 per cent in the infected cells. The work was recently reported in Chemistry & Biology.  We have found that the compound inhibits all p300-mediated gene expressions,  Kundu, who has a basic degree in agriculture from Bidhan Chandra Agricultural University in Nadia, told Know How.

However, Ranga  also a co-author of the paper   thinks it’s too early to be upbeat. The molecule’s action is radically different from that of existing drugs. While anti-viral medicines target the virus itself, this one is trying to destroy a molecule in human cells whose mechanism the virus hijacks to proliferate.  It’s quite like bombing a neighbourhood where enemies are holing up. The bomb has to be dropped in such a way that it kills the maximum number of enemies with bare minimum damage to others,” Ranga explains.

A histone acetyltransferase protein, p300 has several functions in cells. A molecular switch that turns on or off a number of genes inside the cell, it’s pivotal for several key functions such as cell growth, differentiation and its eventual death. “Living cells are remarkable. Our studies have shown that when p300 is absent, others within the cells take over and carry out these tasks,” Kundu observes. On the other hand, the prominent HIV protein — known as TAT — that ensures the virus’ multiplication in the human cells can do so only if p300 is available.

Developing drugs against viruses as wily as HIV is tricky. “They are like volcanoes,” says Ranga. “While some erupt and explode, others lay latent and wait for an opportune time. No weapon in our arsenal today is capable of tackling a dormant virus.

Source: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

 

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