BASSIA LATIFOLIA.

Sunday, 02 July 2006

Ayuervedic herbs for Skin Diseases and to the Head in Cephalalgia Sans.----Madhookah. Eng.----The Indian Butter tree; Mahwah tree. Hind.----Jangli Mohwa. Gun.----Mahuda, Mah.----Mowda. Tel.----Ippachettu, Madhookama. Tam. & Mal.----Madhookam Illupai. Can.----Ippe-mara. Ben.----Maua. Pers.----Ippicha; Mohecha. Habitat.----Bombay Presidency, Bengal and South Indian forests and Ceylon. Parts Used.----The flowers, oil of the seeds, leaves and bark. Constituents.----Flowers contain sugar, cellulose, al-buminous substances, ash, water etc. The seeds contain oil, fat, tannin, extractive matter, bitter principle pro-bably saponin. albumen, gum, starcb, mucilage and ash. The ash contains silicic, phosphoric and sulphuric acids, lime and iron, potash and traces of soda. The juice contains caoutchouc, tannin, starch, calcium oxalate, gum, resins, formic and acetic acids and ash. The oil is a mix-ture of 80 p.c., of stearin (separated crystals of stearic acid) and 20 p. c. of olein. Action.----The fresh juice is alterative and the spirit distilled from the flowers is a powerfully diffusible sti-mulant and an astringent tonic and appetiser. The flowers are at once cooling, demulcent, tonic, nutritive and stimulant. The liquor obtained from the flowers by dis-tillation contains a large amount of empyreumatic oil which is apt to cause gastric irritation in large doses. Preparations.----Decoction of the flowers and concrete oil of the seeds. Uses.----The fruit is eaten. The fruit or the seed or the kernels yield a thick concrete oil which is useful for application in skin diseases and to the head in cephalalgia. The leaves boiled in water form a good stimulant embro-cation. The bark in decoction is a remedy for rheumatic affections; rubbed on the body it cures itch. The residue cake after the extraction of oil is used as an emetic; the smoke produced in burning the cake is reputed to kill insects and rats. Decoction of the flowers is useful in coughs. The flowers mixed with milk are useful in impo-tence due to general debility; one ounce with eight ounces of fresh milk is the dose. The dried flowers are used as a fomentation in orchitis for their sedative effect.

Last Updated ( Sunday, 02 July 2006 )

 

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