Medicinal Plants Archive

Cassia fistula Linn

Family Name:

Caesalpinaceae

Local Name/English Name:

Flowering Period:

Status:

Part Used:

Habit/Habitat:

Distribution:

Description:

Kinjal/Golden shower tree

March-June

Uncommon

Whole plant (pods and seed) A medium-sized tree grown on dry and sunny land. Pakistan: Hazara, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Margalla Hills, and Haripur. World: Throughout the greater part of India, Burma, and Ceylon. A medium-sized evergreen tree up to 15 m tall. Stem erect, branched woody, with dark gray bark. Leaves compound, alternate. Flowers numerous, bright yellow in clusters. Fruit legume, cylindrical pod with 10-15 flat dark brown seeds (Fig. 3.34)._

Fig. 3.35 Cedrela toona Roxb. ex Willd

Family Name: Meliaceae

Distribution: Pakistan: Hazara, Swat, Buner, Kaghan, Murree,

Poonch, Jhelum, and Margalla Hills. World: Burma, Java, Australia, and India.

Description: A tall tree up to 15 m in height. Stem erect, branched, and woody with dark brown bark. Leaves compound, 3-5 pairs, and entirely green, opposite, subsessile. Flowers creamy white, small, in clusters. Fruit capsule, single-seeded, and yellow (Fig. 3.35).

Medicinal Uses:

Collection: 5 kg of fresh leaves and 1-2 kg of bark are collected by men 20-40 years old. Leaves are collected in summer (April-August) and bark is peeled off in winter (November-March) with an ax. Leaves are dried in shade for 4-5 days and bark in sunlight for 2-3 days. Both bark and leaves are stored in cotton sacks for further use.

Family Name: Meliaceae

Recipes: (a) 250 g of dried leaves is ground for 10-15 min, and then 1-2 tsp (10-15 g) of common salt is mixed in. This powder is stored in a glass or plastic bottle and given to patients suffering from fever, diabetes, and skin diseases (allergy and pimples) and to purify the blood. For children, 1 tsp (4-6 g) of powdered drug (at one time) is given with 1 cup (250 mL) of water once daily, in the morning, for 10-15 days. For adults, 2-3 tsp (12-15 g) of powdered drug (at one time) is given with 1 cup (250 mL) of water once daily, in the morning, for 15-20 days. (b) 125 g of dried bark is ground for 10-15 min. The powdered drug is stored in a glass or plastic bottle and given to patients suffering from dysentery or ulcers and to heal wounds. For children, 1 tsp (4-6 g) of drug (at one time) is given with 1 cup (250 mL) of water twice daily (morning-evening) for 3-4 days. For adults, 2-3 tsp (12-15 g) of powdered drug (at one time) is given with 1 cup (250 mL) of water twice daily (morning-evening) for 6-7 days.

Disease Cured: Fever, diabetes, dysentery, blood diseases, skin diseases

(allergy and pimples), ulcers, and wound healing.

Ethnobotanical Uses: Leaves are used as fodder by goats and sheep. Wood is used for making furniture, in construction, and as fuelwood.

Phytochemicals: Resin, gum, nyctanthin, flavones, glycosides, tannic acid, resin, citric acid, starch, ash; and essential oil consists of tricyclic acid, sesquiterpene, copaene, cadinene, cadinol, lactone, and cedrelone [37] .

Diabetes 2

Diabetes is a disease that affects the way your body uses food. Normally, your body converts sugars, starches and other foods into a form of sugar called glucose. Your body uses glucose for fuel. The cells receive the glucose through the bloodstream. They then use insulin a hormone made by the pancreas to absorb the glucose, convert it into energy, and either use it or store it for later use. Learn more...

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