Posts Tagged ‘Axil’

Abutilon indicum (L.) Sweet

English names:

Country mallow, Indian mallow, Indian abutilon.

Description:

Perennial shrub, hoary-stellate tomentose, 1-1.5m. high. Leaves alternate, cordate, toothed, long-petioled. Flowers yellow, solitary in the axil of the leaves; pedicel long, jointed near the top. Carpels numerous, hairy, dark brown. Seeds reniform, glabrous, dull black.

Flowering period:

February – April.

Distribution:

Wild and cultivated species.

Parts used:

The whole plant is collected in summer and autumn and used fresh or dried.

Chemical composition:

The whole plant contains mucilaginous substances and asparagine. The seeds yield raffinose and a semi-drying oil consisting of linoleic, oleic, palmitic and stearic acids.

Therapeutic uses:

The roots and leaves are employed in the treatment of coryza, hyperthermia, headache, dysuria and metrorrhoea, in a daily dose of 4 to 8g of dried plant material in the form of a decoction. The juice of pounded fresh leaves and seeds internally applied is active on furunculosis, dysentery and snake-bite; the residue is used for poultices. The dose of seeds is 8 to 12g per day. A combination with some other plants is prescribed for jaundice and certain post-partum diseases.

Source:Medicinal plants in Viet Nam (Institute of Materia Medica – HANOI – WHO/WPRO, 1990, 444 p.)

Catharanthus roseus

English names:

Madagascar periwinkle, red periwinkle, pink periwinkle, rosy-flowered Indian periwinkle, Cape periwinkle, old maid.

Description:

Graceful perennial herb, 30-80 cm. high. Stems pinkish-red, much-branched. Leaves opposite, obovate, glabrous on both sides, dark shining above. Flowers pink or white in the axil of the leaves. Follicle cylindrical, narrow, slightly arched-recurved in pairs; seeds numerous, tiny, blackish-brown.

Flowering period:

May – October.

Distribution:

Common wild plant in coastal areas and is cultivated as an ornamental plant.

Parts used:

Leaves, harvested before flowering. They are used fresh or sun-dried.

Chemical composition:

The leaves contain alkaloids: serpentine, ajmaline, ajmalicine, catharanthine, catharanthinole, vindoline, vindolinine, vincaleucoblastine, leurosidine, vincristine.

Therapeutic uses:

The leaves are useful in treating oliguria, haematuria, diabetes mellitus and menstrual disorders, in a daily dose of 4 to 8g as a decoction or liquid extract. The roots and the leaves in the form of a decoction or extract are active on hypertension. The purified alkaloids extracted from the leaves are effective in treating leukaemia, and those from the roots are used to induce cerebrovascular dilatation and for hypertension.

Source: Medicinal plants in Viet Nam (Institute of Materia Medica – HANOI – WHO/WPRO, 1990, 444 p.)

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