Linn.
Family: Compositae; Asteraceae.
Habitat: Punjab, Upper Gangetic Plain, Assam, Western Ghats and Western Himalayas.
English: Canadian Fleabane.Ayurvedic: Jaraayupriya, Makshikaa-visha, Palit (non- classical).Action: Astringent, haemostatic, antirheumatic, diuretic. Used for diarrhoea, kidney disorders, bronchitis and for bleeding piles, wounds, bruises. Essential oil— used in bronchial catarrh and cystitis.
The extracts of the plant gave ses- quiterpenes, beta-santalen, beta-hima- chalene, cuparene, alpha-curcumene, gamma-cadinene.The petroleum ether and ethanolic extracts of aerial parts exhibit significant anti-inflammatory activity.Aqueous extract of powdered plant produces fall in blood pressure, depresses the heart and increases respiration in animals.The essential oil, obtained from aerial parts in Japan, is found to contain 47 volatile compounds of which 91.0% are terpenoids. The leaves contain cumu- lene derivatives.For preparing plant extract as a drug, the volatile oil is removed from a hot aqueous extract and the residue is filtered and concentrated to 24% or 60% of dry matter content. The 6% dry matter extract contains flavones 0.83, tannins 0.52, reducing sugars 6.37 and total sugars 12.6%. The extract is anti- inflammatory, analgesic, bactericidal and fungicidal.
Health Encyclopedia