Linn.Synonym: H. rhombea Sieb. & Zucc.Family: Araliaceae.
Habitat: Hills of Tamil Nadu. Grown in gardens as an ornamental.
English: Common Ivy, Bentwood.Siddha/Tamil: Maravalai.Action: Leaf—expectorant, anti- spasmodic, antineuralgic, vasocon- strictive.
Fruit—used in jaundice, haempt- ysis. Flower—antidysenteric. Leaf and resin—emmenagogue. Tender twigs—boiled in butter, used for sunburn. Extracts are used in some cosmetic preparations.Key application: In catarrh of the upper respiratory passages, symptomatic treatment of chronic inflammatory bronchial conditions. (German Commission E.)The stem and bark gave triterpene glycosides, named kizuta saponins. Oleanolic acid glycoside was also obtained from the plant but the presence of emetine could not be confirmed in subsequent work. The fruits gave hederagenin glycosides.Emetin has been isolated from European and British plant. The fruit and hederagenin glycosides exhibit mollus- cacidal activity. Emetine-containing plant is amoebicidal.
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