Gaertn.Family: Sapindaceae.
Habitat: Native to China and Japan; distributed in the Himalayas from Himachal Pradesh eastwards and in Assam.
English: Chinese Soap Berry, Soap Nut tree of North India.Ayurvedic: Arishtaka, Phenila.Folk: Reethaa.Action: Fruits—emetic and expectorant; used in excessive salivation, chlorosis and epilepsy. The plant yielded triterpenoid glycosides, sapindosides, derived from hederagenin. Saponins exhibit hypotensive, anticholesterolemic, spermicidal and antimicrobial properties.
Saponin A and C sapindoside A and B, extracted from the fruit rind, showed antifungal activity. Hederagenin, isolated from the fruit rind or pericarp, is used in skin-lightening and anti- inflammatory cosmetics.Other constituents from the plant are flavonoids—quercetin, kaempferol, apigenin and rutin.
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