Schweinfurthia sphaerocarpa Health Dictionary

A. Br.

Synonym: S. papilionacea (Burm. f.) Boiss.

Family: Scrophulariaceae.

Habitat: The arid regions of Gujarat and in Rajasthan.

Ayurvedic: Nepaal-Nimba.

Folk: Saannipaat (Maharashtra).

Action: Broken pieces of dried fruits, stems and leaves—used in enteric fever. Leaf—antidiabetic. Fruit, leaf, stem—diuretic.

An alkaloid, schweinfurthin, a hydrocarbon and an unsaturated ketone were reported from the leaves. Recently, two macrocylic alkaloids, 11- epi-ephedradine and schweinine, have been isolated from the whole plant, along with (-)-ephedradine A. Experimentally, 11-epi-ephedradine A was mutagenic to Salmonella typhimurium.