Schott.Family: Araceae.
Habitat: Tropical Himalayas, Bengal, southwards to Andhra Pradesh and the Andamans.
Ayurvedic: Gajakrishna, Hastipip- pali, Gajapippali (also equated with Piper chaba).Siddha/Tamil: Anaitippili.Action: Fruits—stimulant, carminative, diaphoretic, anthelmintic, antidiarrhoeal. Decoction is used as an expectorant in asthma. Fruits and shoots—hypoglycaemic. Fruit pulp—applied externally in rheumatism.
The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India recommends dried pieces of mature female spadix in dyspnoea. (Gajapip- pali is wrongly equated with male or female inflorescence of Borassus flabel- lifer Linn.)The fruits contain two glycosidic substances—scindapsin A and B, which on hydrolysis yield the aglu- cons, scindapsinidine A and B. Free sugars, rhamnose, fructose, glucose and xylose together with some di-and trisaccharides have been identified in the plant.Dosage: Dried pieces of mature female spadix—2-3 g for infusion. (API, Vol. II.)
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