Habitat: Native to tropical Asia; grown in Assam, Bengal, Punjab, Vadodara, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
English: Agati Sesban, Swamp Pea.Ayurvedic: Agastya, Agasti, Munidrum, Munitaru, Muni, Vangasena, Vakrapushpa, Kumbha.Siddha/Tamil: Agatti.Action: Plant—astringent, antihistamine, febrifuge. Used for intermittent fevers, catarrh, cough, consumption, glandular enlargement.
The aqueous extract of flowers has been found to produce haemolysis of human and sheet erythrocytes even at low concentration due to methyl ester of oleanolic acid. Flowers also gave nonacosan-6-one and kaempferol-3- rutinoside.The seed gave kaempferol-3,7-diglu- coside, (+)-leucocyanidin and cyani- din-3-glucoside. Seed also contains galactomannan.A saponin present in the leaves on hydrolysis gave an acid sapogenin oleanoic acid, galactose, rhamnose and glucuronic acid. Besides saponin, the leaves contain an aliphatic alcohol, grandiflorol.The bark contains gum and tannin. The red gum is used as a substitute for Gum arabic. An infusion of the bark is given in first stages of smallpox and other eruptive fevers (emetic in large doses).Dosage: Whole plant—10- 20 ml juice; 50-100 ml decoction. (CCRAS.)