Ziziphus jujuba Health Dictionary

(Lam.) Gaertn. non-Mill.

Synonym: Z. mauritiana Lam. Rhamnus jujuba L.

Family: Rhamnaceae.

Habitat: Throughout India and in the outer Himalayas up to 1,350 m.

English: Indian Jujube, Common Jujube.

Ayurvedic: Badar, Kola.

Unani: Ber.

Siddha: Handai.

Action: Fruits—wild var.: astringent, anodyne, cooling, stomachic, styptic. Ripe and dry cultivated var.: mild laxative, expectorant. Seeds—antidiarrhoeal. Kernels— antispasmodic, sedative, antiemetic. Leaves—astringent and diaphoretic. Stem bark—astringent, used in diarrhoea. Root bark—juice purgative, externally applied to rheumatic inflammations and gout. Leaves and twigs—paste applied to abscesses, boils and carbuncles and in strangury.

Leaves gave protopine and berberine; exhibited anticholinergic activity. Fruits gave cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP, Sisyphus saponins I, II and III; jujubo- side B and p-coumaroylates of alphi- tolic acid. Seeds gave saponins—juju- bosides A and B; the saponin yields the sapogenin—jujubogenin.

A variety grown in Haryana (Naazu- ka) contains sugars 10.5% and ascorbic acid 205 mg/100 g.

Dosage: Dried fruit pulp, devoid of seed—3-6 g; stem bark—3- 5 g powder, 10-20 g for decoction. (API, Vol. III.)

Mill.

Synonym: Z. sativa Gaertn. Z. vulgaris Lam.

Family: Rhamnaceae.

Habitat: Native to North China. Also found in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, up to 1,950 m, eastwards to West Bengal.

English: Chinese Tsao.

Unani: Unnaab.

Action: Fruit—a nourishing, tonic, emollient, antitussive, antiallergic; protects liver and prevents stress ulcer formation. Seed—used for dry cough and skin eruptions. Kernel—used in insomnia. Bark—used for ulcers and wounds.

The leaves contain the flavonoids, 3-O-glucosides, rutinosides and diglu- cosides of quercetin, rhamnetin and eriodictyol, also C-glucosides. The bark yields cyclopeptide alkaloids— sativanines A, B, C-G; also alkaloids— frangulanine, nummularine B and mu- cronine D. The berries gave saponins of dammaran type, known as Sisyphus saponins; jujubosides, zizybeo- sides and zizyvyosides, together with pentacyclic triterpenoids. Flavonoids include naringenin glycosides, vomi- foloil and roseoside. (Also see WHO monograph.)

Antiallergic activity is due to high levels of both cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP in the fruit extract. Sedative activity and in vitroantitumour activity has been shown experimentally. Seed extract produces a transient fall in blood pressrue and a prolongation of thiobarbital-induced sleeping time in animals.