|
Botanical Name |
Calotropis
gigantea (Linn.) Ait f. |
|
Family |
Asclepiadaceae |
|
Sanskrit Name(s) |
Alarka
Shwetarka
Ganarupa
Mandara
Vasuka
Pratapasa
|
|
English Name(s) |
Gigantic Swallow Wart |
|
Local Name(s) |
Madar (Hin)
Akanda (Beng)
Akro (Guj)
Akand (Mar)
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| Habitat |
| All over India, upto an alevation of 900 mtrs.
including the island chains of Andaman & Nicobar.
Singapore, Malayasia and Southern China. |
|
| |
| Phytography |
| Erect much branched shrub, 1-5 mtrs tall. Leaves
are fleshy, cuneate-obovate or obovate-oblong,
with a narrow cordate or often amplexicaul base,
smooth above and velvety below. Flowers pale pink,
lilac or purple, very rarely light green or white
in simple or complex cymore-corymbs. Follicles
1 or 2, fleshy, recurved, 7-10 cm long. Seeds
are brown, broadly ovate, flattened, with a tuft
of silky white hairs at the pointed end. |
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| Phenology |
| Planting season
|
Just before monsoons |
| Flowering &
Fruiting |
Winter |
|
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| Parts Used |
| stem bark, root bark, flower, latex |
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| Ayurvedic Properties |
| Rasa |
Katu, Tikta, Madhura |
| Guna |
Laghu, Ruksha, Teekshna |
| Vipaka |
Katu |
| Veerya |
Ushna |
|
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| Actions & Uses |
| Flowers are digestive, stomachic and tonic.
Juice is caustic, purges phlegm and depilatory.
Root bark & juice is emetic, diaphoretic,
alterative and purgative. Used for leprosy, syphilis,
fever and externally applied for painful joints
and swellings, various types of skin diseases,
ringworm, piles and insect bites. |
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| Chemical Constituents |
| Various parts of the plant yield Akundarin,
Calotropin, Uscharin, Calotoxin, Calactin, Gigantin,
Calcium Oxalate, a proteoclastic enzyme similar
to Papain, Crystalline Alcohols, LCFA, terpenes,
esters and other alcohols |
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