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IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Botanical Name Clitoria ternatea Linn.
Family Fabaceae
Sanskrit Name(s) Aparajita
Girikarnu
Asphota
Vishnukranta
English Name(s) Butterfly Pea
Mazerion
Winged Leaved Clitoria
Local Name(s) Aparajita (Hin)
Aparajita (Beng)
Gorani (Guj)
Gokarna (Mar)
Buzrula (Arabic)
plant image
 
Habitat
Indian flood plains and plateaus & cultivated in hedges.
 
Phytography
Perenial climbers with slender, terete, downy stems. Leaves inparipinnate, leaflets 5-7, subcoriaceous. Elliptic-oblong, obtuse. Flowers blue, white or very rarely, pale green, solitary. Pods 5-10 cm long, flattened, nearly straight, sharply beaked, Seeds 6-10, yellowish brown, smooth.
 
Phenology
Planting season Mid-Monsoon
Flowering & Fruiting Constant, after maturity
 
Parts Used
Root, Leaf, Seed.
 
Ayurvedic Properties
Rasa Kashaya, Tikta, Katu
Guna Laghu, Ruksha
Vipaka Katu
Veerya Sheeta
 
Actions & Uses
The roots are bitter, refrigerant, ophthalmic, laxative, intellect promoting, alexeteric, diuretic, strong cathartic, anthelmintic, depurative, aphrodisiac, and tonic, useful in ophthalmology, tubercular glands, amentia, hemicriana, strangury, helminthiasis, leprosy, leucoderma, bronchitis, asthma and fever, also used in poultices for swollen joints. The leaves are useful in otalgia, hepatopathy and eruptions. Seeds are cathartic, and useful in visceralgia. Powdered seeds mixed with ginger are powerful laxative.
 
Chemical Constituents
Roots contain Taraxerol and taraxerone while seeds contain cinnamaic acid and an anthoxanthin glucose. Palmitic, Stearic, Oleic, Linoleic and Linolenic acids are said to be found from the seed oil. Leaves contain glycosides of kaempferol. Flowers furnished with a blue anthocyanin and flavonols. A lactone, aparajitin and clitorin can also be found on the leaves.