a substance with a strong aroma or smell.
Habitat: North Bengal and Assam.
English: Bengal Cardamom, Cardamom.Ayurvedic: Sthula-elaa (var.)Siddha/Tamil: Perelam.Folk: Morang-elaaichi.Action: Similar to that of A. subula- tum.
The seeds yield on essential oil (1.01.2%) containing cineole as the principal constituent.Chinese practitioners avoid the use of cardamom in conditions marked by symptoms of excessive heat.... amomum aromaticumHabitat: Cultivated chiefly in West Bengal and Kerala.
English: Wild turmeric, Yellow Zedoary.Ayurvedic: Karpuraa, Aranya-rajani kanda, Van Haridraa.Unani: Daarchob.Siddha/Tamil: Kastoori Manjal.Action: Uses similar to those of C. longa. Essential oil from rhizomes— antimicrobial, antifungal and anthelmintic. The tubers are applied externally to bruises and sprains, to skin eruptions and infections. A decoction is administered in biliary gastritis.
Fresh rhizomes contain a number of sesquiterpenes including curdione and cerumol. Curcumol and curdione showed inhibitory activity on sarcoma 180 in mice.The rhizomes yield 6.1% of an essential oil with d-camphene 0.8, d- camphor 2.5, sesquiterpenes 65.5, ses- quiterpene alcohols 22.0, acids 0.7%. The essential oil shows high amounts of ar-curcumene (18.6%), beta-cur- cumene (25.5%) and xanthorrhizol (25.7%).The oil, on intraperitoneal administration, partly reversed toxipathic hepatitis in mice induced by CCl4.Dosage: Rhizome—1-3 g powder. (CCRAS.)... curcuma aromaticaHabitat: South Bihar, Orissa, Assam, Western parts of South India, up to 600 m, also in back waters.
Folk: Aamragandha Karpuur (non-classical); Karpuur (Bengal); Ambuli (Maharashtra); Manganari (Kerala). Kuttra.Action: Plant—galactagogue, aperient, antiseptic. Juice given in fever and to nursing mothers when milk is sour. Oil—antiseptic.
The plant gave an essential oil (0.1%), containing d-limolene and d-perillal- dehyde as principal constituents. The essential oil showed significant antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus oryzae.The plant, made into a liniment with coconut oil, is used in elephantiasis.L. conferia Benth., known as Munga- nari in Kerala, contains flavonoids showing anti-inflammatory activity, quercetin showed significant activity only at a dose of 150 mg/kg, while wogonin, nevadensin and quercetin- pentamethyl ether at 75 mg/kg. The essential oil from the plant exhibited antifungal activity against ringworm fungi.... limnophila aromaticaHabitat: Cultivated in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
English: Clove.Ayurvedic: Lavanga, Devakusum, Devapushpa, Shrisangya, Shripra- suunaka.Unani: Qaranful, Laung.Siddha/Tamil: Kiraambu, Lavangam.Action: Carminative, antiinflammatory, antibacterial. Flower buds—antiemetic, stimulant, carminative. Used in dyspepsia, gastric irritation. Oil—employed as a local analgesic for hypersensitive dent- lines and carious cavaties; internally as a carminative and antispasmodic.
Key application: In inflammatory changes of oral and pharyngeal mucosa; in dentistry; for topical anesthesia. (German Commission E.)Eugenin, triterpene acids, crategolic acid and steroid glucosides afford anti- inflammatory and antiseptic proper ties to the buds. Eugenol, a major component of the oil, is antibacterial. Acetone extract of clove, eugenol and acetyleugenol possess cholagogue activity. The eugenol and acetyleugenol components of the clove oil inhibit arachidonate-, adrenalin- and collagen- induced platelet aggregation.Clove terpenes show significant activity as inducers of detoxifying enzyme, glutathione-S-transferase (GST) in mouse liver and intestine and bring about carcinogen detoxification.Whole cloves might have chemopro- tective activity against liver and bone marrow toxicity. (The Review of Natural Products by Facts and Comparisons, 1999.)Dosage: Dried flower-bud—0.5-2.0 g powder. (API, Vol. I.)... syzygium aromaticum
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