Eleusine coracana Health Dictionary

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Eleusine Coracana: From 1 Different Sources

Gaertn.

Family: Gramineae; Poaceae.

Habitat: A grain crop of Karnataka; also grown on large scale in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

English: Finger Millet, African millet, Ragi.

Ayurvedic: Madhuuli, Markata- hasta-trna.

Siddha/Tamil: Ragi, Kezhvaregu.

Action: Seeds—cooling, astringent. Nutritive value of ragi is higher than that of rice and equal to that of wheat. White ragi is superior to the pigmented type. A nourishing food for infants, growing children, expectant mothers and aged people. Ragi is considered an ideal food for diabetics because of slow release of sugars to the body. A decoction of leaves and stems is drunk to ease vaginal bleeding.

The protein content of ragi is 813%, with P 250, Fe 7.6, thiamine 0.18— and riboflavin 0.1 mg/100 g. Ragi has high glycemic index value. It reduced plasma cholesterol, total serum cholesterol and LDL cholesterol by 9% each, and triglycerides by 15%, and increased HDL cholesterol, thus exhibited a sig- nificantbeneficial effect on plasma profile. The lipemic index for ragi is 55, taking isocaloric wheat-supplemented background diet (control) at 100.
Health Source: Indian Medicinal Plants
Author: Health Dictionary

Eleusine Indica

Gaertin.

Family: Gramineae, Poaceae.

Habitat: Australia, North America; throughout the warmer parts of the world. In India, in wet plains and low hills and pasture grounds.

English: Crowfoot Grass, Crab Grass.

Ayurvedic: Nandimukha (var.).

Folk: Nandiaa (Orissa), Mahaar Naachni (Maharashtra), Thippa Ragi (Tamil Nadu).

Action: Used for biliary disorders. In Vietnamese traditional medicine, a decoction of the whole plant is used as stomachic, diuretic, febrifuge, and in sprains.

Aerial parts contain vitexin, 3-O- beta-D-glucopyranosyl-beta-sitosterol and its 6'-O-palmitoyl derivatives. of intoxication. Used for abdominal pains, nausea, bleeding nose. Fresh plants from Uttaranchal gave 0.4% essential oil having dehydroelsholtzia ketone 88.7% as the main constituent, followed by humulene 2.4% and caryophyllene 0.9% (the oil composition of the species which grow in Japan and Kashmir is different.)

Plant contains linarin, apigenin and 7-O-glucosides of apigenin and lute- olin.

The Japanese species, used for hangovers, gave compounds including tri- terpenoids, steroids and flavonoids.

Elsholtzia blenda Benth., synonym Perilla elata D. Don, is also equated with Ban-Tulasi. Major constituent of the essential oil is geranyl acetate. Other constituents are p-cymene, sa- binene, borneol, geraniol, linalyl acetate, fernesol, limonene, linalool, cit- ronellol, thymol and nerolidol.... eleusine indica

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