Gossypium arboreum Health Dictionary

DC.

Synonym: C. religiosumc(Linn.) Alston.

Family: Cochlospermaceae.

Habitat: Andhra Pradesh, Karnata- ka, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar; cultivated at Agartala in Tripura.

English: Golden Silk tree, White Silk Cotton tree.

Unani: Samagh, Kateeraa (substitute for gum tragacanth).

Siddha/Tamil: Kongilam (flower juice), Tanaku.

Action: Gum—cooling, sedative, bechic, useful in coughs, hoarse throat, diarrhoea, dysentery, scalding urine. Dried leaves and flowers—stimulant.

The leaves contain terpenoids, saponins and tannins. Flowers contain naringenin and beta-sitosteryl-gluco- side (0.3%). The gum, after hydrolysis, furnished a mixture of acidic oligosac- charides.... cochlospermum gossypium

Linn.

Family: Malvaceae.

Habitat: Cultivated mainly in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

English: Asiatic Cotton, Levant Cotton, Uppam Cotton.

Ayurvedic: Kaarpaasa, Kaarpaasi, Kaarpaasaka, Rakta-Kaarpaasa, Shona-Kaarpaasa, Samudraantaa, Tuula, Pichu, Bhaaradwaaji, Tundikeri.

Unani: Pambahdaanaa. (Seed.)

Siddha/Tamil: Paruttikkootam

Action: Root bark—diuretic, oxytocic. Bark—emmenagogue, haemostatic. Seed—demulcent, laxative, expectorant, abortifacient, galactagogue, nervine, anticepha- lalgic.

The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia ofIn- dia recommends the seed oil for toning up the breast.

The seed contains 21.3-25.2% protein, free gossypol 0.82-1.96%.

Dosage: Seeds, devoid of lint—3- 6 g powder. (API Vol. I.)... gossypium herbaceum

Sm.

Synonym: R. puniceum Roxb.

Family: Ericaceae.

Habitat: The temperate Himalayas from Kashmir to Bhutan, the Nilgiris, Khasi Hills and Travancore.

English: Tree-Rhododendron, Rose-Tree.

Folk: Burans (Kumaon), Kurbak, Pullaas.

Action: Leaf—anticephalalgic (applied to the forehead). Leaf and stem-bark—spasmolytic. Flowers— used in diarrhoea and dysentery.

The green leaves contain a gluco- side, ericolin. The extracts of leaves, stems and bark cause hypotension in cats and inhibit intestinal movements in rabbits. The acetone and chloroform extracts and a resinous fraction from the alcoholic extract of leaves depress respiration. The petroleum ether extract decreases the rate of heartbeat and contraction in isolated heart of frog.

An alcoholic (50%) extract of the flowers lowered blood pressure in dogs and albino rats.

Cyanidin-3-galactoside and cyani- din-3-arbinoside are present in the pigments of flowers. The leaves of var. nilgiricum and var. cinnamonum contain ursolic acid, friedelin, epifrie- delanol, quercetin. A triterpenoid, campanulin, has been isolated from the leaves of var. nilagaricum.... rhododendron arboreum