Habitat: The Himalayas, from the Sutlej valley westwards and in Kashmir at altitudes of 9002,600 m.
English: Holly or Holm Oak.Ayurvedic: Maayaaphala (var.) (galls).Action: Leaves—antioxidant. Galls—contain 41% tannin. The bark contains 7-13%; leaves 2.1% tannin and 1.8% non-tannin.
The leaves contain alpha-tocopherol as main antioxidant. The mature leaves contain proanthocyanidins 3.3, and leucoanthocyanidins 3.4 mg/g (on dry matter basis).Habitat: Native to Europe; grown occasionally in gardens at hill stations.
English: English Holly, Common Holly.Action: Leaves—diaphoretic, febrifuge. Used in catarrh, pleurisy, intermittent fever, smallpox and rheumatism. Also in jaundice. Berries—violently emetic and purgative; employed in dropsy. Powdered berries are used as astringent to check bleeding.
(Berries possess totally different qualities as compared to leaves.)The plant contains ilicin (a bitter principle), ilexanthin, theobromine (only in the leaf) and caffeic acid. Alkaloid theobromine is used for asthma. In Greece, boiled leaves are used for treating enlarged prostate.An extract of the plant caused a fatal drop in blood pressure in rats.The ethanolic extract of the fruits yields cyanogenic glucosides.... ilex aquifoliumHabitat: Native to South America; cultivated in some Indian gardens. In northern India, grows in Lucknow.
English: Mate Tea, Yerba Mate. Paraguay Tea.Action: Stimulant to brain and nervous system, mild antispasmod- ic, eliminates uric acid. Used for physical exhaustion, rheumatism, gout and nervous headache. (A national drink of Paraguay and Brazil.) Causes purging and even vomiting in large doses.
Key application: In physical and mental fatigue. (German Commission E, WHO.) In fatigue, nervous depression, psychogenic headache especially from fatigue, rheumatic pains. (The British Herbal Pharmacopoeia.) German Commission E reported analeptic, positively inotropic, positively chronotropic, glycogenolytic, lipolytic and diuretic properties.The leaves contain xanthine derivatives, including caffeine (0.2-2%), theobromine (0.3-00.5%), theophylline (absent in some samples), polyphe- nolics, tannins and chlorogenic acid, vanillin, vitamin C, volatile oil. Used in the same way as tea, due to its caffeine and theobromine content.Mate is a world famous tea and is commonly consumed in several South American countries.The flavour constituents exhibited moderate to weak broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against several Gram-positive bacteria. Some components are bactericidal, particularly against the most carcinogenic bacteria, Streptococcus mutans.... ilex paraguariensisHabitat: Kashmir and Western Himalayas up to Nepal at altitudes of1,000-2,400 m.
English: Grey Oak.Unani: Baloot.Folk: Shilaa Supaari (Kashmir), Phanat (Garhwal), Shiddar (Kashmir).Action: Acrons—diuretic, astringent. Used in indigestion and diarrhoea (after removing tannin and associated substances by the process of germination under earth). Also used in gonorrhoea.
The bark contains 6-23% of tannin. The stem bark contains friedelin, a tri- terpenoid, beta-sitosterol and a mixture of leucoanthocyanidins (including leucopelargonidin). Leaves contain flavonoids— quercetin, quercetin- 3-galacto-arabinoside.The kernels gave fatty acids, including palmitic, lignoceric and oleic.... quercus incanaHabitat: Indigenous to Greece, Syria and Iran. Yields oak galls.
English: Oak galls, Aleppo galls, Mecca galls.Ayurvedic: Maajuphalaka, Maayaaphala, Maayakku.Unani: Maazu. Maaphal.Siddha/Tamil: Maasikkaai.Action: Astringent. Bark and fruits—used for eczema and impetigo. Galls—used for diseases of gums and oral cavity (diluted with toothpowder or paste; also as a gargle in nasal catarrh and sore throat. An ointment (1 in 4 parts of vaseline) is applied externally in haemorrhoids. Also included in breast and vaginal firming creams. A decoction of galls is used as an enema in prolapus of rectum.
Key application: Quercus robur L. bark—externally, in inflammatory skin diseases; internally in nonspecific, acute diarrhoea, and local treatment of mild inflammation of the oral cavity and pharyngeal region, as well as of genital and anal area. (German Commission E.)The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia ofIn- dia recommends the gall in leucor- rhoea, dry and itching vagina; topically for dental inflammations.The fruits gave amentoflavone hex- amethyl ether, isocryptomerin and beta-sitosterol.The alcoholic extract of fruits showed 36% liver protection against carbon tetrachloride-induced toxicity at a dose of 800 mg/kg.The galls contain 50-70% gallo tannic acid, gallic acid 2-4%, ellagic acid, nyctanthic acid, rubric acid, besides sugars, starch, an essential oil and an- thocyanins. Galls were also found to contain beta-sitosterol, amentoflavone, hexamethyl ether and isocryptomerin.Quercus robur (English or European oak) is reported to be cultivated in Nil- giris. The bark contains 15-20% tannins consisting of phlobatannin, ellagi- tannins and gallic acid.The bark is contraindicated in cardiac insufficiency and hypertonia; externally on broken skin. (Sharon M. Herr.)Dosage: Gall—1-3 g powder. (API, Vol. IV.)... quercus infectoria
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