Botanical Name
Wrightia tinctoria
Family
Apocynaceae
Introduction
Wrightia tinctoria is a flowering plant species in the genus Wrightia found in India, Southeast Asia, and Australia. It is found in dry and moist regions in its distribution. Various parts of the plant have medicinal properties.
Names in Different Indian Languages
- Kannada: Kodamurki
- Hindi: Dudhi, Karayaja
- Malayalam: Aiyappala, Kampippaala
- Tamil: Veppalai
- Telugu: Amkuda
- Sanskrit: Stri Kutaja
- English: Pala Indigo, Sweet Indrajao
Properties
- Rasa: Tikta (Bitter), Kashaya (Astringent)
- Guna: Laghu (Light), Ruksha (Dry), Tikshna (Sharp)
- Veerya: Ushna (Hot)
- Vipaka: Katu (Pungent)
- Karma: Kapha, Vata hara (Reduces vitiated Kapha and Vata doshas)
Morphology
Deciduous trees up to 15 m tall; bark 8-10 mm thick, grey, smooth; outer layer thin, inner layer thick, brittle, creamy; blaze greenish-yellow; latex milky white. Leaves simple, opposite, distichous, estipulate; petiole 2-5 mm long, stout, glabrous; lamina 3.5-11 x 2-4 cm, oblong-lanceolate or elliptic-ovate; base acute; apex acuminate or caudate acuminate; margin entire, glabrous, glaucous beneath, chartaceous; lateral nerves 5-10 pairs, slender, arched, pinnate, prominent, intercostae reticulate. Flowers bisexual, white, scented, in terminal cymes appearing along with new leaves; pedicel 1.5 mm long, bracts 2, minute; calyx lobes 5, with membranous margin, 2 mm, ovate, obtuse, ciliate, glandular inside; corolla salver-shaped, lobes 5, broad lobes 12 x 5 mm, oblong, obtuse, throat with 1-2 series of erect, fimbriate corona scales, tube 1.5-2 mm; stamens 5, inserted on the mouth of the tube, anthers sagittate, spurred at base, conniving and adhering to the stigma; disc absent; carpels 2, free, many-ovuled, style filiform, stigma ovoid, usually with a toothed basal ring. Fruit of 2 follicular mericarps, 15-45 cm long, slender, smooth, green, cylindric, cohering at the tip; seed 16 mm long, black, commate at one end.
Chemical Constituents
- Wrightial – Triterpenoid chemical
- Cycloartenol
- Cycloeucalenol
- Beta-Amyrin
- Beta-Sitosterol
Properties
- Anthelmintic: Used as a treatment to destroy parasitic worms.
- Anodyne: Used as a painkiller.
- Antipyretic: Remedy for fever.
- Aphrodisiac: Used to stimulate sexual desire.
- Astringent: Used for skin-related problems.
- Carminative: Used for gastric problems.
- Depurative: Purifies the body from wastes and toxins.
- Tonic: General tonic.
- Piles & Skin Diseases: Treatment of piles and skin diseases like ringworm, leprosy, etc.
Medicine
- Decoction of the bark of the plant mixed with sunthi (dried ginger) is used for curing piles. For skin diseases, it is used externally.
- The bark of the plant, when mixed with cow's urine and applied on the skin, is very effective.
- Used as an effective remedy for urinary problems.
- In the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis.
- Effective treatment for Psoriasis and other non-specific skin problems.
Dose
- Powder: 1-3 g
- Decoction: 40-50 ml
- Fruit pulp: 40-50 g
Adverse Effect
The seed inside the fruit has abortificant action and should not be used by pregnant women.