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 Botany
· An erect or ascending,
variable, smooth or sparingly hairy, more or less branched plant
10 to 40 cm high.
· Leaves: sessile, somewhat fleshy and clasping, the lower
ones being lyrate-lobed or sinuate toothed and 5 to 10 cm long,
and the upper ones much smaller and usually entire. The undersurface
usually tinged with violet hue.
· Flower: flowering heads are 12-24 cm in length and long-peduncled,
their branches are usually dichotomous. Involucral bracts are
green, cylindric, somewhat inflated below and above as long as
the purple flowers. Flowers all perfect and tubular, the limb
long, 5-toothed. No ray flowers.
· Fruits: achenes, narrowly oblong, about 2.4 mm long
and ribbed. The pappus is white, soft and copious.
Distribution
In open places, wastelands,
cultivated lands, gardens, etc., in and about towns and settlements
at low and medium altitudes.
Parts utilized
· Whole plant.
· Collect year round.
· Wash, dry under the sun.
Properties
and constituents
Prepared drug has bitter taste, cooling
nature.
Antipyretic, anti-infection, antiinflammatory, diuretic.
Contains senkirkine and doronine.
Total alkaloid content, o.2%.
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids: integerrimine, nilgirine
Uses
Folkloric
· Cold-fever, swelling pain
in the oropharynx, mouth cavity ulcer.
· Infections of external wounds, furuncle swellings, scabies,
eczema, sprains, piercing by nail or other pointed objects.
· Enteritis, diarrhea, dysentery.
· Urinary tract infection.
· Snake bites.
· Dosage: use fresh material, 130 to 260 gms, or dried material
16 to 60 gms in decoction. Use pounded fresh material as poultice for
afflicted areas of the body. It is a very good suppurative. For dermatitis
and eczema, decoction of fresh material may be used as external wash.
 Studies
• Anti-tumor /
Cytotoxicity: Study of methanolic extract of ES showed
cytotoxic activity against lymphoma / ascites carcinoma / mouse lung
fibroblast cells and reduced the development of tumor and increased
life span of tumor bearing mice.
• Antioxidant / Antiinflammatory:
(1) Fresh juice and methanolic extract of ES exhibited antioxidant activity
and inhibited carrageenan-induced edema. (2) Study showed reduction of rat paw edema induced by subplantar injection of albumin, the aqueous extract
of ES leaves showing more pronounced antiinflammatory effect than the
methanolic extract.
• Cataract Modulation:
Study suggests that the flavonoids from ES can modulate lens opacification
and oxidative stress in selenite-induced cataract.
• Anti-Cancer: Study
isolated an anti-cancer terpene fraction from ES that induced cell-specific
apoptosis and appears a promising anticancer agent.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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