Botany
Plant is an erect undershrub, 0.3 to 1.5 meters high. Stems are much branched, very prickly, and bearing compressed, stout, often recurved prickles. Leaves are ovate, 3.5 to 15 cm long, 2.5 to 8 cm wide, lobed or pinnatifid in the margins, blunt or pointed at the tip, pointed at the base, and stellately woolly beneath. Leaves in the branchlets are much smaller. Flowers are blue, borne in extra-axillary racemes. Calyx-lobes in the flowers are triangular, very woolly, unarmed, or furnished with straight spines. Corolla is broadly triangular, 2 to 2.5 cm long, and hairy on the outside. Fruit is yellow, rounded, about 1.5 cm in diameter.

Distribution
Found in Davao and Mindanao, on rocky bluffs near the seashore.
Occurs in southern China and Malaya.

Constituents
Fruit contains solanin and solanidine.
Oil from the seeds contains glycerides of lauric, palmitic, stearic, arachidic, oleic and linoleic acids, with phytosterols, sitosterol and carpesterol.

Properties
Plant is considered cordial, aphrodisiac, astringent and resolvent.
Root is considered diuretic, expectorant, diaphoretic and stimulant.
Fruit is considered tonic and laxative.

Parts used and preparation
Roots, seeds, leaves.

Uses
Edibility
Fruits used in the preparation of curries, chutneys and preserves.
Folkloric
Used for asthma, febrile conditions, dry coughs, colic with flatulence, and worms.
Vapor of burning seed used for odontalgia.
Decoction of leaves used fo dysuria.
In Malaya, root is pounded and the pulp pressed on ulcerated sores.
In Java, decoction of leaves drunk as diuretic.
Root, taken internally, used for difficult childbirth and toothaches; also, for fever, worms and colic, and skin diseases in children.
Juice of the leaves with fresh juice of ginger is used for vomiting.
Fruits and leaves, rubbed with sugar, applied externally for skin itches.
Others
Leaves placed in infant's cradle to promote sleep.

Studies
• Cytotoxic / Solavetivone / Constituents: Study yielded solavetivone which was found to be cytotoxic to OVCAR-3 cells with an IC50 of 0.1 mM. Other compounds isolated were a novel solafuranone and three known compounds: scopoletin, N-(p-trans-coumaroyl)tyramine and N-trans-feruloyltyramine.
• Phytochemicals: Study yielded isoangulvine, protodioscin, solasonine and solamargine, together with steroidal glycosides, named indiosides A-E, obtained from the fruits and roots.

Toxicity Report
• Diabetes Insipidus: Report made on a case of diabetes insipidus after seven doses of concentrated solution of SI over two weeks. The diagnosis was confirmed by a water deprivationn test and a low serum ADH. Results suggest that excessive doses of S indicum may cause central diabetes insipidus.

Availability
Wild-crafted.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Solanum Indicum /
(2)
Cytotoxic and Novel Compounds from Solanum indicum / Wan-Jr Syu et al / J. Nat. Prod., 2001, 64 (9), pp 1232–1233 / DOI: 10.1021/np010186v
(3)
Steroidal glycosides, indiosides A-E, from Solanum indicum / Shoji Yahara, Takanori Nakamura et al / Phytochemistry, Vol 43, Issue 6, Dec 1996, Pages 1319-1323 / doi:10.1016/S0031-9422(96)00395-0
(4)
Central diabetes insipidus following digestion Solanum indicum L. concentrated solution / Wen-Hung Huang, Ching-Wei Hsu, Ji-Tseng Fang / Clinical Toxicology, Volume 46, Issue 4 April 2008 , pages 293 - 296 / DOI: 10.1080/15563650701385881
(5)
Sorting EGGPLANT names and their relatives / MULTILINGUAL MULTISCRIPT PLANT NAME DATABASE