Maulsari,
Bakul or Spanish cherry (Mimusops elengi; Family: Sapotaceae) is a very beautiful
medium-sized tree with a round and dense canopy. The sweet-smelling flowers of Maulsari
are offered to Lord Vishnu and his incarnations by the Hindus. A
large number of medicinal
properties have been reported for the maulsari plant, which include antibacterial,
antifungal, anticariogenic, antihyperglycemic, antineoplastic,
gastroprotective, antinociceptive and diuretic effects.
Thursday, 27 March 2025
REMEDIES IN SHRI KRISHNA’S GARDEN
Wednesday, 26 February 2025
Prunella: Healing with Self-Heal
Self-heal, botanically known as Prunella
vulgaris (Family- Lamiaceae), is a relative unknown but a medicinal herb occurring in high altitude (1500-3600
m) meadows and open grassy slopes in the Himalayas, sub-temperate and temperate Asia
and Europe. It is widely used in traditional Western and Chinese herbal medicine
for curing many diseases and thus gets its common name, self-heal or heal all.
Common Names |
English: Self-heal, Common selfheal, Heal-all, Common heal-all, Carpenter weed, Heart-of-the-earth, Aleutian selfheal, Touch and heal (indicating its value as first aid for cuts and wounds) Pahari: Gudli (Bharmour), Neela
ghungru ghas (Mandi, Kullu), Ustakhadus (Spiti) Kashmiri: Kalyuth |
MORPHOLOGY
Self-heal is a small, creeping, non-aromatic and perennial herb that grows up to 30 cm tall. The stem is quadrangular and covered with fine hair. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs and each pair is at right angles to the pairs above and below them. The leaves are oval to lanceolate, serrated, covered with fine hair and measure 2.5 cm long and 1.5 cm wide. The inflorescence is dense and whirled cluster with a pair of stalkless leaves below. It flowers during the summers and rainy season. There are usually three flowers per bract. The bracts and calyx are purplish in colour. The corolla is violet or pink in colour, bi-lipped and is 10–14 cm long. The upper lip forms a concave purple hood. The lower lip is lightly coloured and has three lobes. Seeds are smooth, shiny and brown nutlets.
Self-heal contains triterpenoids (oleanane, ursane, lupane), flavonoid (quercetin, hesperidin, kaempferol, luteolin, homoorientin, cynaroside), phenylpropanoids (phenylpropionic acids and coumarins), sterols (sitosterol and stigmasterol), coumarins, carbohydrates, organic acids (linoleic acid, linolenic acid and arachidic acid), quinones (tanshinone I, rhein, chrysophanic acid, 2-hydroxyl-3-methyanraquinone) and volatile oils (monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and their oxygenated derivatives).
Leaves are used in soups and fresh or dried inflorescence is brewed in herbal teas in western countries.
MEDICINAL USES
Self-heal
is used to cure migraines in the Kashmir Himalayas.
Self-heal
has been reported to fight inflammation in the human body. Experimental studies
with self-heal on human heart muscle cells have shown it suppresses the
activity of inflammatory proteins responsible for heart diseases and stroke. It
can also protect human beings against inflammatory diseases like colitis, diarrhoea,
stomach pain and rectal bleeding.
Various
experiments have shown that self-heal has remarkable antibacterial activity
against gram-positive bacteria, especially against Pseudomonas aeruginosa,
Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus
aureus and Salmonella typhi.
Some
studies have shown that self-heal has antiviral activity against HIV, Ebola
virus and SARS-coronavirus 2 (SCoV-2).
A large
number of recent scientific studies have shown that self-heal has anti-tumour
properties. The triterpenoids, flavonoids and phenylpropanoids present in this
plant have synergistic therapeutic effect against many types of cancers mediated
through multiple pathways including arresting of cell cycle, anti-proliferation,
apoptosis and anti-angiogenesis.
6. Useful in Autoimmune Thyroiditis
Self-heal is
used for treating thyroid diseases, especially autoimmune thyroiditis in traditional
Chinese medicine. Scientific studies have also yielded similar results in
experimental animals.
Traditional healers in western countries use the leaves and flower spikes for curing flu and fever.
Self-heal has a long history of use in traditional European medicine for healing wounds, cuts and bruises.
Friday, 10 January 2025
SHYONAK: A Plant with Incredible Medicinal Value
NAMES IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
• English: Indian trumpet tree, Indian caper, Indian trumpet flower, Broken bones tree (fallen large-sized leaf stalks collect near the base of the trunk, appearing like a pile of broken limb bones), Scythe tree, Tree of Damocles, Laminated paper, Midnight horror (because its flowers open at night, emitting foul stink that attracts bats to facilitate pollination)
• Hindi: Bhut-vriksha, Dirghavrinta, Kutannat, Manduk, Patrorn, Putivriksh, Shallak, Shuran, Son, Sonpatha, Saona, Vatuk, Urru, Arlu, Ullu
• Sanskrit: Shyonak, Aralu
• Punjabi: Mulin, Tatmorang
• Pahari: Tatplang, Tatplanga (Kangra, Hamirpur, Una), Tarlu, Tat madenga (Bilaspur), Tat madhyanga, Tat modhinga (Bhaghli), Arlu, Aerlu (Bilaspur), Tat badinga (Sirmaur), Alse Alsu ri tata (Mandi)
• Assamese: Toguna, Bhatghila, Dingari
• Bengali: Sona, Nanosa, Sonpatti
• Gujrati: Aralu, Tentu
• Kannada: Bunepale, Sonepatta, Tigdu, Tigade, Tattuna, Anangi, Alangi, Patagani, Salaa
• Konkani: Davamadak
• Malayalam: Palaqapayyani, Vashrppathiri, Vellappathiri , Palakappayyani, Vella, Pathiri
• Manipuri: Shamba
• Marathi: Tayitu, Tetu, Tentu
• Mizo: Archangkawm
• Nepali: Tatelo
• Oriya: Phapni, Phonphonia
• Singhali: Totila, Thotila
• Tamil: Chori-Konnai, Palai-y-Utaicci, Puta-Puspam, Cari-konnai, Kalai-y-utaicci, Puta-puspam, Achi, Pana, Pei-maram, Venga maram, Peruvaagai
• Telugu: Manduka-Parnamu, Pampena, Suka-Nasamu, Tundilamu , Dundilamu, Pampini, Nemali, Chettu
Source: eFloraofIndias, Flowers of India, Wealth of India
MYTHOLOGY
CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS

USES
III. AGROFORESTRY USES
1. As a Tonic and Rasayana Drug
- Bhakti, S., Rashmi, A., Yash, N. and Tejas, G. 2015. Evaluation of Anti Asthmatic Potential of Methanolic Extract of Stem Bark of Oroxylum indicum Vent, J. Pharma Research 4(5): 193-196.
- Chan, F.L., Choi, H.L., Chen, Z.Y., Chan, P.S.F. and Huang, Y. 2000. Induction of apoptosis in prostate cancer cell lines by a flavonoid, baicalin. Cancer Letters 160 (2): 219-228.
- Harminder, Singh, V., and Chaudhary, A.K. 2011. A Review on the Taxonomy, Ethnobotany, Chemistry and Pharmacology of Oroxylum indicum Vent. Indian J. Pharmaceutical Sciences 73 (5): 483–490.
- Daniel, M. 2013. Useful Herbs of Planet Earth. Scientific Publisher (India), Jodhpur
- Das, B., Mahapatra, M., Gurung, B., Dey, A., Nongalleima, K., Das, S., Talukdar, A.D., Chowdhury, A., Choudhury, M.D. and Deb, L. 2024. Antifertility activity of Oroxylum indicum Vent. stem bark on female Wistar rats. Ind. J. Traditional Knowledge 23 (2): 198-199.
- Dinda, B., SilSarma, I., Dinda, M. and Rudrapaul, P. 2015. Oroxylum indicum (L.) Kurz, an important Asian traditional medicine: From traditional uses to scientific data for its commercial exploitation. J. Ethnopharmacology 161: 255-278.
- Doshi, K., Ilanchezhian, R., Acharya, R., Patel, B. R. and Ravishankar, B. 2012. Anti-inflammatory activity of root bark and stem bark of Shyonaka. J. Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine. 3 (4): 194–197.
- Facciola. S. 1998. Cornucopia II. Kampong Publications, California.
- Hari Babu, T., Manjulatha, K., Suresh Kumar, G., Hymavathi, A., Tiwari, A. K., Purohit, M., Suresh Babu, K. 2010. Gastroprotective flavonoid constituents from Oroxylum indicum Vent. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters 20(1): 117–120.
- Hengpratom, T., Kupittayanant, S., Churproong, S. and Eumkeb, G. 2022. Lipid-lowering effect of Oroxylum indicum (L.) Kurz extract in hyperlipidemic mice. Asian Pac. J. Trop. Biomed. 12(4): 148-155.
- Konsue, A. and Katisart, T. 2021. Acute Toxicity of Oroxylum indicum Fruit Extracts in Rats. Pharmacognosy Magazine 17:545-551.
- Lopresti, A.L., Smith, S.J., Majeed, M. and Drummond, P.D. 2021. Effects of an Oroxylum indicum Extract (Sabroxy R) on Cognitive Function in Adults with Self-reported Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study. Front. Ageing Neuroscience. 13:728360. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.728360
- Mairuae, N., Buranrat, B., Yannasithinon, S. and Cheepsunthorn, P. 2024. Oroxylum indicum Kurz (L) leaf extract exerted antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects on LPS-stimulated BV2 microglial cells. Tropical J. Pharmaceutical Research 23(9):1409-1415.
- Menon, S., Albaqami, J.J., Hamdi, H., Lawrence, L., Padikkala, J., Mathew, S.E. and Narayanankutty, A. 2023. Oroxylum indicum Vent Root Bark Extract Inhibits the Proliferation of Cancer Cells and induces apoptotic Cell Death. Processes 11(1), 188. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11010188
- Van Dan, N. and Thi Nhu, D. 1989. Medicinal Plants in Vietnam. World Health Organisation.
- Sreedharan, S., Pande, A., Pande, A., Majeed, M. and Cisneros-Zevallos, L. 2024. The Neuroprotective Effects of Oroxylum indicum Extract in SHSY-5Y Neuronal Cells by Upregulating BDNF Gene Expression under LPS Induced Inflammation. Nutrients 16, 1887.https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16121887.
- Storrs, A. and Storrs, J. (1990). Trees and Shrubs of Nepal and the Himalayas. Pilgrims Books House.
- Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2025-01-05. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Oroxylum+indicum>
- Yang, J., Yang, X. & Li, M. 2012. Baicalin, a natural compound, promotes regulatory T cell differentiation. BMC Complement. Altern. Med. 12, 64. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6882-12-64