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Calotropis gigantea (L.) W.T.Aiton |
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Botanical Name |
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Calotropis gigantea (L.) W.T.Aiton |
English
Name |
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Giant Milk Weed, bowstring hemp, calotrope, crown flower, crownplant, madar |
Synonym(s) |
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Asclepias giganteaLinnaeus, Periploca cochinchinensis Loureiro, Streptocaulon cochinchinense (Loureiro) G. Don. |
Family |
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Asclepiadaceae |
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General Info
| Description |
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Large, milky shrub,1-5 m in height. Stems woody and round; bark thick, light yellow or ash-grey, soft, corky, eeply fissured. Leaves fleshy, cuneate- obovate or obovate-oblong, 10.0-20.0 cm x 2.5-7.5 cm, smooth above, cottony below. Flowers purplish-lilac or white and are borne in axillary pedunculate - corymbs; corolla lobes spreading or reflexed. The follicles are 8.0 to 10.0 cm long, recurved and turgid. Seeds are numerous and broadly ovate. |
| Herb Effects |
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Antiarrhythmic and alleviates spasms (root); anticancer (root and leaf); hypotensive (latex); laxative (plant juice); digestive, stomachic and tonic(flower); emetic, diaphoretic, alternative and purgative (root- bark and juice). |
Chemistry
| Active Ingredients |
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Giganteol and iso-giganteol (root bark); sapogenins (leaf); calotropins DI. DII. FI and FII (latex). |
| Chemistry
of Active Ingredients |
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Name |
CAS# |
IUPAC Name |
Formula |
Structure |
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| Calotropin |
20304-47-6 |
Not Available |
C29H40O9 |
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| Sapogenin |
Not available |
Not available |
C27H42O4 |
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Pharmacology
| Medicinal Use |
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Toothache and laxative (plant juice); altering secretion of stomach acids, in the treatment of skin diseases, asthma, elephantiasis and leprosy (flowers); paralysis, arthralgia, swellings and intermittent fevers (leaves). The tribals of South Rajasthan apply latex in the treatment of Guinea worm disease (Joshi, 1991). |
| Contraindication |
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Do not use while pregnant. |
| Reference |
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 Chandel et al., Biodiversity in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in India.
Joshi, Int J Pharmacogn 1991 29, 33. |
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