Indian Medicinal Plants An Illustrated Dictionary

524 Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb.
P
Ayurvedic ◮ Rakta-chandana (var.).
Siddha ◮ Vengai (Tamil), Yerravegisa
(Telugu).
Folk ◮ Chalangada (Andamans).
Action ◮ See Pterocarpus santalinus.
The wood contains a red pigment
santalin and a yellow flavonoid santal,
both of which also occur in Pterocarpus
santalinus. The bark and the
heartwood contain pterostilbene. The
heartwood yields pterocarpin, liquiritigenin
and isoliquiritigenin. The sapwood
gave homopterocarpin additionally.
Pterocarpus indicus Willd. non-Baker,
Malay Padauk, is also known as
Vengai in Tamil and Yerravegisa in Telugu.
A decoction of the wood is given
in dropsy and for stone in the bladder.
The bark-kino is used as an application
for sores and a decoction of the bark
or kino is used for diarrhoea.
Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb.
Family ◮ Papilionaceae; Fabaceae.
Habitat ◮ Throughout the tropical
zones of India in the hilly regions.
English ◮ Indian Kino tree, Malabar
Kino tree.
Ayurvedic ◮ Asana, Bijaka, Priyaka,
Pitashaala.
Unani ◮ Bijaysaar.
Siddha/Tamil ◮ Vengai.
Action ◮ Bark-kino—astringent,
antihaemorrhagic, antidiarrhoeal.
Flowers—febrifuge. Leaves—used
externally for skin diseases.
Key application ◮ Heartwood—
in anaemia, worm infestation,
skin diseases, urinary disorders,
lipid disorders and obesity. Stem
bark—in diabetes. (The Ayurvedic
Pharmacopoeia of India.)
The heartwood and roots contain
isoflavonoids, terpenoids and tannins.
Tannins include the hypoglycaemic
principle (−)-epicatechin. Stilbenes,
such as pterostilbene; flavonoids, including
liquiritigenin, isoliquiritigenin,
7-hydroxyflavanone, 7,4-dihydroxyflavanone,
5-deoxykaempferol
and pterosupin; a benzofuranone marsupsin
and propterol, p-hydroxy-benzaldehyde
are active principles of therapeutic
importance.
The gum-kino from the bark provides
a non-glucosidal tannin, Kino
tannic acid (25–80%).
The (−)-epi-catechin increases the
cAMP content of the islets which is
associated with the increased insulin
release, conversion of proinsulin to insulin
and cathepsin B activity.
Oral administration of ethylacetate
extract of the heartwood and its flavonoid
constituents, marsupin, pterosupin
and liquiritigenin, for 14 consecutive
days to rats exhibited a significant
reduction of serum triglycerides,
total cholesterol and LDL- and
VLDL-cholesterol levels, but it did not
exert any significant effect on HDLcholesterol.
The ethanolic and methanolic extracts
of the heartwood exhibited significant
in vitro antimicrobial activity
against Gram-positive and Gramnegative
bacteria and some strains of
fungi.