Indian Medicinal Plants An Illustrated Dictionary

Family ◮ Cruciferae; Brassicaceae.
Habitat ◮ Cultivated in Bengal,
Orissa and Punjab.
English ◮ Watercress.
Folk ◮ Piriyaa-Haalim (Punjab),
Latputiyaa (Maharashtra).
Action ◮ Leaves—antiscorbutic,
expectorant (used in catarrh of the
respiratory organs), diuretic (used
in kidney and bladder disorders),
detoxifying. A lotion of leaves
is applied to blotches, spots and
blemishes. Fresh herb is used as
a blood purifier.
Key application ◮ For catarrh
of respiratory tract. (German
Commission E.)
Watercress contains vitamin A 4720
IU,ascorbicacid77mg/100g,alsothiamine,
riboflavin, niacin and biotin;
mineral matter 2.2%—calcium 290,
phosphorus 140, iron 4.6 mg/100 g, also
sulphur, iodine, manganese, zinc, arsenic
and copper; proteins 2.9%, amino
acid composition includes leucine,
phenylalanine, valine, lysine, tyrosine,
alanine, threonine, glutamic acid, serine,
aspartic acid, cystine, methionine
sulphoxide and proline.
The glucosinolate phenethyl isothiocyanate,
which is released upon chewing
the leaf, is a chemopreventive agent
against lung cancer. (cited in Expanded
Commission E Monographs.)
Watercress is contraindicated in gastric
and duodenal ulcers and inflammatory
kidney diseases. (Francis
Brinker.)
Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. 435
Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.
Synonym ◮ Nelumbium speciosum
Willd.
Family ◮ Nymphaeaceae.
Habitat ◮ Throughout warmer parts
of India, up to 1,800 m.
English ◮ East Indian Lotus, Sacred
Lotus.
Ayurvedic ◮ Kamala, Padma,
Nalina, Aravinda, Jalaja, Raajeeva,
Pushkara, Ambuja, Abja, Pankaja.
Pundarika (whitish), kokanada
(red), Indivara (Bluish).
Unani ◮ Used as a substitute for
Nilofar.
Siddha/Tamil ◮ Thaamarai, Ambel.
Action ◮ Filament—astringent
andhaemostatic. Prescribedfor
bleeding piles and menorrhagia.
Flowers—a decoction is given in
cholera, fever, strangury, palpitation
of heart. Rhizomes—given in
piles, chronic dyspepsia and
dysentery; applied externally to
cutaneous eruptions, scabies and
ringworm. Rhizome-arrowroot—
giventochildrenindiarrhoea
and dysentery. Root—astringent,
diuretic, antiemetic, cooling. Used
fordysentery,dyspepsia,piles,skin
affections and for its anticoagulant
properties.
The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India
recommends dried rhizomes, with
roots attached at nodes, in syncope and
vertigo.
Flowers yielded quercetin, luteolin
and their glycosides and kaempferol
N