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Medicinal Plant details |
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Information |
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| Sanskrit Name |
Nripakanda, palandu, raktakanda (WOA, 1998). |
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| Common name in English |
Onion, Spring Onion, Shallot, Scallion |
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| Botanical Name |
Allium cepa L. |
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| Historical Accounts |
Onions were being cultivated by the Egyptians by 3200 BC but their domestication probably goes back a lot further than this although evidence is lacking because their remains do not preserve well in archaeological deposits. |
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| Parts Used |
Bulb, Leaves |
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| Human Medicinal Usage |
It has a wide range of beneficial actions on the body and when eaten raw, it promotes the general health of the body. The underground bulb is anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, hypoglycaemic, hypotensive, lithontripic, stomachic and tonic (Sarma, 1984; Lata et al., 1991; Augusti, 1996). Regular use of bulb in daily meals offsets tendencies towards angina, arteriosclerosis and heart attack. It is beneficial in preventing oral infection and tooth decay. Bulbs baked and directly applied as a poultice to remove pus from sores. Fresh onion juice seems to be useful in bee and wasp stings, bites, grazes or fungal skin complaints. As a home remedy, warm juice can be dropped into the ear to treat earache. It is also helpful in healing process of wounds. Mature bulbs of red cultivars are used to make a homeopathic remedy for the treatment of people whose symptoms include running eyes and nose.
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| Veterinary Medicinal Usage |
Mixture of kallathikai (Ficus tinctoria), 50 g cumin and two onion can be used to relieve asthma and cough in animals (Anonymous, 2000-2001).
Mixture of whey milk, onion and leaves of `Sitafal' (Annona squamosa) is given to the animal suffering from flatulence. The suspension of onion and turmeric powder mixed in equal quantity in whey milk is given to the animals for controlling flatulence (Deddu, 1992).
Mixture of `Ajma' (100 g), onion (200 g) and aerial root of banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis) is fed to the animal for controlling flatulence (,Rathod, 1992).
Approximately 200 gm of pounded mixture of small pieces of `Kund' (Scilla spp.) tuber and bulb of onion is given to the animal to control flatulence (Deddu, 1992).
As a treatment for a disease that causes inactivity in chickens, onion and garlic bulbs are pounded together with the vine of `Amarvel' (Cuscuta reflexa) and this mixture is added to the birds' drinking water. Mortality rate is reduced considerably (Patel, 1992). Small pieces of onion is pounded and mixed in drinking water of birds kept for egg to prevent the unknown disease that causes death. Fermentation dicoction made from the storage tissue of Withania somnifera, leaves of Gynandropsis pentaphylla, stem of Cissus quadrangularis, white onion, pepper and ginger mixed with the same quantity of buttermilk. A litre of this mixture is given to the affected animal to cure asthma (Anonymous, 1997).
The ashes obtained by burning onion peels are mixed with some butter, and the paste is applied to the yolk gall of the bullock (Vasnoi, 1997). To cure the intestinal worms in bullock, 250 g white onion is fed for a week, along with 'rati bhindi' or sesame (Chauhan, 1994). Diarrhoea in poultry birds can be controlled by feeding onion juice (Anonymous, 1998). Stems of Cissus quadrangularis, cumin seeds, capsicum fruits, onion and rhizomes of Solena amplexicaulis are ground and the mixture soaked in water for a day. This mixture is then administered to cattle for three days to increase their body weight.
Five pods of kachakamutty, leaves of veeli, seeds of pepper and black cumin, leaves of betel, and onion bulbs are crushed and made into a solution. This solution is fed to cure tail hair drop and skin rashes in cattle (Anonymous, 1995). Steamed and crushed onion is used for neck swelling in cattle (Anonymous, 1994). Five hundred gram of Pirandai (Vitis quadrangularis), 25g dried chilli, 5g Sea gram (Cuminum cyminum) and 100 g of small onion are pounded together and given as bolus to control worm infestation in cattle (Ithal, 1998).
Animals having the history of prolapsed uterus are fed with 10 kgs of onion to avert the danger during delivery (Rathod, 1999). Onion, garlic, jeera, turmeric, chilli and salt are used along with about 25-30 leaves of Premna obtusifolia soaked in about 10-15 litres of buttermilk to perform pseudo delivery system in some cows which desist feeding the calf (Rathod, 1999).
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| Agriculture Usage |
Onion bulbs are spread randomly in mango baskets to enable ripening of mangoes (Pishroty, 1994). Onion is used as inseticide and insect repellent. Mixed cropping of few lines of onion with carrot prevents spreading of pest attack on both the crops (Ithal, 1998). To impart an attractive colour, mango fruits are mixed with red onion and kept between layers of straw (Anonymous, 1998). Onion is used as an ingredient in masala bolus sprayed in horticultural crops to boost the setting of the fruits and enhance their taste. The masala bolus also increases the resistance power of plants against pest and diseases..
To increase the onion yield, extract of small onion mixed with eggs of country fowl and sticker solution. is sprayed on the 25th and the 35th days after planting (Anonymous, 2003).
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| Other Usage |
Domesticated as a vegetable that is eaten raw or cooked. Spring Onions are of small sized and used raw in salad. In India, onion is the basis of most sauces and gravies. Onion based spice pastes are mostly used to marinate meat or fish. Onion bulbs are fed to cattle (Dubaria, 1991). Waste onion peelings give yellow and orange dyes (Noronha, 1996).
The juice of the plant is used as a moth and insect repellent and can also be rubbed onto the skin to repel insects. Juice of the plant can be used as a rust preventative on metals and as a polish for copper and glass. It is also rubbed into the skin to promote the growth of hairs. A yellow-brown dye is obtained from the skins of the bulbs. |
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| Synonyms |
Allium cepa L. var viviparum (Metzg.) Alef. |
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| Family |
Liliaceae |
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| Description |
A small, evergreen herb, growing to 60 cm high; bulb thick, globular; scape hollow, leafy near the base. Leaves: shorter than scape, arranged in 2 distinct rows. Flowers: hermaphrodite, in many-flowered globular umbels; perianth segments ovate-oblong, acute, white (Kirtikar & Basu, 1996, WOA, 1998). |
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| Common Name in India |
Piaz, Piyaz (Hindi); Ulli (Malayalam); Kanda (Marathi); Piaja (Oriya); Nirulli (Kannada); Peyaz (Punjabi); Ponoru (Assami); Pianj (Bengali); Piyaz (Urdu); Irulli, Vengayam (Tamil); Nirulli (Telugu); Dungari (Gujrati) (WOA, 1998). |
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| Common Name in Other Countries |
Basal (Arabic); Kesunni (Burmese); Chung, Cong, Ts'ung, Chung tau, Ts'ung tau, Yang ts'ung (Chinese); Ui, Ajuin (Dutch); Pias (Farsi); Oignon, Gaelic Uinnean (French); Zwiebel (German); Kremmdi (Greek); Cipolla (Italian); Atasuki, Wakegi, Tamanegi (Japanese) |
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| Habitat |
The plant is cultivar crop and not met in the wild (WOA, 1998)..
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| Rainfall |
Plants are cultivated in the area having moderate annual rainfall, hard to grow in water logged soils. |
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| Soil (Physical/Chemical) |
Plant can survive in the vast range of soil with good porosity, preferably light well-drained soil with pH in the range 4.5 to 8.3. Normally, poorly drained soils and clay soils are not satisfactory (WOA. 1998)..
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| Regional Distribution |
Cultivated almost all over in India as a tuber crop (WOA, 1998).
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| Global Distribution |
The exact place of its origin is uncertain, distributed widely in Central Asia (WOA, 1998).
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| Harvest |
The onion crop is ready for harvest in three to five months depending on the variety. Tubers are harvested when the tops have fallen over and the leaves have turned yellow. The bulbs are pulled out with hand hoe and removed into shade for curing. Good onion bulbs are piled 2-3 ft high on to the platform that is made of bamboo strips and protected from sun and rain by a cover. The platform is made 2-3 ft above the ground, to store the bulbs. Onion seeds are spread out in the shade since they require an airy place (Dubaria, 1991). |
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| Pests / Diseases |
Thrips tabaci and Heliothrips indicus are the serious pests in onion which damage the crop severely. Except these, leaf-eating carterpillar (Laphygma exigua), Blight (Alternaria paluneli) and Onion smut (Urocystis cepulae Frost) are some of the other common diseases of crop.
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| Chemical composition |
The bulbs contain only traces (0.01%) of essential oil, which mostly consists of sulfur compounds: Ethyl and propyl disulfides, vinyl sulfide and other sulfides and thioles. The lachrymatory principle is variously identified as thiopropanal-S-oxide or its tautomer propenyl sulfenic acid. This substance is released from its precursor S-1-propenyl-L-cysteine sulfoxide as a reaction to cell damage. |
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| Herbarium No |
0 |
REFERENCES |
| SR No. |
NAME |
ARTICLE TITLE |
AUTHOR |
PLACE OF PUBLICATION |
VOLUME/ISSUE |
YEAR |
PUBLISHER |
COMMENT |
| 1 |
IJEB. |
Therapeutic values of onion (Allium cepa L.) and garlic (Allium sativum L.). |
Augusti, KT. |
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34: 634-640. |
1996. |
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| 2 |
IJEB. |
Therapeutic values of onion (Allium cepa L.) and garlic (Allium sativum L.). |
Augusti, KT. |
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34: 634-640. |
1996. |
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| 3 |
J Postgraduate Medicine. |
Beneficial effects of Allium sativum, Allium cepa and Commiphora mukul on experimental hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis - a comparative evaluation. |
Lata, S, Saxena, KK, Bhasin, V, Saxena, RS, Kumar, A, Srivastava, VK. |
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37(3): 132-135. |
1991 |
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| 4 |
Sachitra Ayurved. |
Palandu (pyaj). |
Sarma, KKD. |
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36(11): 499-505. |
1984 |
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| 5 |
WOA. |
The Wealth of Asia |
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New Delhi |
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1998 |
National Institute of Science Communication, CSIR |
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