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Medicinal Plant details |
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Information |
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| Sanskrit Name |
Svetakutajah |
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| Common name in English |
Pala indica plant |
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| Botanical Name |
Wrightia tinctoria (Roxb.) R. Br. |
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| Parts Used |
Leaves, Bark and Seeds. |
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| Human Medicinal Usage |
Bark and seeds have more or less similar properties as those of Holarrhena antidysenterica. The bark is specially used in Ayurveda for the treatment of piles, skin diseases and biliousness. It is also used as a tonic and the seeds as aphrodisiac. The leaves are acrid, thermogenic and used in hypertension. The bark and seeds are bitter, astringent, thermogenic, carminative, digestive, depurative, anthelmintic, aphrodisiac and febrifuge. They are used in dyspepsia, colic, diarrhoea, leprosy, psoriasis, fever, burning sensation and dropsy (Anonymous, 1948-1976; Chopra et al., 1956; Varier, 1997; Anonymous, 1951; Ambast, 1986). It is effective inpsoriasis and nonspecific dermatitis. The leaves are used in various skindisorders including herpes. It has astringent and anti-inflammatory activities,used as an antibacterial in several skin disorders (Mahadevan et al., 1998; Reddy et al 1999).
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| Veterinary Medicinal Usage |
Approximately one kg of leaves of `paala' (Wrightia tinctoria) are macerated and pounded and given to animals for curing diarrhea (Konar, 1996).
A handful of Veppalai leaves (Wrightia tinctoria), a bark (palm size peeled out of the same tree, chilli (one pod) and, garlic rhizome (three or four) are to be ground together along with a little water. This has to be diluted to make half a liter and administered in the morning. The fever comes down considerable by evening (Vivekanandan, 1996).
Human urine, leaves of 'veppalai' (Wrightia tinctoria) also known as 'paala', dried chilli fruits are mixed and ground. The mixture is diluted with hot water and given as a drink to treat heart trouble in bullocks (Vivekanandan, 1996).
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| Agriculture Usage |
Leaves are used for green manuring in wet land paddy field (Ayyavu, 1995). For early ripening, unripened banana bunches are properly covered with palamaram (Wrightia tinctoria) leaves for a day (Vivekanandan, 1997). Leaves are used for ripening mangoes (Sharma, 1996).
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| Other Usage |
The leaves furnish a kind of indigo which is used for dye. Latex obtained from 'veppalai' (Wrightia tinctoria) is added to fresh goat's milk for precipitation (Vivekanandan, 1995).
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| Synonyms |
Nerium tinctorium Roxb. |
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| Family |
Apocynaceae |
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| Description |
A small deciduous tree, up to 10 m high, with pale grey, smooth thin bark, abounding in yellow milky juice; with opposite, divercate ranches. Leaves simple, opposite, elliptic-ovate or obovate, oblong, acuminate, glabrous; main nerves 6-12 pairs. Flowers white, fragrant in lax terminal cymes. Fruits: follicles in pairs, pendulous. Seeds linear, pointed at the apex with a deciduous coma (WOA, 1998). |
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| Common Name in India |
Mitaindrajau, Dudhi (Hindi); Kirikodasige, Bepalli, Kodamurki (Kannad); Dantappala, Ayyppala, Tinnompala (Malayalam); Tontampalai, Veppalai (Tamil); Indrajau, Rnchallo, Dudhlo (Gujarati); Jeddapala, Tedlapala (Telugu) (WOA, 1998).
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| Common Name in Other Countries |
Lasanulaasafir (Arabia) |
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| Habitat |
A small deciduous tree found throughout India up to an elevation of 1,200 m (WOA, 1998).
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| Rainfall |
Low to medium rainfall is necessary for growth.
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| Soil (Physical/Chemical) |
It shows best growth in the mixture of peat, loam and sand.
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| Regional Distribution |
Many parts of India including Central, Western and South India.
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| Global Distribution |
Tropical parts of the world. |
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| Pests / Diseases |
Many fungal diseases and pests damages this plant such as Cercospora wrightiae, Hemileia wrightiae and a beetle Xylorrhiza adusta which produces rings on the stem and branches.
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| Chemical composition |
Conkurchin, conessine,conessidine, holarrhine and kurchine isolated (Sethi, 1970). Ramchandra et al. (1993) isolated wrightial, a new terpene,cycloartenone, cycloeucalenol, beta-amyrin, and beta-sitosterol were isolatedfrom the MeOH extract of the immature seed pods of W. tinctoria. |
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| Herbarium No |
1 |
REFERENCES |
| SR No. |
NAME |
ARTICLE TITLE |
AUTHOR |
PLACE OF PUBLICATION |
VOLUME/ISSUE |
YEAR |
PUBLISHER |
COMMENT |
| 1 |
Chopra, RN, Nayar, SL, Chopra, IC. |
Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. |
Chopra, RN, Nayar, SL, Chopra, IC. |
New Delhi. |
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1956. |
CSIR, |
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| 2 |
CSIR Publication |
The Wealth of India. Raw Materials. |
Anonymous. |
New Delhi. |
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1948-1976. |
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| 3 |
Varier, PS. |
Indian medicinal plants. |
Varier, PS. |
Madras. |
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1997. |
Orient Lorgmann Ltd., |
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| 4 |
CSIR, |
The useful plants of India. |
Ambast, SP. |
New Delhi. |
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1986. |
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| 5 |
Anonymous. |
Pharmacognosy of Ayurvedic plants of Travancore Cochin. |
Anonymous. |
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1951. |
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| 6 |
Honey Bee. |
Butter milk, Honey Bees and Tamarrind: Tamil Farmers show the way: Animal Fever. |
Vivekanandan, P. |
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7(4): 12. |
1996. |
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| 7 |
Journal of Natural Products. |
Wrightial, a new terpene from Wrightia tinctoria. |
Ramchandra, P, Basheermiya, M, Krupadanam, GLD, Srimannarayana, G. |
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56(10): 1811-1812. |
1993 |
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| 8 |
Pharm. Biol. |
Pharmacognostical studies on Wrightia tinctoria bark |
Reddy, YSR, Venkatesh, S, Ravichandran, T, Subburaju, T, Suresh, B. |
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37(4): 291-295. |
1999. |
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| 9 |
Ancient Science of Life. |
Pharmacognosy of leaves of Wrightia tinctoria R. Br. |
Mahadevan, N, Moorthy, K, Perumal, P, Varadha Raju, S. |
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18(1): 78-83. |
1998. |
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| 10 |
Planta Med. |
Separation of alkaloidal constituents of Wrightia tinctoria by TLC. |
Sethi, PD. |
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18(1): 26-29. |
1970. |
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| 11 |
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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