| History |
This tree
is the "babbula" of Sanskrit writers, who mention
the use of young leaves and pods as an astringent. The bark
is used as a substitute for oak in government hospitals in
India. The gum is used as a substitute for Gum Arabica. It
is indigenous to the plains of Andhra Pradesh and Maharastra
in India.
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| Habitat |
It grows
throughout the drier parts of India.
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| Morphology
Description (Habit) |
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It is a moderate-sized, almost evergreen tree with a short trunk,
and a spreading crown. The bark is dark brown to almost black,
longitudinally fissured or deeply cracked. Leaves are 2-pinnate and
the main rachis has glands. Stipular spines are variable. Leaflets
are subsessile and glabrous. Flowers golden-yellow, fragrant,
crowded in long-stalked globose heads, forming auxiliary clusters of
2-5 heads. Pods are stalked, flat, compressed 7.5-15.0 cm in length
and contracted between the circular seeds. Three subspecies are
recognized in India.
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| Principal
Constituents |
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It contains gallic acid, m-digallic acid,(+)-catechin,
chlorogenic acid, gallolyated flavan-3,4-diol and robidandiol
(7,3',4'5',-tetrahydroxyflavan-3,4-diol)1.
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| Pharmacology |
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It has spasmogenic, vasoconstrictor2,
anti-hypertensive, antispasmodic3, anti-inflammatory4
and anti-platelet aggregatory activity5.
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| Toxicology |
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A. nilotica, at 2% and 8% levels, has a low toxicity
potential6. In a survey of potentially allergenic plants
in Pondicherry, it was reported likely to cause pollen allergy7.
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| Indications |
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It is astringent, demulcent, aphrodisiac, tonic and antipyretic.
It is used in conditions of bleeding gums, mouth ulcers and
genitourinary disorders.
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