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| Latin Name |
English Names |
Sanskrit Names |
Hindi Names |
Cassia occidentalis
Linn. (Caesalpiniaceae) |
Coffee Senna,
Foetid Cassia, Negro Coffee, Rubbish Cassia,
Stinking Weed |
Kasamarda,
Arimarda,
Kasari |
Badikasondi,
Chakunda, Kasonda |
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| Habitat |
Found throughout India up
to an altitude of 1,500 m.
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| Morphology
Description (Habit) |
C.occidentalis
is an erect, annual herb or undershrub. The leaves are lanceolate
or ovate-lanceolate, the leaflets, 3-paired, membranous, glaucous,
ovate or lanceolate; the flowers, yellow, in short racemes;
the pods, recurved, glabrous and compressed; the seeds, dark
olive green, ovoid, compressed, hard, smooth and shining.
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| Principal
Constituents |
The seeds yield an
oil. They also contain 1, 8-dihydroxy-2- methylanthraquinone, 1, 4,
5-trihydroxy-7-methoxy-3- methylanthraquinone, physcion, its glucoside,
rhein, aloe-emodin, chrysophanol, its glycoside, N-methylmorpholine,
glucosides of campesterol and ß-sitosterol, and a galactomannan1.
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| Pharmacology |
The seed powder
is externally applied in cutaneous diseases and eruptions. The extracts
showed positive response on guinea pig-ileum, rat-uterus, rabbit-heart,
and a depressor-effect on the blood-pressure of dogs2.
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| Indications |
The seed is bitter
and has tonic, febrifugal and purgative properties. It is considered
to be a blood tonic and excellent diuretic. The seeds are useful in
cough and whooping cough, convulsions and in heart diseases.
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