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Botanical Name:
Solanum Indicum
Sanskrit Name:
Brhati
English Name: Poison Berry, Indian Nightshade, African
Eggplant, Bush Tomato, Ntunfulu
Family:
Solanaceae
Plant Part Used: Roots, Berries
Description:
Brhati occurs throughout India, often
in waste places, on roadsides and in open scrublands. It is a prickly,
much branched shrub, usually spreading or diffused, It grows upto 1-5
metres in height. The young branches are densely covered with minute
star – shaped hairs . The prickles are yellow, shining, about 1-5 cm
long. The leaves upto 10 cm long, their midribs and other nerves with
sharp yellow prickles. The flowers are purple, about 2 cm long, in
racemose extra – axillary cymes. The fruits round, 1.5 – 2 cm, dark
yellow when ripe. The seeds are smooth, minutely pitted.
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Principal Constituents:
Brhati is pungent and bitter in taste ,
pungent in the psot digestive effect and has hot potency . It alleviates
kapha and vata dosas. It possesses light , dry and sharp attributes. It
is an appetizer, digestant, diuretic and is beneficial to the heart. It
alleviates cough and asthma. It is useful in the diseases like fever,
cough, skin diseases, distaste and pain.
Medicinal Uses:
Roots are diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, stimulant. The root is
used against bronchites, itch and for bodyaches, for asthma and to cure
wounds while the seeds are used to treat toothache.
The berries are injurious to children but are often eaten by adults with
impunity, especially when quite ripe as the poisonous principle is
chiefly associated with all green parts. It is applied in medicine
similarly to bittersweet but is more powerful and possesses greater
narcotic properties.
The leaves are placed in the cradles of infants to promote sleep. It is
useful in cutaneous disorders. Their juice has been used for ringworm,
gout and earache and when mixed with vinegar, is considered to be good
for gargle and mouthwash. Half-ripe fruits are employed in the
preparation of curries, chutneys and preserves. A decoction of root is
prescribed as a tonic and also used in difficult parturition.
Herbal Extract packing:
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