SHAHEED KARTAR SINGH SARABHA AYURVEDIC MEDICAL COLLEGE & HOSPITAL

Kasamardah

Botanical Name : Cassia occidentalis Linn

Family : Calsalpiniaceae.

Introduction :

Latin name : Cassia = the word is derived from the name kashan in Bible. The name is derived from the name of mountain cassia  in North Seria.

Names in different Indian languages :

English : Coffee Senna, Foetid Cassia, Negro Coffee

Hindi : Kasaumdi, barikasaundi

Kannada : Doddaagace

Malayalam : Ponnaviram, ponnariviriram

Sanskrit : Kasamardah

Tamil : Paeyaavarai, Thagarai

Telugu : kasinda

Unani : Kasondi.

Folk : Kasondi (bigger var.)

Synonyms :

Kasamarda Rajavruksha, Kasaghna, Peetapushpaka, Deepana, Kanak, Jaranakala, Kartakasaghna, Anjan

Morphology :

A shrub 0.5 – 1 mts. high.

Leaves – compound and alternate. Each leaf has 5 pairs leaflets.

Flowers – yellow

Fruit – pod, Legumes – long, thin and round.

Each one has 10 – 30 seeds.

Distribution & Habitat :

All over India

Chemical constituents :

Anthraquinone,glucoside, barbaloin, aloin, formic acid, butyric acid,  ceryl alcohol, kaempferol,bianthraquinone,glycoside, fistulin,rhein,sennosides A and B.

Properties :

Guna : ruksha, laghu, tikshna;

Rasa : tikta, madhur;

Veerya : ushna;

Karma :

Kasaghna, kandughna, deepana,pachana

Purgative, diuretic, febrifugal, expectorant, stomachic

Internal uses :

It is used in dermatoses and poisons. Useful as an analgesic in vata disorders. Being carminative and cholagogue, it is used in ascites, loss of appetite and constipation . Effective in cough and asthma.

Part used :

Leaf, seed, root

Dosage :

Leaf juice – 8 to 10 seeds – 1 to 2 gm; decoction of roots – 50 to 100 ml.

Therapeutic Uses :

Leaf juice + honey is used in whooping cough. Also useful in dysuria, ikshumeha, swelling, dermatoses and filarial.

Seed powder—used in amoebiasis.

Descriptions on  Ayurveda books / Nighandu: