SHAHEED KARTAR SINGH SARABHA AYURVEDIC MEDICAL COLLEGE & HOSPITAL

Stri Kutaja

Botanical Name : Wrightia tinctoria

Family : Apocynaceae

Introduction :

Wrightia tinctoria is a flowering plant species in the genus Wrightia found in India, southest Asia and Australia. It is found in dry and moist regions in its distribution. Various parts of the plant have medicinal properties.

Names in different Indian languages :

Kannada : Kodamurki

Hindi : Dudhi, Karayaja

Malayalam : Aiyappala, Kampippaala

Tamil : Veppalai

Telugu : Amkuda

Sanskrit : Stri Kutaja

English : Pala Indigo, Sweet indrajao

Properties :

Rasa : Tikta (Bitter), Kashaya (Astringent)

Guna : Laghu (Light), Ruksha (Dry), Tikshna (Sharp)

Veerya : Ushna (Hot)

Vipaka : Katu (Pungent)

Karma : Kapha, Vata hara

Morphology :

Deciduous trees; upto 15 m; bark 8-10 mm thick, grey, smooth; outer layer thin, inner layer thick, brittle, creamy; blaze greenish-yellow; latex milky white.

Leaves simple, opposite, distichous, estipulate; petiole 2-5 mm long, stout, glabrous; lamina 3.5-11 x 2-4 cm, oblong-lanceolate or elliptic-ovate; base acute; apex acuminate or caudate acuminate; margin entire, glabrous, glaucous beneath, chartaceous; lateral nerves 5-10 pairs, slender, arched, pinnate, prominent, intercostae reticulate.

Flower bisexual, white, scented, in terminal cymes appearing along with new leaves; pedicel 1.5 mm long, bracts 2, minute; calyx lobes 5, with membranous margin, 2 mm, ovate, obtuse, ciliate, glandular inside; corolla salver shaped, lobes 5, broad lobes 12 x 5 mm, oblong, obtuse, throat with 1-2 series of erect, fimbriate corona scales, tube 1.5-2 mm; stamens 5, insrerted on the mouth of the tube, anthers sagitate, spurred at base, conniving and adhering to the stigma; disc absent; carpels 2, free, many ovuled, style filiform, stigma ovoid, usually with a toothed basal ring.

Fruit of 2 follicular mericarps, 15-45 cm long, slender, smooth, green, cylindric, cohering at the tip; seed 16 mm long, black, commate at one end.

Chemical Constituents :

Wrightial–Triterpenoid chemical,Cycloartenol,Cycloeucalenol,Beta-Amyrin,Beta Sitosterol

Properties :

Anthelmintic: Used as a treatment to destroy parasitic worms.

Anodyne: It is used as a painkiller.

Antipyretic: Remedy for fever.

Aphrodisiac: Used to stimulate sexual desire.

Astringent: Used for skin related problems.

Carminative: Gastric problems.

Depurative: Purifies your body from wastes and toxins.

It is used as a tonic.

Piles & Skin Diseases – It is also used in the treatment of piles and skin diseases like ringworm, leprosy, etc.

Medicine : Decoction of Bark of the plant mixed with sunthi is used for curing piles. For skin diseases, it is used externally.

The bark of the plant, when mixed with cows urine and applied on skin, turns out to be very effective.

Urinary Problems :It is used as an effective remedy for urinary problems

Arthritis : It is used in the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis.

Psoriasis : It is an effective treatment for Psoriasis and any other non-specific skin problems.