SHAHEED KARTAR SINGH SARABHA AYURVEDIC MEDICAL COLLEGE & HOSPITAL

Kadamba

Botanical Name : Anthocephalus cadamba Miq.

Family : Rubiaceae

Introduction :

Latin name: Anthocephalus – anthos = flower, cephalus = like the head, it has round flowers; indicus = Indian.

Names in different Indian languages :

English : Kadam

Hindi : Kadamb

Kannada : Kaduavalatige, arsenatige

Malayalam : Kadambah, attutekku

Sanskrit : Kadamba

Tamil : Venkadambu, Vellai Kadambam

Telugu : Rudrakskamba

Synonyms :

Kadamba, Priyaka, Vrtta-pushpa, Nipa, Halipriya.

Neolamarckia cadamba (Roxb.) Bosser

Anthocephalus  indicus A. Rich.

Anthocephalus  chinensis (Lam.) A. Rich. Ex Walp.

Anthocephalus indicus

Varieties & adulterants – (CV – controversy, AD – adulterants) :

Kadambaka is equated with Adina cordifolia.

Morphology :

A tree of 15 to 20 mtrs. high. densed and shady.

Leaves – shiny, simple, elliptic-oblong, resemble the leaves of madhook with dark venations. Flowers- small, yellowish orange.

Fruits . like small balls, hard and taste sweet and sour when ripe.

Distribution & Habitat :

Assam, Bengal, southwards to Andhra Pradesh and western Ghats.

Chemical constituents :

alkaloids, steroids, reducing sugars , tannins

Properties :

RASA- katu, kashaya. tikta

GUNA- laghu. ruksha

VIRYA- sheeta

VIPAKA-madura

Prabhav: vishaghna

Karma :

febrifugal, antidiuretic, anthelmintic, hypoglycaemic. ,cooling; anticatarrhal, blood purifier, analgesic,abortifacient.

Indication :

Ulcers, fever, skin disease, cough, piles, leucorrhoea, mouth ulcers,Eczema, diabetes ,leucoderma,anorexia

Parts used :

Bark, leaves and fruits.

Dose :

Bark powder . 0.5 to 1 gm; fruit juice 12 to 24 ml; leaf juice – 12 to 24 ml.

External uses : Warm leaves are lied on wounds to reduce inflammation. In conjunctivitis. the paste of bark is applied to eyelids. Wounds are washed and cleaned by the decoction of its leaves.

Internal use : Decoction of leaves and gum are analgesic, In diarrhoea, bleeding per rectum and colitis, decoction of the ba is used. Juice or powder of bark + jeerak ‘I’ sugar, is effective in vomiting.

Excessive thirst in fever is reduced by fruit juice.

It is used in bleeding disorders, oedema and cough. Decoction of roots is useful in calculi, and dysuria, In spermatorrhoea and vaginal disorders, decoction of bark is used, Menorrhagia is treated by leaf juice or decoction. Fruit juice promotes breast milk. In various skin diseases, bark paste is applied locally. Its bark is the best medicine to reduce burning sensation in fever It is also useful in general debility and toxicity