Basic Information
Species : Acorus calamus Linn.
Local Name : Bojo (Nep),Riklok(Lep)
Synonym :
Family : Ariaceae
Habitat : The plant is a semi-aquatic herb, found in moist places near riversides and rice
fields throughout India up to 1800 m.
Distribution : It is commonly distributed in tropical and temperate region.
Sikkim : Padamchen, Dentam, Pangthang, Kabi, Dzongu, Rabong, Tingbong, Makha and grown in the kitchen all over Sikkim in
temperate - sub temperate region.
Out side : Jammu and Kashmir.
General : Europe, North Asia, Himalaya (Nepal, Bhutan), SirLanka, South Tibet, China, Japan, and Central & Northern America.
Morphological information
Marsh or emergent aquatic herb, rhizomes aromatic, horizontal bearing leaves at apex. Leaves asymmetric, apex acute, 30-445x11.2 2 cm, midrib conspicuous, glabrous. Spadix straight or slightly curved, 4-5x0.5-0.8 cm, greenish. Sepals oblong, apex triangular, hooded, membranous. Ovary hexagonal. Berries few seeded.
Flowering : April-July
Fruiting : August-October
History :
Parts : Rhizome
Status : Endangered in wild
Ayurvedic
It is used in a number of Ayurvedic formulations as an ingredient. Some of the important formulations are; Bramhi vati, Mahayograj guggulu, laghu visa-grabh Taila, chandraprabha vati, Chandroya vati, Anvindasava, Asuwagandharishta and Sasrsuata churna.
Unani
The rhizome has a very bitter sharp taste; laxative, expectorant, crminative, alexiteric, tonic to the brain, emmenagogue; useful in general weakness, stomatitis, toothache, inflammations, pain to the liver and the chest, kidney troubles, leucoderma.
Traditional
The plant is an age-old remedy for fever in the hills.
Others
Small piece of rhizome is given orally in case of gastritis and stomach pain; and is chewed in case of tonsillitis and cough.The rhizome is used for cough, cold, vomiting, stomach pain, flatulence, and eczema and skin diseases. It is preventive against malaria and when taken with quinine stops remittent fever. Oral administration of 15 -20 gm daily stops asthma. Decoction from rhizome is used to cure gout and rheumatism; stem used in skin diseases, boils, sores, gout, rheumatism and diabetes; paste from shoots is applied externally on scabies, small pieces of dried shoots are chewed as brain tonic.
Reference
1. Kirtikar, K.R; B.D Basu (1994). Indian Medicinal Plants (Vol. III) Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh. 1899 -1902.
2. Progress Report of the Project "Studies on Medicinal Plants of Sikkim" (1998-2001). State Council of Science and Technology for Sikkim.
3. Rai, Lalit Kumar and E. Sharma (1994). Medicinal Plants of Sikkim Himalaya. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun. 28- 29.
4. Sairam, T.V. (1999). Home Remedies (Vol. 2). Penguin Books. 17 -18.
5. Singh, Janardhan, Ashok Sharma, Subash Chandra Singh, Sushil Kumar (1999). Medicinal Plants for Bioprospection (Vol. 1). Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. Lucknow. 43-44.
6. Thakur, R.S., H.S. Puri, Akhtar Hussain (1989). Major Medicinal Plants of India. Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Lucknow. 28-30.