MEDICINAL PLANTS OF SIKKIM

 

 

Basic Information

 

                

Species                                   : Malva verticillala Linn

Local Name                             :

Synonym                                :

Family                                     : Malvaceae

Habitat                                   : A stellately hairy herb found in sloppy and wet areas.

Distribution                            : Distributed in Temperate Himalayas up to 12,000 ft.

Sikkim                                     : Lachung, 2700- 3000 m.

Outside                                   : Punjab, Assam, West Bengal, Nilgiri hills, Bhutan (Ha district and Thimpu district), North Africa, Europe.

Morphological information

A hairy herb 30-120 cm high. Leaves long- stalked, cordate, downy, lobes shallow. Flowers pink small, crowded in nearly sessile clusters. Bracteoles narrowly lanceolate acute. Petals pale pink, nearly twice as long as the calyx.

Flowering                             : July-October

Fruiting                                : August-December

History                                :

Parts                                  : Seeds, roots.

Status                                : Cultivated, endangered in wild.

Phytochemistry

 A neutral polysaccharide- MVS- 1. From seeds composed of arabinise, galactose and glucose in molar ratio of 3:6:7, respectively (Chem. Pharm. Bull. 1987,

35,4982); Rectic peplidoglycan- MVS- V isolated from seeds. Composed of protein (57.0) and polysaccharide (43.0%); polysaccharide variety consisted of galacturonic acid, arabinose, xylose, galactoe and rhamnose in molar ratio of 24:6:5:3:8 respectively (Chem. Pharm. Bull. 1988, 36, 2790).

 

Other

In Indo China the root is used to produce vomiting in whooping cough. The leaves and young stems are considered digestive and are given to women in the advanced stage of pregnancy. The ash of the dried leaves is employed in the preparation of a drink, which is given in scabies.

 

 


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1. Anonymous. (1962). The Wealth of India Council of Scientific and Industrial Research New Delhi126.%

2. Bhujel, R.B. (1996). Studies an the Dicotyledonous Flora of Darjeeling District. Unpublished Ph.DThesis University of North Bengal. 124.%

3. Grierson, A.J.C. and D.G. Long (1991). Flora of Bhutan (Vol. 2, Part 1). Royal Botanic Garden,Edinburgh. 189.%

4. Kirtikar, K.R.; B.D. Basu (1993). Indian Medicinal Plants. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh Dehradun. 431%

5. Progress Report of the Project "Studies on Medicinal Plants of Sikkim" (1998 2001). State Council of Science and Technology for Sikkim.