Morphological information

A very large branched, annual or perennial herb, herbaceous stems hollow smooth, cylindrical, glaucous; with a purplish bloom in the upper part. Leaves green or reddish 30-60 cm in diameter, palmately 5-11 lobed, lobes serrate and petioles with conspicuous glands. Flowers monoecious, in spikes 30-60cm, long with the staminate flowers in the lower and pistillate flowers on the upper part of the axis. Fruit a capsule covered with soft spine-like processes and dehiscing into three 2-valved cocci, seeds oblong smooth, variously coloured, and mottled varying much in size.

Flowering           :

Fruiting              :

History             : R. cummunis is believed to be a native of tropical Africa. Its occurrence in the scrubby jungles of the outer Himalayas in what would appear to be a truly wild state, together with the undoubted antiquity of the knowledge of its use as a drug, as revealed by Sanskrit literature, are held to point its being a native of India as well as of Africa. It is said to be under cultivation from ancient times in both these areas.

Parts              : Seeds, Root.

Status            : Vulnerable.

Ayurvedic

The root is used in inflammations, pains, ascites, fever, glands, Leaves are useful in "Vata" and Kapha, intestinal worms, strangury, night blindiness, earache, and biliousness.The flowers are useful in glandular turnours, anal troubles, vaginal pain. The fruit is healing and an appetizer, useful in turnours, pains, "Vata". piles, diseases of the liver and spleen. The seed is cathartic, aphrodisiac. The oil is sweetish, cathartic, aphrodisiac, anthelmintic, alternative; useful in turnours diseases of the heart, slow fevers, ascites, inflammations, typhoid, pain in the back lumbago, leprosy, elephantiasis, convulsions increases "Kapha" causes biliousness.

Unani

 The root bark is purgative, alterative, good in skin diseases- the leaves are galactogogue; good for burns. The seeds and the oil from them have a bad taste; purgative useful in liver troubles, pains in the body, inflammations, ascites, asthma, rheumatism, dropsy, amenorrhoea.

 

Others

The leaf is applied to the head to relieve headache and is commonly used as a poultice for boils. The seeds and the oil from the seeds are used as purgative.      

Phytochemistry

The alkaloids, ricinine and L methyl 3 cyano 4 methoxy 2 pyridine (Seeds, leaves); lupeol and 30 noe lupan 3, ol 20 one, lipids and phosphatides (bean coal); arachdic (12 hydroxyoleic) chlorogenic, oleic, palmitic, ricinoleic, stearic and dihydrostearic adds, hexadecanoic, hydrocyanic and uric acid (Oil), squalene and tocopherols have also been reported.

 

---