MEDICINAL PLANTS OF SIKKIM

 

 

Basic Information

 

                 

Species                       : Elscholtzia blanda Bentham.

Local Name                : Lasilam (Nep).

Synonym                    :

Family                         : Labiatae.

Habitat                       : A tall bushy herb 2- 5 ft. high. Found in roadside banks in evergreen oak and warm broad- leaved forests.

Distribution                : Distributed to temperate and sub- temperate region.

Sikkim                         : Upper Gangtok, Tumlang.

Out side                      : West Bengal (Darjeeling, Rambi khola & Kalimpong), Assam, Bhutan, (Samchi, Chukka, Gaylegphug and Deothang, Punakha,

                                     Tongsa and Tashigang).

General                      : Himalaya (Nepal- Bhutan), Assam, Myanmar, China, Malaysia.

Morphological information

A tall bushy herb, 2- 5 ft high, branches slender, obtusely 4- angled. Leaves 1- 4 inches, petiole short. Spikes 2- 5 inches. Flower 1/4 inches diameter, fruiting broads whorls lax or dense; bracts subulate lanceolate. Corolla white, sparing pubescent. Fruiting calyx short, mouth contracted. Nutlets broadly ellipsoid.

Flowering                     : September –November.

Fruiting                        : November-March.

History                        :

Parts                           : Whole plant and leaves.

Status                         : Low risk

Phytochemistry

A new compound  vilangin (0.06%), mp. 264 degree, identified as methylenebis- (2, 5 dihydroxy- 4- undecyl- 3, 6- benzoquinone)  -isolated from berries

(Curr. Sci. 1961, 30, 259); isolation, structure and synthesis of  vilagin(J.Org. Chem. 1961, 26, 4529. Bull. Nat. Inst. Sci. India No.28, 1966, 14; Chem Abstr. 1967, 66, 28481 u).

Traditional

5 ml extract of leaves and root with 100 ml water is administered orally during dehydration due to diarrhoea. The extract is also applied on the wounds and sores (Nepali and Sherpa System).

Others

Extract of leaves of young shoots are used for stomach trouble and vomiting tendencies. It also cures old sores and eczema on the face. Decoction of the leaves used by the Chinese.

 


Reference

1. Anonymous (1992). The Useful Plants of India. Publications and Information Directorate, CSIR. New Delhi. 194.

2. Biswas, K. (1956). Common Medicinal plants of Darjeeling and the Sikkim Himalayas. M/S Bengal Government Press, West Bengal. 74.

3. Grierson, A.J.C & Long, D.G. Flora of Bhutan (Vol. 2 Part 2), Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 1999. 1981.

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