Morphological information

An immense climber, with slender terete woody branches. Leaves long petioled, the rachis usually ending in a tendril pinnae stalked, mostly 4; leaflets oblong or obovate, obtuse or acute, 1- 2 inch. Spike peduncle 2ft. long or more, usually panicled from the nodes of old leafless branches, sometimes simple from the axils of the leaf. Flowers sessile or short pedicillate, pod 2 ft, or more, curved constricted between seeds. Seeds 2 inches broad.

Flowering                     : Early summer

Fruiting                        : fruiting in early rains.

History                        :

Parts                           : Seeds and barks.

Status                         : Vulnerable.

Phytochemistry

0- (β- D- Glucopyranosyl)- L- tyrosine isolated from seeds; a volatile gas liberated during acid hydrolysis of crude saponin identified as methylmercaptan; echinocystic acid isolated from acid sapogenin fraction of the hydrolysate; β- sitosterol, α- amyrin, quercetin, gallic acid and cyaniding chloride isolated from seeds; dopamine- 3- 0- glucoside isolated from seeds; prosapogenin A, β- sitosterol and lupeol isolated from seeds; hydrolysis of prosapogenin. A yielded entagenic acid and D- glucose, L-arabinose and D- xylose; structure of entagenic acid confirmed; myristic, palmitic, steanc, arachdic, behenic, oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids obtained from seed oil hydrolysate, triglycerides comprised of monosaturated diolenin and dilinolein, saturated oleolinolein, dioleolinolein, triolein, oleodilinolein and trilinolin.

 

Medicinal

Powder of the seeds is used for washing dirty hairs.Native women, commonly take powdered kernel mixed with some few spices, for some day immediately after delivery for allaying the bodily pains and wood use for skin disease.

 

Traditional

The kernels are used to suppress the pain during the pregnancy and also applied on the boils to heal faster. They are also used in the boils and mumps. Seeds are poison for fish, considered tonic, emetic antiperiodic and anthelmintic. Paste prepared from seeds is applied on inflammatory glandular swelling ( Lepcha system).

Others  :   Stem emetic. Juice of wood and bark are used externally for ulcers.

 

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