Botanical Name

Macrotyloma uniflorum (Lam.) Verdc

Family

Fabaceae/Leguminosae

Synonyms

Dolichos benadirianus Chiov., Dolichos biflorus sensu auct., Dolichos uniflorus Lam.

Regional Name

English : Horse gram,  kulthi bean, hurali, Madras gram,  Hindi : Kulathi, Kulthi, Kurathi, Sanskrit :Khalva, Vardhipatraka, Urdu :Kulthi, Punjabi : Lodhar, Bengali : Kulattha, Kalaya, Gujrati :Kalathi, Kulathi, Kannada :Huruli, Hurali, Kashmiri : Kath, Malayalam :Mudiraa, Marathi :Kulitha, Tamil :Kollu, Kaanam, Telugu :Ulavalu.

Part Used

Seeds.

Description

This species is native to India, globally distributed in the Paleotropics. It is cultivated all over India up to an altitude of 1500 m. It is an important pulse crop particularly in Madras, Mysore, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh. Kulattha is an annual, branched, sub-erect or twining, downy or glabrescent herb. Seeds are hard, surface smooth, ellipsoid, flattened, greyish to reddish brown, 4-6mm long and 4 mm wide, micropyle prominent, taste, somewhat astringent.

Phytoconstituents

It contains An enzyme (urease) and oil. Kulattha seeds contain 21% of crude protein, 11% of pentosan and about 3% of water soluble gum. They also contain traces of urease and phosphorus. The other chemical constituents present in the seeds are Genistein, Dalberioidin and Collidin.

Ayurvedic Properties

Rasa :Kasaya, Guna :Laghu, Sara, Vipaka :Katu, Virya :Usna, Karma :Vidahi, Svedasangrahaka, Krmihara, Kaphavatahara.

Ayurvedic Applications

Asmari, Nasartava.

Medicinal Uses

It is used in kidney stones, renal calculi, treating gall bladder and gall stones. cough, asthma, piles, intestinal worms and relieve constipation. It is also used in menstrual dissorders, scanty bleeding (oligomenorrhoea), leucorrhoea and, urinary discharges.