Botanical Name

Pterocarpus santalinus L.f.

Family

Fabaceae/Leguminosae

Synonyms

Lingoum santalinum (L.f.) Kuntze

Regional Name

English : Red Sanders, Red Sandal Wood, Hindi :Raktachandanam, Lalchandana,Sanskrit :Raktanga, Ksudracndana, Raktasara, Urdu. : Sandal Surkh, Punjabi : Lal Chandan, Assamese: Sandale, Sandal Ahmar, Bengali :Raktachandana, Gujrati :Ratanjali, Lalchandan, Kannada :Raktha Chandanam, Malayalam :Rakta Chandanam, Marathi :Rakta Chandana, Tamil :Senchandanam, Telugu :Erra Chandanamu. Part Used Heart Wood.

Description

It is mostly found in southern Andhra Pradesh (India) with sporadic presence in some of the adjoining areas of Tamil Nadu (Chennai) and Karnataka at an altitude of 150-900 m. Lal chandan is a medium sized, deciduous tree up to 10-11 m high and 1.5 m in girth, rounded crown; bark blackish-brown, deeply cut into rectangular plates, yielding a deep red latex when cut; heartwood extremely hard, dark purple. Leaves usually imparipinnate, 10-18 cm long; leaflets 3, rarely 4-5, 3.8-7.6 cm long, broadly ovate or orbicular, coriaceous, apex obtuse, slightly emarginate, undersurface pale and clothed with fine grey hairs.

Phytoconstituents

The main constituents of Lal chandan are Glycosides, Colouring Matter. It contains Pterocarpol, Santalin A, B, pterocarptriol, Pterocarpodiolone, Lupenediol, Pterostilbene, Homopterocarpin.  Ayurvedic Properties Rasa :Madhura, Tikta, Guna : Guru, Ruksa, Virya :Sita, Vipaka :Katu, Karma :Pittahara, Vrsya, Visaghna, Netraroga.  Ayurvedic Applications Chardi, Jwara, Trsna, Raktadosahara, Tvara, Vrana.

Medicinal Uses

The heart-wood of Lal chandan is used to treat Vomiting, chronic Fever, excessive thirst, tiredness, fatigue, hiccough, cold, psychiatric disorders ,intrinsic haemorrhage, nasal bleeding, heavy periods, menorrhagia, fracture, diarrhoea, gastritis, burning sensation, skin infections, Poisoning, spider-poisoning, Toxic conditions and defects of vision. Its heartwood powder is made into paste with water and applied over face as facepack for 5 – 10 minutes, for glowing skin and to heal acne.