Botanical Name

Abelmoschus moschatus Medik.

Family

Malvaceae

Synonyms

Hibiscus abelmoschus L

Regional Name

English : Musk mallow seeds, Okra, Musk seeds, Hindi :Kasturi dana, Kasturi bhendi, Mash, Sanskrit : Latakasturi, Latakasturika, Urdu : Mushkdana, Punjabi :Mushak Dana, LataKasturi, Bengali :Latakasturi, Gujrati :Bhindo, Bhinda, Kannada :Kasturi Kande, KaduKastuar, Malayalam :Kattu Kasthuri, Kasturi Kanda, Marathi :Kastur bhendi, Tamil :Kasturi-vendai, Telugu :Kasturi Benda.

Part Used

Seeds

Description

Kasturi lata is an evergreen shrub about 1.22 m in height cultivated in hotter parts of India. Fruits capsule fulvous hairy, oblong lanceolate, acute. Seeds are greyish-brown and blackish, not velvety to touch, kidney-shaped, slightly compressed with shallow depressions on both sides, marked with minute parallel ridges and furrows; hilum small and distinct; odour, musk-like; no taste.

Phytoconstituents

Kasturi lata contains Fixed Oil and Volatile Oils. Seeds contain oil (19.5%) unsaponifiables etc. It contains (+)- macrocyclic musks, 5(Z)-tetradecen-14-oide, 7(Z)-hexadecen-16-olide, linoleic acid, a-cephalin, phosphatidylserine, plasmalogen, phosphatidylcholine plasmalogen, ketone, ambrettelide, a lactone of ambrettolic acid, trans-2-trans-6-farnesyl acetate, ambrettolide, ambrette oil, cis-2-cis-6-farnesyl acetate, cis-2-trans-6-farnesyl acetate, ethyl hexadecanate, ethyl laurate, trans-2-trans-6-farnesol.

Ayurvedic Properties

Rasa :Madhura, Katu, Tikta, Guna : Laghu,Vipaka :Madhura, Virya :Sita, Karma :Caksusya, Kaphahara, Vrsya, Cedini, Mukhadaurgandhyanasaka, Vasti Visodhani.

Ayurvedic Applications

Trsna, Mukha Roga, Vasti Roga.

Medicinal Uses

It is used in eye disorders, loss of appetite, stomach cancer, hysteria, cramps, spasms of the digestive tract, headaches, poor circulation and aching joints. It is also used in Gonorrhoea, venereal diseases, sexual diseases, respiratory disorders, inhalation, hoarseness and dryness of throat, cure stomatitis, dyspepsia, urinary discharge, cleanses urinary bladder, gonorrhea, leucoderma and itch.