Botanical Name
Withania coagulans (Stocks) Dunal,
Family
Synonyms
Regional Name
English : Indian rennet, Vegetable rennet, Hindi : Paneer bandh, Panirband, Paneer dodhi, Paneer-dodi, Punir dodi, Paneer booti, Sanskrit : Asvagandha, rasna, Urdu : Hab kaknaj, Tamil : Amukara Amukkura, Telugu : Panneru-gadda, Pennerugadda, Kannada : Amakiregadday, Asvagandhi, Malayalam : Amukiram, Marathi : Asvagandha, Punjabi : Khamjira,
Part Used
Fruit.
Description
It is a perennial shrub grows upto 1.5 m. occurs in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan range across, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Within India, it occurs in the drier parts of Punjab and Rajasthan, and also recorded from the regions around Simla, and Garhwal and Kumaun of Uttarakhand. The leaves are lanceolate, entire, clothed with a persistent greyish tomentum on both sides. The flowers are dioecious, in axillary clusters. The calyx is 6 mm long, clothed with grey tomentum and the corolla is 8 mm long, with lobes that are ovate-oblong, subacute. Berry 6-8 mm. diam., globose, smooth, closely girt by the enlarged membranous calyx which is scurfypubescent outside. The seeds are 2.5–3 mm in diameter, somewhat ear-shaped and glabrous.
Phytoconstituents
It contains alkaloids, steroids, phenolic compounds, tannins, saponins, carbohydrates, proteins, amino acids and organic acids. It is also contains Withanolides, withanolide A and withaferin A, coagulanolide and withacoagulin.
Ayurvedic Properties
Rasa : Katu, Tikta, Kashaya, Guna : Snigdha, Laghu, Virya : Ushna, Vipaka : Katu.
Ayurvedic Applications
Pachana, Depana, Raktadosha, Sotha, Antrasula.
Medicinal Uses
It is used for treatment of stress, cancer and Diabetes. It is also used in chronic complaints of liver, Flatulent coil, dyspepsia, intestinal infections. It is used for treatment of asthma, biliousness and strangury. It is also used for relief of complaints like weakness, giddiness, pain in legs, body ache, polyuria and pruritis.