Botanical Name

Cinnamomum tamala (Buch.-Ham.) T.Nees & Eberm.

Family

Lauraceae.

Synonyms

Cinnamomum tamala var. elliptifolium Baruah & S.C.Nath. Laurus tamala Buch.-Ham., Cinnamomum pauciflorum var. tazia (Buch.-Ham.) Meisn., Cinnamomum veitchii Lukman., Cinnamomum zwartzii Lukman., Cinnamomum reinwardtii Nees, Cinnamomum lindleyi Lukman..

Regional Name

English : Indian Cinnamon, Hindi : Tejpatra, Sanskrit : Patra, Varanga, Coca, Urdu : Tezpat, Punjabi : Tajpater, Assamese : Tejpat, Mahpat, Bengali : Tejpatra, Tejpata, Gujrati : Tamala patra, Develee, Kannada : Tamalapatra, Dalchini Ele, Kashmiri : Dalchini pan, Tajpatra, Malayalam : Karuvapatta patram, Marathi : Tamalpatra, Oriya : Tejapatra, Tamil : Lavangapatri, Telugu : Akupatri.

Part Used

Leaf.

Description

Tejpatra is a small evergreen tree up to 7.5 m high, native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and China, found in tropical, sub-tropical Himalayas between 900-2300 m. Leaves are 12.5-20 cm long, 5-7.5 cm wide at the centre, 3 converging nerves from base to apex, young leaves pink, petiole 7.5-13 mm long, margin entire, apex acute or acuminate, both surfaces smooth, paracytic stomata, aromatic odour, slightly sweet taste.

Phytoconstituents

Essential oils (d-α phellandrene and eugenol), contains- methyl eugenol (46.65%), eugenol (26.70%), trans-cinnamyl acetate (12.48%) and Beta-Caryophyllene (6.26%).

Ayurvedic Properties

Rasa : Madhura, Katu, Guna : Laghu, Picchila, Tiksna, Vipaka : Katu, Virya : Usna, Karma : Rucya, Arsoghna.

Ayurvedic Applications

Arsa, Aruci, Pinasa, Hrllasa.

Medicinal Uses

Tejpatra is used to reduction in blood glucose level, blood glycosylated haemoglobin, LPO, serum AST, and ALT. It is used as an adjunct therapy in diabetes. It is used in cold, cough, asthma, headache due to cold, low appetite, rheumatism, colic, diarrhoea, Kidney problems, arthritis, joint pain, gout, scalp infection, lice in hairs, inflammation, diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting.