English Kodo millet.
Ayurvedic Kodrava, Korduusha.
Siddha/Tamil Varagu.
Folk Kodo.
Action Plant—used as a CNS
drug for treating schizophrenia and psychoses.
The plant contains hentriacontanol, hentriacontanone and sitosterol. The grains have often been reported to cause poisoning in men and animals when used as a food; non-poisonous types have been reported from Tamil Nadu.
Passiflora edulis Sims.
Family Passfloraceae.
Habitat Native of Brazil; cultivated in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, in North India in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
English Purple Granadilla, Passion Fruit.
Action Juice from purple fruit— a good source of ascorbic acid
(contains up to 75 mg!100 g), carotene and sugars
The juice from the yellow variety (equated with Passflora edulis f. flavicarpa) contains lesser amounts of ascorbic acid and sugars.
The purple Passion fruit contains the C-glucoside, beta-ionyl-beta-Dglucopyranoside. A protease inhibitor (PEPI) has been isolated from the juice. PEPI inhibited trypsin and chymotrypsin activities, but did not inhibit papain activity. The esters and terpenoids form the major part of fruit components. The terpenoids include a number of monoterpenes (including hydroxylated linalool derivatives), and monoterpene glycosides. Norterpenoid aglycones have also been found.
The yellow Passion fruit contains sulfur-containing volatiles, acetates, butanoates and hexanoates of 3-mer- captohexanol. The leaves contain Cglycosylfiavonoids.
Passiflora foetida Linn.
Family Passfloraceae.
Habitat Native to America; found wild in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
English Stinking Passion Flower. Siddha/Tamil Siru Ponaikalli.
Action Leaves and roots—emmenagogue, antihysteric. Fruits— emetic. A decoction is used for biliousness and asthma (for expelling bile and cough).
The plant contains C-glycosides of apigenin and luteolin. Apigenin-8- C-glucoside has been detected in
