Action Leaves—anthelmintic. Seeds—hypnodil. Fruit—edible. Plant—poisonous (the foliage produces hydrocyanic acid).
The fruit pulp contains pantothenic acid (1.55 mg!100 g); leaves contain 387 mg/100 g vitamin C.
Passiflora quadrangularis Linn. Family Passfloraceae.
Habitat Native of tropical America; grown in Indian gardens.
English Giant Granadilla.
Action Fruit—edible; contains 64 mg!100 g ascorbic acid; narcotic when eaten in excess. Leaves, the peel and seeds of green fruit, and roots—cyanogenetic. Roots— poisonous.
Paullinia asiatica Linn. 467
The root contains an alkaloid passiflora which is identical with harman from Passflora incarnata.
Pastinaca sativa Linn.
Synonym Peucedanum sativum Benth. & Hook. f.
Family Umbellferae; Apiaceae.
Habitat Native to Europe; grows in cool climate in India. (Hollow
Crown, Student and Large Guernsey
are Indian horticultural varieties.)
English Parsnip.
Action Above ground parts— diuretic, carminative (eaten as
a vegetable and salad), used for
kidney disorders. Root—used for
kidney disorders, fever and as
a diuretic and analgesic.
The parsnip is a rich source of coumarins (1.7% dry weight). The coumarin fraction of the fruit extract inhibits growth of cancer cells (HeLa53)cultured in the dark. The fruit contains small amounts of photoactive furocoumarins which are phototoxic. (Severe dermatitis results after contact with the furocoumarin in the presence of light.) The fruit contains xanthotoxin (0.1%), imperatorin (0.17%) and bergapten (0.38%). Coumarin, pastinacin, isolated from the fruit, showed spasmolytic action.
English Wild Parsnip.
Unani Shaqaaq-ul-Misri.
Action Root—galactagogue,
aphrodisiac, spermatogenetic. An important ingredient of Unani
