ScilIa indica Baker non-Roxb.
Scilla indica Baker non-Roxb.
Synonym S. hyacinthiana (Roth) Macb.
Ledebouria hyacinthina Roth. Family Liliaceae.
Habitat Central and Southern
India, including Deccan Peninsula.
English South Indian Squill.
Substitute for White Squffi, Urginea maritima Baker and Indian Squill, Urginea indica Kunth.
Ayurvedic Vana-Palaandu (South India), Korikanda.
Unani Jangli Piyaz.
Siddha/Tamil Kattu velvengayam. Action Bulb—cardiotonic, stimulant, expectorant, diuretic. Used in cough, dysuria, strangury. (Not used as a diuretic when kidneys are inflamed.)
The bulb contains cardioactive glycosides including bufadienolides, scillaren A, scillaridin A and proscillaridin A.
The squill has shown to have cardiac effects similar to digoxin, includ ing positive inotropic and negative chronotropic effects. The aglycones in squill are poorly absorbed from the GI tract and are therefore less potent than digitalis cardiac glycosides. Additional cardiovascular properties include reducing left ventricular diastolic pressure and reducing pathologically elevated venous pressure. (Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, 2007.)
Large amounts of squill are gastric irritants; small amounts expectorant.
The squill of the Indian bazaars consists partly of S. indica and chiefly of Urginea indica.
Scindapsus officinalis Schott. Family Araceae.
Habitat Tropical Himalayas, Bengal, southwards to Andhra Pradesh and the Andamans.
Ayurvedic Gajakrishna, Hastipippali, Gajapippali (also equated with Piper chaba).
Siddha/Tamil Anaitippili.
Action Fruits—stimulant, carminative, diaphoretic, anthelmintic, antidiarrhoeal. Decoction is used as an expectorant in asthma.
Fruits and shoots—hypoglycaemic. Fruit pulp—applied externally in rheumatism.
The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India recommends dried pieces of mature female spadix in dyspnoea. (Gajapippali is wrongly equated with male or female inflorescence ofBorassusflabellifer Linn.)
The fruits contain two glycosidic substances—scindapsin A and B, which on hydrolysis yield the aglucons, scindapsinidine A and B. Free sugars, rhamnose, fructose, glucose and xylose together with
