Candied fruit may contain 30— 40 mg!100 g of vitamin C and concentrates up to 240 mg!100 g. Fresh fruit contains vitamin C 39—74 mg, carotene 6.2—9.8 mg!W0 g.
Amygdalin (34.27—61.70 mg!lOO g) and hydrocyanic acid (2.02—3.72 mg/ 100 g) are reported to be present in frozen fruit.
Leaves, buds, young twigs and bark contain amygdalin; tannin (4.47%); triterpenoids; sorbose, sorbitol and sorbic acid.
Sorghum vulgare (Linn.) Pers.
Synonym Andropogon sorghum Brot.
Family Gramineae; Poaceae.
Habitat Cultivated throughout warmer parts of India.
English Sorghum, Broomcorn.
Ayurvedic Yaava-naala.
Siddha/Tamil Makkaseelam.
Folk Jowaar, Paneraa.
Action Grains—demulcent,
diuretic. A confection of grains and Foeniculum vulgare seeds is used as a galactagogue. Sorghum is inferior to wheat.
About 80% of sorghum in India belongs to the race Durra (Sorghum durra (Frosk.) Stapf.).
Soymida febrifuga A. Juss.
Family Meliaceae.
Habitat Peninsular India, Rajasthan and Bihar.
English Indian Red-Wood, Bastard Cedar.
Ayurvedic Maansrohini, Rohini, Rohinaa, Prahaarvalli.
Siddha/Tamil Somi-maram, Wond. Action Bark—antipyretic (particularly prescribed in malaria), bitter tonic in general debility, astringent (used for diarrhoea and dysentery); used as a gargle in stomatitis, applied to rheumatic swellings. The
bark is much inferior to cinchona bark, but a good substitute for oak bark.
The plant contains mainly tetranor-triterpenoids and flavonoids. The heartwood gave febrifugine A and B, febrinins A and B; flavonoids— naringenin, quercetin, myricetin and dehydromyricetin. The Root heart- wood yielded sitosterol, obtusifoliol, syringetin and dthydrosyringetin. The bark contains tetranor-triterpenoids with modified furan ring.
Petroleum ether extract of the bark yielded a steroid, methyl angolensate, ether extract yielded a steroid
