Gentiana kurroo Royle. 283
Family Rubiaceae.
The leaves and stem bark contain sterols, sitosterol, stigmasterol and campesterol; fatty acids; aliphatic compounds; a mixture of long chain esters; along with tannins and waxes. The leaves also contain garugarin and amentoflavone. Gum-resin contains alpha-amyrin, butyrospermol and dammarandiol.
Aqueous and ethanolic extract of the leaves exhibit anti-inflammatory and antiallergic activities.
Gaultheria fragrantissima Wall. Family Ericaceae.
Habitat Central and Eastern
Himalayas, Khasi Hifis, Western
Ghats, the Nilgiris and Travancore.
English Fragrant Wintergreen,
Indian Wintergreen. (Wintergreen oil is obtained from G. procumbens Linn., a native of America.)
Ayurvedic Gandhapuura, Gandhapuurna.
Siddha/Tamil Kolakkaai.
Action 1 Leaves—stimulant, carminative, diuretic, antiseptic. Oil (in the form of liniment or ointment)— applied externally in rheumatism, sciatica and neuralgia. The plant is strongly irritant.
The leaves gave hyperoside (quercetin-3-galactoside), ursolic acid, betasitosterol and essential oil containing methyl salicylate as a major constituent. The yield of oil from Assam plants contains 99.14% methyl salicylate. Heptyl aldehyde, present in the low boiling fraction of the oil, brought
about the regression of tumours in mice and dogs.
Gelidium amansii Kutz.
Family Gelidaceae, Rhodophyceae. Habitat Indigenous to Japan.
English Agar Agar, Japanese Isinglass. (Dried mucilaginous extract.)
Folk Agar-Agar.
Action Bulk-laxative. Agar-Agar
does not increase peristaltic action. Its action is similar to that of
cellulose of vegetable foods which aids the regularity of the bowel
movement. (Often made into an emulsion with liquid paraffin for use in constipation.)
Most agars consist of two major polygalactoses, the neutral agarose and the sulphonated polysaccharide agaropectin, with traces of amino acids and free sugars.
Agar contains a large amount of pectin which may precipitate when exposed to alcohol. (Sharon M
