Ammi majus Linn.
Family Umbelliferae; Apiaceae.
Habitat Cultivated in Jammu and Himachal Pradesh.
English Biship’s Weed-Amee, Greater Ammi.
Unani Itarilaal, Khalah.
Action Source of xanthotoxin,
a drug employed in the treatment of leucoderma. Dried fruit powder or extract of the plant is used topically in vitiigo.
The fruits contain ammoidin (xanthotoxin), ammidin (imperatorin) and majudin (bergapten). All the three compounds are used in leucoderma. Maximum xanthotoxin content (1%) is found in green fruits from Jammu.
The 8-MOP, methoxypsoralen constituent of the weed is one of the first agents used along with UVA radiation to treat psoriasis. (Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, 2007.)
Ammi visnaga (Linn.) Lam
Synonym Daucus visnaga Linn. Visnaga daucoides Gaertn.
Family Umbellferae; Apiaceae.
Habitat Cultivated as a garden ornamental; runs wild at many places in Jammu region.
English Khella.
Folk Paashaanabhedi (controversial; Bergenia ligulata has been equated with the classical Paashaanabheda).
Action Antispasmodic in renal
colic, bronchial asthma, whooping cough (used by Unani physicians), vasodilator (in angina pectoris).
Key application German
Commission E approved the
herb on 13 March 1986, but due to information on potential risks, its status was changed to unapproved on 15 April 1994.
Khella contains khellin (1%), visnagin, khellol glycoside, flavonoids, sterols, volatile oil (0.2%). Khellin and visnagin exert a powerful antispasmodic effect on the smaller bronchial muscles, the coronary arteries and on the urinary tubules. Khellin provides relief to asthmatic patients. The drug also relieves painful spasm of stone in kidney and bladder (no more used for expelling kidney stones).
Khella does not reduce blood pressure in spite of being a vasodilator.
Khellin is toxic at 100 mg. (Francis Brinker.)
