Curculigo orchioides Gaertn.
Family _ Amaryllidaceae; Hypoxidaceae.
Habitat _ Sub-tropical Himalayas
from Kumaon eastwards; Western
Ghats from Konkan Southwards.
Ayurvedic _ Taalmuuli, Taalpatri,
Krishna Mushali, Bhuumitaala.
Unani _ Musli Siyaah.
Siddha/Tamil _ Nilappanan kizhangu.
Action _ Nervine, adaptogenic, sedative,
anticonvulsive, androgenic,
anti-inflammatory and diuretic.
Used in Jaundice, urinary disorders,
skin diseases and asthma.
Mucilaginous.
Therhizomecontains saponins (curculigosaponin
C and F promoted proliferation
of spleen lymphocytes very
significantly; F and G increased the
weight of the thymus in vitro in mice);
sapogenins; phenolic glycosides, a triterpene
alcohol; a pentacyclic triterpene,
an aliphatic compound, hentriacontanol,
sitosterol, stigmasterol,
cycloartenol and sucrose. A peptide,
Curculin C, containing amino
acids, has been isolated from the fruit.
In traditional Chinese medicine,
dried rhizome, containing curculigoside
is used as a tonic for its immunological
and protective property.
In Indian medicine, powdered rhizomes
withmilk are taken as a restorative
tonic, also for sexual debility.
the plant exhibited
hypoglycaemic property.
