खरत्वक् - Biophytum sensitivum
Name - अलंबुषा
Botanical name - Biophytum sensitivum
Description - Annual herb, 7.5-10.0 cm high; stem simple; leaves sensitive, fascicled or almost whorled at the top of the stem, petioles swollen at the base, unipinnate, 5.0-12.5 cm long with 6-15 pairs of leaflets, leaflets oblique, oblong, terminal pair the largest; flowers shortly pedicelled, small, yellow or purple; capsules ovoid or oblong, covered by sepals; seeds with obliquely transverse tubercled ridges.
Chemical Constituents- Leaves contain insulin like principle
Use - Herb tonic and stimulant, used in chest complaints, convulsions, cramps and inflammatory tumours. Ash mixed with lime juice given in stomachache. Leaves and roots styptic. Decoction of leaves given in diabetes, asthma and phthisis. Powdered seeds applied to abscesses to promote suppuration.
