ज्यॊतिष्का - Celastrus paniculata
Name - ज्यॊतिष्मती
Botanical name - Celastrus paniculata
Description - Scandent shrubs with lenticellate branches. Leaves crenate-serrate. Rowers yellowish or greenish-white, in terminal panicles. Capsule sub-globose, yellow with scarlet fleshy aril enclosing the seeds.
Chemical Constituents- Plant contains sesquiterpene esters malkanguniol, malkangunin, celapanine, celapanigine, dibydroagarofuran sesquiterpenoids. Flowers contain dulcitol. Seeds contain alkaloid celastrine and paniculatine, glucoside and oil consisting of sesquiterpene polyol ester.
Use - Bark abortifacient. Seeds tonic and aphrodisiac; seed oil used as nerve stimulant and brain tonic; also used in rheumatic pains. The drug is bitter, laxative, emetic and stimulant. It is useful in gout, rheumatism, leprosy, paralysis, and fevers. Seed-oil: tranquilizing, sedative, useful in hysteria, vasoconstrictor and spasmolytic in rat's uterus; Resin (from seed-oil): lowers blood pressure in dogs.