INDIAN SPINACH , Basella alba (PUI) succulent, branched, smooth, twining herbaceous vine, Dr.Pati

June 13, 2010 - PRLog -- INDIAN SPINACH

Latin name:            Basella alba
English names:          Ceylon spinach, Indian spinach, Malabar spinach
Other Common names:      Alugbati
Sanskrit name:          Upodika
Indian name:            Poi

Medicinal Parts used:       Leaves, Roots

Basella alba is a succulent, branched, smooth, twining herbaceous vine, several meters in length. Stems are purplish or green. Leaves are fleshy, ovate or heart-shaped, 5 to 12 cms long, stalked, tapering to a pointed tip with a cordate base. Spikes are axillary, solitary, 5-29 cm long. Fruit is fleshy, stalkless, ovoid or spherical, 5-6 mm long, and purple when mature.
It is a common market product, a popular leafy and stew vegetable, a good substitute for spinach. The green and purple cultivated varieties are preferable to the wild ones. Both the young shoots and stems are eaten.

Therapeutic use:
•   It is an excellent source of calcium and iron; good source of vitamins A, B, and C, with a high roughage value.
•   A paste of the root is applied to swellings and is also used as a rubefacient.
•   Sap is applied to acne eruptions to reduce inflammation.
•   Decoction of leaves used for its mild laxative effects.
•   Pulped leaves applied to boils and ulcers to hasten suppuration.
•   Sugared juice of leaves useful for catarrhal afflictions.
•   Leaf-juice, mixed with butter, is soothing and cooling when applied to burns and scalds.
•   In Ayurveda, used for hemorrhages, skin diseases, sexual weakness, ulcers and as laxative in children and pregnant women.
•   The plant is febrifuge, its juice is a safe aperient for pregnant women and a decoction has been used to alleviate labour.
•   Astringent - the cooked roots are used in the treatment of diarrhea.
•   The flowers are used as an antidote to poisons.
•   The leaf juice is a demulcent, used in cases of dysentery.

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Biotechayur manufactures botanical standardized nutritional herbal extracts. Biotechayur also manufactures aminoacids, protein, and aromatic essences
The plant is located in Orissa, India