Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Punica granatum L.


English Name : Pomegranate

Family : Punicaceae

Origin : Probably northwestern India and/or southern Persia

Description
It is a bush or small tree, not more than 15 feet high, with pale, brownish bark. The buds and young shoots are red, the leaves opposite, lanceolate, entire, thick, glossy and almost evergreen. The flowers are large and solitary, the crimson petals alternating with the lobes of the calyx. The fruit is the size of an orange, having a thick, reddish-yellow rind, an acid pulp, and large quantities of seeds.

Habitat
Northwest Himalayas, valleys and ravines of Garhwal and the subHimalayas; also in many temperate and warm parts of both hemispheres.

Parts Used : Bark (from root and stem), leaf, flower, aerial part, fruit and its rind, seed and its oil.

Herb Effects
Anthelmintic (bark and fruit rind); astringent and antibacterial (bark. seed oil. leaf. flower and fruit rind); carminative (seed); diuretic. hypothermic and depresses the central nervous system (aerial part), antiviral, astringent, cardiac, demulcent, emmenagogue, refrigerant, stomachic, vermifuge.

Active Ingredients
Estrone, linoleic aid, malvidin pentose glycosides, oleic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid (seed); punicalagin, punicalin, granatin B and ellagic acid (fruit rind); gallic acid, mannitol (pericarp); mannite (root bark); tannic acid (root, bark and flower); ascorbic acid, chlorogenic acid, citric acid, mallic acid, niacin, oxalic acid, protocatechuic acid, riboflavin, thiamin, ursolic acid (fruit); beta-sitosterol, betulinic acid, ellagic acid, ellagitannin (bark); corilagin (leaf); inulin (petiole); maslinic acid (flower); sorbitol (plant).

Medicinal Use
In dysentery and diarrhea (fruit rind and bark); as a vermifuge (root bark), as an injection in leucorrhoea, as a gargle in sore throat and in powder for intermittent fevers. It is used externally in the treatment of vaginal discharges, mouth sores and throat infections.

Dosage
Decoction: to prepare the decoction by placing 2 ounces of the root in 1 1/2 or 2 pints of water, and boiling down to 1 pint; this is to be strained, and from 2 to 4 fluid ounces given for a dose every half hour or hour, until the pint of the decoction has been taken.
Powder: 20 to 40 grains.

Reference

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