Ipomoea nil (L.) ROTH.

English Name : Japanese Morning Glory

Family : Convolvulaceae


Origin : Tropics

Description

An annual herb. Stems twining, reaching 12 feet in length, slender, cylindrical, hairy with rather long deflexed hairs, branched. Leaves alternate, on very long hairy stalks, without stipules, blade variable in size and form, usually 2 to 3 inches long and about the same in width, deeply cordate at the base, more or less deeply cut into 3 acute lobes, margin entire, dark green, pale beneath, hairy, drowny or nearly smooth.

Habitat

Wastelands, cultivated fields and on hedges in India; common in tropical parts and warm areas of the world (including the United States).


Parts Used : Seed and plant

Herb Effects

The seed is anthelmintic, diuretic, antifungal and laxative; hypoglycemic (in rats) (plant); toxic to mice; anthelmintic, anticholinergic, antifungal, antispasmodic, antitumour, diuretic and laxative (seeds)

Active Ingredients
Chanoclavine, penniclavine, lysergol, isopenniclavine, pharbitisin and elymoclavine (seed).

Medicinal Use

It is used in the treatment of oedema, oliguria, ascariasis and constipation. The seed contains small quantities of the hallucinogen LSD. This is used medicinally in the treatment of various mental disorders.


Dosage
30 to 50 grains of powdered seeds; 5 to 8 grains of plant resin (for a laxative effect).


Reference