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| Latin Name |
English Name |
Sanskrit Names |
Hindi Names |
Mesua ferrea
Linn. (Clusiaceae)
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Ironwood Tree |
Nagakesara,
Nagapushpa,
Keshara |
Nagkesar,
Nagesar |
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| Habitat |
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It grows in the Himalayas
from Nepal eastwards, in north-eastern India, the Deccan Peninsula
and the Andaman Islands, ascending to an altitude of 1,500 m.
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| Morphology
Description (Habit) |
A medium-sized to
large evergreen tree with short trunk, often buttressed at the base.
The bark is greyish or reddish brown; the leaves are lanceolate, coriaceous,
generally covered with a waxy bloom underneath, red when young; the
flowers are large, white and fragrant; the fruits are ovoid, nearly
woody; the seeds are dark brown.
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| Principal
Constituents |
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The stamens which
yield the drug Nagakesara contain mesuferrone-A and B, mesuaferrol,
mesuanic acid, a- and ß-amyrin, and ß-sitosterol. The
seeds and heartwood contain a number of xanthones and coumarins1.
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| Pharmacology |
Xanthones isolated
from the plant given orally or intraperitonially have been shown to
exhibit significant anti-inflammatory activity in normal as well as
adrenolectomised rats. The Ethanolic extract of the plant showed diuretic
and hypotensive activity. Volatile oil from the flowers showed antibacterial,
antifungal and anthelmintic activities1.
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| Clinical
Studies |
The
essential oil from the stamen showed antifungal activity against C.
tropicalis2. Essential oil from the seeds exhibited
antifungal activity against a number of pathogenic fungi3.
Phenolic extract of seed oil of M. ferrea revealed potent antiasthmatic
effect4.
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| Toxicology |
LD50
in mice is 400mg/kg, i.v. and 800mg/kg, i.p. and non-toxic upto 1600mg/kg,
p.o.
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| Indications |
The volatile oil
from the flowers shows antibacterial, antifungal and anthelmintic
activities. It exhibits significant anti-inflammatory and styptic
activity.
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| Product
Range |
Lukol, Pilex (VeinCare),
Styplon, Styplon Vet, Chyavanaprasha.
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| References |
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- Banerjee & Chowdhury, J Chem Soc Pakist, 1993, 15, 207;
Handa et. al., Fitoterapia, 1992, 63, 3; Chem Abstr, 1989,
110, 170185; Bhattathiri et. al., J Res Ayur Siddha, 1989,
10, 153.
- Kakrani, H.K.: Antimicrobial and anthelmintic activity of essential
oil of Mesua ferrea Linn. Ind. Drugs 21(6): 621-262,
1984.
- Jain, S.R. and Jain, H.R. Effect of some common essential oils
on pathogenic fungi. Planta Med. 24: 127, 1973.
- Bhide, M.B. et. al., Studies on the antiasthmatic
activity of Mesua ferrea. Bull. Haff. Inst. 5: 27, 1977.
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