Medicinal plants in sri lanka (1)

lPlant Families

•  Acanthaceae 

                                (Ada thoda)

Adhatoda vasica (Nees)

Description: It is a small evergreen, subherbacious bush. The leaves are 10 to 16 cms inlength, minutely pubescent and broadly lanceolate. The inflorescence is dense, short pedunculate, bractate and spike terminal. The corolla is large and white with lower lip streaked purple. The corolla is a 4-seeded small capsule. 

Propagation: By stem cuttingParts Used: Leaves, roots, flowers and stem bark.Chemical Constituents: The leaves of the plant contain an essential oil and Alkaloids vasicine, N-oxides of vasicine, vasicinone, deoxyvasicine, and maiontone. The roots are known to contain vasicinolone, vasicol, .peganine and 2glucosyl-oxychalcone. The flowers contain sitosterol glucoside, kaempferol, its glycosides and quercetin. 

Uses: Bronchitis and bronchial asthma. Local bleeding and thrombocytopenia. Pyorrhea. The leaf extract has been used for treatment of bronchitis and asthma for many centuries. It relieves cough and breathlessness. It is also prescribed commonly in Ayurveda for bleeding due to idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, local bleeding due to peptic ulcer, piles, menorrhagia etc. large doses of fresh juice of leaves have been used in tuberculosis. Its local use gives relief in pyorrhea and in bleeding gums.

      ( Heen Aniththa)     
Rhinacanthus nasut(Linn)

Synonyms: Rhinacanthus communis., Justicia nasuta
Vernacular Name: Sinhala: Heen Aniththa
Description: This useful plant is a slender, erect, branched, somewhat hairy shrub 1 to 2 meters in height. The leaves are oblong, 4 to 10 centimeters in length, and narrowed and pointed at both ends. The inflorescence is a spreading, leafy, hairy panicle with the flowers usually in clusters. The calyx is green, hairy, and about 5 millimeters long. The corolla-tube is greenish, slender, cylindric, and about 2 centimeters long. The corolla has two spreading lobes (lips); the upper lip is white, erect, oblong or lanceolate, 2-toothed at the apex, and about 3 millimeters in both length and width; and the lower lip is broadly obovate, 11 to 13 millimeters in both measurements, 3-lobed, and white, with a few, 

Chemical Constituents:  the roots contain an active principle, rhinacanthin. The plant is rich in potassium salts. rhinacanthin (1.87 per cent), from the roots which resembles chrysophanic and frangulic acids in its antiseptic and antiparasitic properties.
Uses: In India the fresh root and leaves, bruised and mixed with lime juice, are a useful remedy for ringworm and other skin affections. The seeds also are efficacious in ringworm. The root-bark is a remedy for dhobies itch. In Sind it is said to possess extraordinary aphrodisiacal powers, the roots boiled in milk being much employed by Hindu practitioners. The roots are believed n some parts of India to be an antidote to the bites of poisonous snakes.

(Heen bin kohomba)

Andrographis paniculata (Nees)

Vernacular Name: Sinhala: Heen bin kohomba; Eng: King of Bitters; Chinese: Chuan Xin Lian; Hindi: Kalmegh;
Description: Andrographis paniculata is an annual - branched, erect - running 1/2 to 1 meter in height. The aerial parts of the plant (leaves and stems) are used to extract the active phytochemicals. It grows abundantly in southeastern Asia: India (and Sri Lanka), Pakistan and Indonesia - but it cultivated extensively in China and Thailand (1), the East and West Indies, and Mauritius (2). Normally grown from seeds, Andrographis is ubiquitous in its native areas: it grows in pine, evergreen and deciduous forest areas, and along roads and in villages. Because of its well-known medicinal properties, it is also cultivated - quite easily, because it grows in all types of soil. Moreover, it grows in soil types where almost no other plant can be cultivated, particularly "serpentine soil," which is relatively high in aluminum, copper and zinc. Such hardiness helps account for its wide distribution.
Propagation: By seeds.
Parts Used: Leaves, roots.
Chemical Constituents:  Chemical Components & Their Effects: We know that Andrographis contains compounds that are analgesic (kills pain), antithrombotic (prevents blood clots), thrombolytic (breaks up blood clots), hypoglycemic (reduces blood sugar), and antipyretic (reduces fever). So, most of Andrographis' traditional uses have a scientific basis. Its most significant physiological effect is that of a "signal transducer," that is, it stops the unregulated cell growth caused by viruses (which may be why HIV sufferers are reported to show improvement with its regular use). Its most active component is andrographolide (see empirical formula at left), a colorless, bitter crystalline compound. Termed a "diterpene lactone" to describe its ringlike structure, this substance accumulates primarily in the brain, spleen, heart, and lungs. It is absorbed and excreted from the body quickly: 80% is removed within eight hours; 90%, within forty-eight hours.
Uses: Andrographis is an important "cold property" herb: it is used to rid the body of heat, as in fevers, and to dispel toxins from the body. In Scandinavian countries, it is commonly used to prevent and treat common colds. Research conducted in the '80's and '90's has confirmed that Andrographis, properly administered, has a surprisingly broad range of pharmacological effects, some of them extremely beneficial.

• Amaralidaceae

(Goda manel)
Crinum bulbispermum (Burm)

produces attractive grey green gracefully arching leaves during the summer months. A tall stem bearing large, hanging, lily-type flowers which are white with a pink to red stripe in each petal, is produced early in the growing season. The word "Krinon" means lily and the specific epithet refers to the bulblike shape and size of the seed.
Propagation: By seeds.
Part Used: Whole plant. 
Uses: This plant is used in traditional healing for the common cold, rheumatism, varicose veins, reduction of swelling and the treatment of septic sores. It is also used during the delivery of babies and to stimulate breast milk. Local people believe that this plant protects homes from evil.