Bakul

Botanical Name :  Mimusops elengi Linn.

Family : Sapotaceae   

Introduction :

Latin name : Mimusops = mimo = an ape, monkey flower: elingi= Malayan name.

Names in different Indian languages :

English : Spanish-Cherry,West Indian Medlar,Bullet Wood

Hindi : Bakul,maulsiri

Kannada : Pagademara

Malayalam : Ilanni,elanji

Sanskrit : Bakula

Tamil : Magilam

Telugu : Pogada

Unani : Molsari

Synonyms :

 Morphology :

This evergreen tree is 15 mtrs. high and provides a thick shade. Bark is ash coloured an broken. Trunk is hard, heavy, brownish externally and red from inside.

Leaves – 9 cm. long and 6 cm. broad, pointed with serpentile ends.

Flowers – white in colour and give out a sweet fragrance even on drying. Flowers are preserved by making garlands out of them.

Fruits – oblong, green when raw, astringent and sticky. Ripe fruits are yellow, sweet and easily breakable.

Flowering season lasts for 6 months from April- May. Male plant bears flowers only whereas female plant bears flowers and fruits. The flowers, fruits and plants of brihat bakul are larger

Distribution & Habitat :

Throughout India

Chemical constituents :

Tannin, spinasterol, taraxerol, D-mannitol, beta-sitosterol,  beta-sitosterol- D-glycoside , pentacyclic triterpene acids, mimusopic, mimusopsic acids

Properties :

Guna: guru

Rasa: katu, kashaya

Virya: anushna

Vipaka: katu

Karma : Danta sula haram, balyam, hridyam, vishaghnam, brimhanam, samgrahi, lekanam

carminative, digestive, astingent,cooling, diuretic, antimicrobial, antifungal, anthelmintic, antiviral, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory

Indication :

Sirasulam,

Ulcers, wounds, fever, skin disease, cough, piles, leucorrhoea, mouth ulcers

Part used :

Whole plant

Dosage :

Leaf juice 10-15 ml

Powder 2-4 g

Decoction 50-100 ml

External uses :

flowers acts as nervine tonic and generate freshness of mind. Powder of the flowers is used for nasal administration in headache. Bark powder is used for strengthening gums and teeth and in pyorrhoea.

Internal uses :

Decoction of the bark is astringent and is therefore used in diarrhoea, dysentery and intestinal worms. Alcoholic extract of flowers is useful in heart diseases as it acts specifically on the heart and blood. Flowers and bark have good hemostatic activity and are therefore used in menorrhagia, leucorthoea, spermatorrhoea, cystitis, gonorrhoea etc. Ripe fruits are used as general tonic

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