Botanical Name : Coleus amboinicus
Family : Lamiaceae
Introduction :
Latin name: Colens = Gk, koleos = a sheath (refering to the way the base of the stamens are combined); amboinicus ambo – pulpit = a raised platform.
In folk it is using for kidney stone.
Names in different Indian languages :
English : Indian Borage
Hindi : Patta ajavayin, patharcur
Kannada : Karpurahalli
Malayalam : Panikkurka, kannikurkka
Sanskrit : Parna-yavaani,
Tamil : Karpoorvalli
Telugu : sugandhavalkam
Synonyms :
Pashanbhedi, karpura valli, sugandhavalkala
Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng.
Coleus amboinicus Lour.
Varieties & adulterants – (CV – controversy, AD – adulterants) :
Mexican mint – Coleus amboinicus
Coleus vettiveroides
Morphology :
A perennial, hairy shrub, very fragrant and with bristly hair. Trunk is 30 cm. to 1 mtrs. high and delicate.
Leaves – simple, 6cm. long, ovate, dentate, thick with pungent smell.
Flowers – small, violet, flowering at the end of winter and fruiting in summer.
Distribution & Habitat :
all over India, native to Malaya.
Chemical constituents :
thymol ,carvacrol and camphor,oxalacetic acid, flavonoid, cirsimaritin , betasitosterol.
Properties :
Guna: laghu ruksha,;
Rasa: katu, tikta;
Virya: ushna;
Vipaka-katu
Karma : carminative, digestive,astingent,cooling,diuretic, antimicrobial, antifungal, anthelmintic, antiviral, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory,
Indication :
fever, skin disease, cough, piles, leucorrhoea,vomiting, dysentery,gout, burning sensation,dyspepsia,cephalgia, worm infection
Part used : Whole plant
Dosage :
Leaf juice 10-15 ml
Powder 2-4 g
Decoction 50-100 ml
Internal uses :
Internally, it is an optimum medicine for the alimentary system. It is used in anorexia., loss of appetite, indigestion, constipation, hepatosplenic disorders, abdominal colic, diarrhoea, duodenitis and intestinal worms. It is very effective in diarrhoea due to cholera; initially 15ml of the juice should be given followed by 8 ml. every two hours till diarrhoea stops. It is bacteriostatic but not bactericidal. Also useful in cardiac debility, cough, breathlessness, hiccups, dysuria and urinary calculi.
