Peruka

Botanical Name : Psidium guajava Linn.

Family : Myrtaceae

Identification No.: SDACH/HG/102

Names in different Indian languages :

English : Common guva

Hindi : Amrud, safed saphari

Kannada : Balehanu, keli

Malayalam : Pera, koyya

Sanskrit : Perukah

Tamil : Koya

Telugu : Jampandu

Synonyms :

Amaruuda

Uses :

antidiarrhoeal, dysentery, diabetes, cough and cold,  anthelmintic, hepatitis

Chemical :

linoleic acid, vitamin C, flavonol morin, morin-3-O-lyxoside, morin-3-O-arabinoside, quercetin and quercetin-3-O-arabinoside

HABITAT & DISTRIBUTION-

Grown throughout India upto 1500 m and is cultivated commercially in almost all states including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharshtra, Assam, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu

Morphology-

Much branched small or medium sized tree upto 8 m high. Bark smooth, pale pinkish or buff with greyish patches. Leaves 10-15 cm long, simple, opposite, oblong or elliptic-oblong, pellucid-punctate, glabrous above, pubescent beneath.

IUCN Status : Least Concern

Research updates – 

1. Folklore practices of Peruka (Psidium guajava Linn.) in different diseases

2. Randomized controlled clinical study to evaluate the efficacy of peruka churna pratisarana in management of mukhapaka in children