Botanical Name : Vernonia cinerea (Linn)Less.
Family : Compositae; Asteraceae.
Identification No.: SDACH/HG/086
Introduction :
This plant used for ‘Anjanam’
Latin name: Vernonia = of the spring: cineria = cinder coloured
Names in different Indian languages :
English : Ash coloured Fleabane, Purple Fleabane.
Hindi : Sahadevyi, sadodi
Kannada : Sahadevyi, sadodi
Malayalam : puvamkurunnila
Sanskrit : Sahadevi
Tamil : Naichotte Poonde, puvamkuruntil, naycitti
Telugu : Gharitikamini, garitikamma.
Synonyms :
सहदेवी सुरश्रेणिः शतपुष्पा शताग्रिका।
वृष्या तीक्ष्णोष्णवीर्या च कृमिपाण्डुविनाशिनी॥
Uttamkanyaka, jwara hara, Dandotpalaa,
Morphology :
This herb grows 15 -30 cms. in high. Stalk is thin, with sharp borders and bristly hairs.
Leaves –simple, different sizes with bristly hair on them and absence of stalk. Flowers blue. purple, appear in rainy season.
Fruits – in winter.
Varieties : Two – I) white flowers and 2) blue flowers.
Distribution & Habitat :
All over India.
Chemical constituents :
luteolin-7-monobeta- D-glucopyranoside, betaamyrin, acetate, lupeol acetate, betaamyrin , lupeol
Properties :
Guna: laghu, ruksha, katu;
Guna:laghu
Virya: ushna;
Vipaka : Katu
Prabhav: jwaraghna (antipyretic).
Karma : jwarahara, netrya
diaphoretic, blood purifier, anti fungal, anti bacterial, diuretic , anthelmintic, antiflatulent, antispasmodic;
Indication :
leucorrhoea, dysuria, spasm of bladder, dysuria, leucoderma, psoriasis, cough, skin disease
Part used :
Whole plant
Dosage :
Leaf juice 10-15 ml
Powder 2-4 g
Decoction 50-100 ml
Externally, it is used in quaternary fever by tying its root with scalp hair and rubbing its juice on the skin. Paste of the leaves is applied on conjunctivitis and guinea worm. Its laxative, anthelmintic, blood purifying and diaphoretic properties make it useful in piles, intestinal worms, blood disorders, skin diseases, fever and renal calculi. Insects do not stay around this plant.
Amayika Prayoga / Therapeutic Uses
External:
Paste applied in skin conditions and swelling
Decoction used for washing wounds
Internal:Juice/decoction used in fevers, worm infestations, anemia, and general debility
Used as adjuvant in deworming and anti-inflammatory therapy
IUCN Status: Not Evaluated (NE)
Research Updates (Past 5 Years):
1. 2020 – Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity validated in experimental models.
2. 2021 – Effective in promoting weight loss and reducing oxidative stress in lifestyle disorders.
3. 2023 – Evaluated for hepatoprotective and antipyretic effects in animal studies.
