Malabar Nut The Medicinal Wonder

Malabar Nut is a gregarious shrub and it is an extremely popular for its medicinal values.

Common name: Nongmangkha angouba (Manipuri), Banheka (Assamese), Adatodai (Tamil) Basak (Bengali), Malabar Nut, {Arusa, Vasala} (English).

Botanical name: Adhatoda vasica
Synonyms : Justicia adhatoda,
Justicia thyrsiformis,
Justicia thyrsiflora
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Lamiales
Family: Acanthaceae
Genus: Adhatoda
Species: Adhatoda vasica
A small summary of the plant

Adhatoda vasica is a small evergreen plant growing in open plains and in the lower Himalayans, up to a range of 1000 meters above sea level. This plant is also cultivated in other tropical areas , found abudently in wild in all over Nepal, India, Pothohar region of Pakistan, also in Sri Lanka, Burma and Malaysia. It is a herbal plant which requires very little watering and needs to be singled out for propagation and planting on a large scale. Propagated easily by cuttings, grows to a height of eight to 14 feet and has attractive white flowers. Broad leaves measure 10 to 16 cm in length and 5 cm wide, which are simple, opposite, ovate-lanceolate, acute or acuminate and shiny. They become greenish-brown when dried and have a bitter taste. They have a smell similar to strong tea. The wood of the stem is soft, and makes a great charcoal for gunpowder. The fruit is a small capsule with 4 seeds.

The leaves, roots, flowers and stem bark of this plant are used in medicinal applications. Adhatoda leaves have been used extensively in Ayurvedic Medicine for over 2000 years primarily for respiratory disorders. Its trade name vasaka is based on Sanskrit name.

Sohini Ghosh1, Jyoti Lakshmi Devi2 (students of MSc Microbiology)
M.S. Ramaiah College. www.medicinplants.blogspot.com
www.botanic.jp/plants-aa/adhvas.htm