An important plant useful in Urinary System: Punarnava
- By Dr. M V Subramanyam, MD, PhD (Shalakya Tantra )
- Published 05/29/2006
- Herbs
Dr. M V Subramanyam, MD, PhD (Shalakya Tantra )
Professor and Head of the Dept of Shalakya Tantra S D M College of Ayurveda Hassan, india
View all articles by Dr. M V Subramanyam, MD, PhD (Shalakya Tantra )MUTRAVAHA SAMSTHANA(URINARY SYSTEM)
PUNARNAVA
Latin name????? : Boerhavia diffusa
??????????????????????? ? Boerhavia – name of a discoverer
??????????????????????? ? Diffusa- which spreads or widely spreading.
Family???????????? : Nyctaginaceae, nyx- blooming at night.
English name?? : Spreading hog weed.
Sanskrit names: shophagni, pravrishenya.
Gana vargeekarana:
Charaka??????????? : Vayasthapana, kasahara, swedopaga, anuvasanopaga
Sushruta?????????? : Vidarigandhadi
Botanical description:
A perennial creeper, 0.75-1m in length. Sometimes grows up to 4mtrs in rainy seasons and dries in summer.
Leaves: opposite, 2.5-4cm long, fleshy with soft hairs, whitish ventrally.
Flowers: small, pink coloured,
Fruits: 1cm long, round or circular, containing seeds like cow’s beans.
Root: twisted on drying.
Flowering and fruiting during winter.
Chemical composition:
b- sitosterol, punarnavine, punarnavoside, oxalic acid.
Guna karma:
rasa- Madhura, tikta, kashaya??????????????????????????? Guna- Laghu, ruksha
Veerya- Ushna?????????????????????????????????????????????????? Vipaka- Katu
Karma: Shothahara, deepana
Indications: Shotha (edema), pandu (anemia), udara (abdomen), hridroga (heart), shwasa (breathing).
Urinary system:
Diuretic by increasing renal blood flow.