Disclaimer : This databank is curated from literature and may not claim for any medications or directly use of plants without any prior knowledge or consultation of physician.



Botanical Name Plant's Common Name Plant Family

MS033 : Crotalaria retusa L.

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Melghat's Flora's Serial No. : 121  
Class : Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons
Order : Fabales
Family : Fabaceae / Leguminosae - Pea family
Genus : Crotalaria L. - rattlebox
Species : Crotalaria retusa L. - rattleweed
Plant Location in Melghat : -  
Plant Category : Shrubs  
Plant's Current Status : -  
Plant Family : Fabaceae  

 
Plant Common Name : Ghogli, Rattleweed, shak-shak, Rattlebox, wedge-leaf, • Gujarati: Ghughra • Hindi: Ghunghunia • Kannada: Guluguluppahalli • Malayalam: Matrghatini • Marathi: Gagra • Tamil: Kilukiluppai • Telugu: Pottigilligichacha
 
Synonym : Crotalaria cuneifolia (Forssk.)Schrank, p.p.A.
Crotalaria hostmannii Steud.
Crotalaria retusa var. maritima Trimen.
Crotalaria retusifolia Stokes.
Dolichos cuneifolius Forssk.
Lupinus cochinchinensis Lour.


Description : Erects herbs or subshrubs up to 1.75 m tall; branches striate, minutely pubescent. Leaves 2-8 x 1-3 cm, oblanceolate or obovate, base cuneate, apex obtuse or retuse, glabrous above, puberulent and glaucous below; stipules minute, subulate. Flowers in few to many-flowered terminal racemes; bracts 4-6 mm long, subulate. Calyx 0.8-1 cm long, puberulous without; lobes 5, broadly ovate, acuminate. Corolla 1.5-2 cm long, yellow with red striations; standard orbicular; wings with scaly folds; keels with a line of cottony hairs on inner margin. Staminal sheath 6-7 mm long; filaments 5-7 mm long. Ovary 0.8-1 cm long; ovules many; style 1-1.5 cm long; stigma pubescent. Pods 3-4 x 0.8-1 cm, oblong, cylindrical, slightly broader upwards. Seeds 15-20, c. 3 mm long, light brown to black.
 
Curated Medicinal Use / Activity : The roots are used against coughing up blood. The plant is used as a treatment for complaints such as cough, dyspepsia, fever, cardiac disorders, stomatitis, Diarrhea, scabies and impetigo. An infusion of the plant is used to bathe children in order to prevent skin infections and also to treat thrush. The leaves, mixed with those of Crotalaria quinquefolia, act internally as well as externally against fever, scabies, lung diseases and impetigo. A decoction of the flowers and leaves is used to soothe a cold. The seeds are eaten raw to act as an analgesic to deaden the pain of a scorpion sting. The powdered seeds, mixed with milk, are eaten in order to increase body strength; they are also used to treat skin diseases
 
Plant's Phytochemicals : pyrrolizinine
monocrotaline
retusine
spectabiline
quercetin
quercetin-3-o-glucoside
isoquercitrin
crotaline
Polyamines
stearic acid
oleic acid
linoleic acid
Caprylic acid
margaric acid
capric acid
lauric acid
myristic acid
arachidonic acid
erucic acid
lignoceric acid

Reference : ~ Dhore MA and Joshi PA; "Flora of Melghat Tiger Reserve"; Directorate, Project Tiger, Melghat (1988); PMID :