Range. Temperate and tropical Asia. Can be cultivated in the hot and humid parts of Myanmar, to altitudes of 610 m.
Uses
Seed: Bitter, used to stimulate appetite; correct imbalances in phlegm and gas; prevent jaundice, fainting, and facial paralysis; also taken as a laxative to rid the body of impurities. Ground seed paste is applied to scorpion stings to neutralize the venom. A mixture of oil from the seeds and ginger juice is used as medicine for whooping cough in children. One part of their oil is mixed with eight parts of coconut oil and used as a rub for aching joints. The oil can also be used for stomach disorders, hypertension, fevers, inflammation, infections, and diseases of the throat and ear.
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Origin:
Native to South-East Asia. Now cultivated in Assam, Bengal and South India.
Action:
Cathartic, rubefacient, irritant. Used in ascites, anasarca, dropsy and enlargement of abdominal viscera.
1) DeFilipps, Robert A.; Krupnick, Gary A. / PhytoKeys, v. 102. - - p. 1 - 314, 2018.
2) Khare, C.P./ Indian Medicinal Plants. -- Nueva Dheli: Springer, 2007 . - p. 836.