Range. Himalayas (Nepal to Bhutan), India, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia. Grows nat­urally throughout Myanmar, but especially in the mountainous northern part of the country in the shade of large trees; also cultivated.

Uses
Fruit: Used as a digestive. Paste made with water used to cure a stiff neck; when applied to bites of venomous animals, it neutralizes the venom. Powder taken with hot water used in deworming and to relieve pain in the chest. Licking the pow­der mixed with honey reduces excessive passing of blood. Boiling the fruit pod with jaggery and ginger, and drinking the liquid reduces fever and eases aches and pains in cases of malaria, ague, and influenza. The pod is also chewed to relieve toothaches. Root: A small amount of root powder taken with warm water is used to relieve inflam-mation of the joints as well as backaches. The root is also used to aid digestion.

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Origin

Warmer parts of India, from Central Himalayas to Assam, lower hills of West Bengal; Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Western Ghats from Konkan southwards to Trivandrum. Often cultivated.

Action:

Fruits—used for diseases of the respiratory tract (cough, bronchitis, asthma); as sedative (in insomnia and epilepsy); as cholagogue (in obstruction of bile duct and bladder), as emmenagogue, as digestive, appetizer and carminative (in indigestion); as general tonic and haematinic (in anaemia, chronic fevers and for improving intellect). Applied locally on muscular pains and inflammations.

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  493.