PARTE UTILIZADA= Used part: Raíz.

ACCIÓN FARMACOLÓGICA= Pharmacological action: Diurético, sudorífico (raíz).

COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA= Chemical composition: A number of sapindaceous seed oils have been investigated with respect to their cyanolipid constituents. All but one of the oils have this new class of lipids in amounts ranging from 13% to 55%. These cyanolipids are of four different types, but all consist of long-chain fatty acids esterified with an unsaturated isoprenoid hydroxy- or dihydroxynitrile. The large amounts of C20 acids usually found in these oils indicate an appreciable cyanolipid content because such acids are preferentially incorporated in nitrile-containing fractions. Cardiospermum halicacabum L. seed oil was shown to contain 49% of a diester having two fatty acid moieties esterified with 1-cyano-2-hydroxymethylprop-2-ene-1-ol and 6% of another diester derived from 1-cyano-2-hydroxymethylprop-1-ene-3-ol. Treatment of the latter diester with methanolic hydrogen chloride produces methyl 4,4-dimethoxy-3-(methoxymethyl) butyrate from the dihydroxynitrile moiety. © 1969 American Oil Chemists' Society.

ZONA GEOGRAFICA= Geografical zone: pantropical. 

Whole plant: Infusion of seedling is used to clear the uterus after childbirth. Root: Infusion used as a stomachic and diuretic.

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Range. Pantropical.

Uses
Whole plant: Used to treat rheumatism and fever, as well as tumors. Boiled in water to one-third the starting volume, and the resulting decoction taken with sugar to cure urinary tract disorders and diseases, as well as laryngitis, fever, aches and pains. Liquid from boiling the plant and jaggery cooled, a cloth bundle of five kinds of fen­nel soaked in the liquid, and roasted salt added; the resulting preparation is taken three times a day for urinary diseases, indigestion and gas, eye disorders, heart disease, uterine ailments, edema, muscle fatigue and aches, throat problems (possibly cancer), and weak­ness.

Shoot and Leaf: Boiled and eaten as a diuretic.

Leaf: Decoction ingested as a remedy for rheumatism or applied in an oil as an embrocation. Most uses of the leaves are exter­nal. Juice from the crushed leaves applied around the eyes or mixed with mother’s milk and used as eye drops to treat eye disorders caused by anemia, sore eyes, and cataracts. Juice from the crushed leaves is also used to make thanakha, a paste applied to the face and body to alleviate skin disorders, such as ringworm, discoloration, and acne, as well as rashes related to menstrual irregularities. Equal amounts of powder from the dried leaves and garlic clove are mixed into a paste that is rolled, dried in the sun, and used as an in­halant to clear nasal passages; it is also rubbed on the tongue and inside the mouth to heal sores, to alleviate problems caused by eating the wrong foods or from inhaling cooking fumes, and to treat bronchitis. In addition, the same preparation is dissolved in sesame oil and applied topically as a remedy for skin disorders, such as scabies and eczema, edema, varicose veins, anemia, chills, and fever, as well as for thrush, indigestion, and bloating in infants. 

Root: Employed as a laxative, diuretic, emetic, purgative, and diaphoretic; also administered to treat catarrh of the bladder and urinary tract.
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Origin:
Throughout the plains of India, as a wild climber.

Action:
Used in rheumatism, lumbago, skeletal fractures, nervous diseases, amenorrhoea, haemorrhoids, erysipelas. The herb is used in hairoils for treating dandruff, alopecia and for darkening hair.
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Origin
“Cariri Paraibano”, Brazil
Medicinal indication
Against liver disorders and rheumatisms. As tonic for memory, diuretic and emenagogue: Entire plant

1) TOURSARKISSIAN, Martín. Plantas medicinales de Argentina : sus nombres botánicos, vulgares, usos y distribución geográfica. Buenos Aires : Hemisferio Sur, 1980, p.117

2) MIKOLAJZAK, K.L.: SMITH Jr.: C.R., TJARKS, L.W. Cyanolipids of Cardiospermum halicacabum L. and other sapindaceous seed oils. Lipids. 1970, vol.5, nº10, p.812-817.

3) Robertt, A., et al.. Medicinal Plants of the Guianas (Guyana, Suriname, French Guyana)/Smithsonian NMNH. cited online: 17-08-2017

4) DeFilipps, Robert A.; Krupnick, Gary A. / PhytoKeys, v. 102. - - p. 1 - 314,  2018.

5) Khare, C.P./ Indian Medicinal Plants. -- Nueva Dheli: Springer, 2007 . - p. 836.

6) M.F. Agra; et al/ Medicinal and poisonous diversity of the flora of “Cariri Paraibano”, Brazil/ Journal of Ethnopharmacology 111 (2007), p. 392.