English: Coral bead vine, Rosary pea, Indian liquorice.
Sanscrit: गुंजा Gunjaa
Hindi: रत्ती Ratti, गुंची Gunchi
Malayalam: Kunni കുന്നി
Tamil: குந்து மணி kundu mani
Crab’s Eye plant is a perennial climber vine, woody, commonly found as a weed on roadsides, and waste areas in higher rainfall areas like WesternGhats. It is a climber vine with slender stems. Leaves have several pairs of small leaflets. Flowers are about 10 mm long and pea-shaped, whitish or pink found as clusters. Seeds are contained in pods 20 to 35 mm long with a rough surface texture, and contain a number of red and black coloured seeds, 5 to 7 mm long. It is a highly toxic (abrin) plant, the seeds contain poison which is even able to kill a healthy man.
Leaf Arrangement
Shape-Odd-pinnate | Margin-Entire | Venation-Reticulate |
Useful plant parts:
Root, leaf, seed and oil
Medicinal Uses:
Inflammation, irregular mensuration, fevers, coughs and cold, to increase erotic desire in men, used in the treatments of gonorrhoea, jaundice, haemoglobinuria bile, hair growth, Dandruff, Dental caries, treat frozen shoulder, scrofula, erysipelas and skin diseases.
Chemical content:
Cycloartenol, Delphinidin, Gallic acid, Glycyrrhizin, Hypaphorine, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and analgesic potential, quinines, flavonoids, anthocyanins and sotlavanoids.
Medicinal Properties:
How to prepare medicines:
It is used as an ingredient in Indian Ayurveda hair products.
Root extraction is used in the treatment of eye diseases.
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