Botanical name : Corchorus aestuans Linn. (C. acutangulus Lam.)
Family : Tiliaceae.
SANSKRIT SYNONYMS
Chunchu, Chanchu, Chinchaa.
AYURVEDIC PROPERTIES
Rasa : Tikta, Kashaya
Guna : Lakhu.
Virya : Seeta
PLANT NAME IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
English : Wild jute
Hindi : Jute
Malayalam : Chanam, Kattuchanam
Distribution – Throughout the warmer parts of India, as a weed.
PLANT DESCRIPTION
A small weed grows up to 1 meter in height. Leaves are simple alternate, serrate or dentate, ovate, acute or obtuse. Flowers small yellowish and axillary. Fruits are small elongated pods.
MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
Plant pacifies vitiated kapha, pitta, inflammation, burning sensation, gastric problems, cough, asthma hypercholestremia, cardiac debility and pneumonia
Useful part : Whole plant.
CHEMICAL CONTENTS.
The seeds contain cardenolides, beta-sitosterol, ceryl alcohol, oligosaccharides.
The aerial parts contain triterpenoidal glycosides—corchorusins. Corchorusins have similar structural similarity with saikosaponins (isolated so far from Bupleurum sp. of Japan, China and Korea) and some of them exhibit antiviral, anti-inflammatory and plasma-cholesterol lowering activities. The alcoholic extract of the entire plant was found to have anticancer activity against epidermal carcinoma of nasopharynx in tissue culture. Alcoholic extract and glycosides of seeds exhibit cardiotonic activity. Digitoxose containing glycosides are reported to be present in Corchorus sp. C. olitorius Linn. is known as Jew’s Mallow (Pattaa Shaaka or Patuaa Shaaka). Corchorosid A, reported from the plant, improved cardiac competence experimentally. The leaf extracts may be used as moisturizers in skin cosmetics. The extracts consist of uronic acid containing muco-polysaccharide, Ca, K and P, among others, which act as effective moisturizers.
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