Botanical name : Catunaregum spinosa (Thunb.) Tirvengadum.
Randia dumetorum (Retz.) Lam.
Family : Rubiaceae
SANSKRIT SYNONYMS
Madana, Vamanaphala, Teevragandhi.
AYURVEDIC PROPERTIES
Rasa : Kashaya, Tikta, Madhura
Guna : Guru
Virya : Ushna
PLANT NAME IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
English : Emetic nut tree
Hindi : Mainphal, Madan
Malayalam : Malankara, Karachulli
Distribution – In dry deciduous forests in India; also cultivated for medicinal purpose.
PLANT DESCRIPTION
A large deciduous thorny shrub grows up to 5 meters of height. Leaves simple, obovate, wrinkled, shiny and pubescent. Flowers white, fragrant, solitary, seen on at the end of short branches. Fruits globose, smooth berries with longitudinal ribs; yellow when ripe. Seeds many, compressed, embedded in the dark fetid pulp.
MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
Plant pacifies vitiated pitta, kapha, cough, skin diseases, ulcers, asthma, flatulence, colic, and is widely used as a medicine for emesis therapy in ayurveda.
Useful part : Fruits, Bark.