Botanical name : Avena sativa Linn
Family : Poaceae
SANSKRIT SYNONYMS
Yavika
AYURVEDIC PROPERTIES
Rasa : Madhura, Kashaya
Guna : Lakhu.
Virya : Seeta.
PLANT NAME IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
English : Oats, Common oat.
Hindi : Yav.
Malayalam : Oats, Yavam.
Distribution – Throughout north India, Cultivated.
PLANT DESCRIPTION
A small annual herb grows up to 1 m high. Leaves linear lanceolate, veined rough leaves; loose striate sheaves; stipules lacerate; panicle equal, loose; spikelets pedunculate, pendulous, two flowered, both perfect, lower one mostly awned; paleae cartilaginous, embracing the caryopsis; root fibrous, annual. The grains as found in commerce are enclosed in their pales and these grains divested of their paleae are used for medicinal and dietary purposes; the grains when separated from their integuments are termed groats, and these when crushed are called Embden groats. Oatmeal is ground grain.
MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
Plant pacifies vitiated kapha, vata, constipation, diarrhea, skin diseases, obesity, hypercholesteremia, general weakness and sexual weakness, nervous tension, abdominal spasm, urinary retention opium addiction and malignancy.
Useful part : Seeds, Oat straw.
CHEMICAL CONTENTS
The seeds contain proteins and prolamines (avenins); C-glycosyl flavones; avenacosides (spirostanol glycosides); fixed oil, vitamin E, starch. Silicon dioxide (2%) occurs in the leaves and in the straw in soluble form as esters of silicic acidwith polyphenols and monosaccharide and oligosaccharides. Oat straw contains a high content of iron (39mg/kg dryweight),manganese (8.5 mg) and zinc (19.2 mg). In an experimental study, oat straw stimulated the release of luteinizing hormone from the adenohypophysis of rats. (Expanded Commission E Monographs.) An alcoholic extract of green oats was tried on opium addicts. Six chronic opium addicts gave up opium completely, two reduced their intake and two showed no change following regular use of 2ml three times daily (human clinical study). A significant diminishment of the number of cigarettes used by habitual tobacco smokers resulted from using 1 ml (four times daily) of Fresh Avena alcoholic extract of mature plants; however, a few studies gave disappointing results. (Francis Brinker.) Oat polyphenol composition prevented the increase of cholesterol and beta-lipoprotein of blood serum of fasting rabbits. Antioxidant property of the oat flour remains unaffected by heat. Homoeopathic tincture of seeds is used as a nervine tonic. Beta-glucan from the oats stimulated immune functions. Avenacosides exhibit strong antifungal activity in vitro.
Photo : Dr. Nandkumar Sahni MD.
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