Tylophora indica - Indian Sarsaparilla
❏ Binomial Name : Tylophora indica (Burm. f.) Merr.
❏ Synonym : Asclepias asthmatica,Asclepias prolifera,Sonninia vomitoria
❏ Family : Apocynacaeae
❏ Common Name : Indian Sarsaparilla
❏ Tamil Name : Nangilaippirattai
❏ Hindi Name : Antamul
❏ IUCN status: Not Evaluated
Tylophora indica Botanical Description
Slender, pubescent climbers. Leaves simple, opposite, 4-10 x 2-5.5 cm, ovate to oblong, acute or acuminate apex, base subcordate, entire, slightly pubescent on both sides, petiole to 0.8 cm. Flowers greenish-purple or greenish-yellow, in umbellate cymes; pedicel to 1.3 cm; bracts filiform, hairy. Calyx hairy outside, divded nearly to the base, lobes linear-lanceolate, to 2 mm. Corolla 1 cm across, lobes to 4 mm long. Corona single, lobes acuminate at tip. Ovary ob-conical; style to 1 mm; follicle cylindric, acute at both ends small, flat. Follicles 7-10 cm long, oblong, tapering towards the apex, glabrous; seeds 7 mm long, broadly ovate, coma 2-2.5 cm long. Fl. &Fr.: Fruiting throughout the year.
Tylophora indica Medicinal uses
❀ A tea is made from the tuber, which acts as a cleaning agent for the intestines.
❀ The roots possess stimulant, emetic (in larger doses), cathartic (in smaller doses), expectorant, stomachic and diaphoretic properties and are used in the treatment of asthma, bronchitis, dysentery and diarrhoea
❀ The roots of ipecac contain a number of medically active constituents including isoquinoline alkaloids, tannins and glycosides