Gokshura??!! - Martynia diandra (Pedaliaceae)

[Dr. Hari Venkatesh.K.Rajaraman]

Dear members, 

this plant is considered as the source of Gokshura (??!!) by a few physicians of Gujarat. . .

BN: Martynia diandra, Pedaliaceae

[Dinesh Valke]

Martynia annua (syn. Martynia diandra) ... native of Central America; naturalized in India ... is commonly known as: devil's claw, iceplant, tiger's-claw • Bengali: বাঘনখী baghnakhi • Hindi: बाघनख baghnakh, हाथाजोड़ी hatha-jori, उलट-कांटा ulat-kanta • Kannada: ಗರುಡ ಮೂಗು ಮುಳ್ಳು garuda mugu mullu, ಹುಲಿ ನಖ huli nakha, ಹುಲಿ ಉಗುರು huli uguru • Malayalam: പുലിനഖം puli-nakham • Marathi: विंचवी vinchavi, विंचू vinchu • Nepalese: बिरालो-नङ्ग्रि biralo-nangri, ग्रिध्दरनंकी gridharnankee • Oriya: baghanakhi • Sanskrit: काकनसा kakanasa • Tamil: புலிநகம் puli-nakam, தேட்கொடுக்கி tet-kotukki • Telugu: గరుడముకు garudamukku


Regards.

[sheji]

thank you hari
seeing this plant for the first time

On May 25, 2:15 pm, Dinesh Valke <dinesh.va...@gmail.com> wrote:
> *Martynia annua* (syn. *Martynia diandra*) ... native of Central America;

> > BN: Martynia diandra, Pedaliaceae- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[tanay bose]

Great set of information Hari Ji.
Tanay

--
Tanay Bose
+91(033) 25550676 (Resi)
9830439691(Mobile)

[Dr. Hari Venkatesh K Rajaraman]

Adding up. . .

As per Dinesh ji's information .. . .ie in the Sanskrit names he had
mentioned its name to be "KAKANASA". . .Actually Kakanasa in Ayurveda
is a very controversial drug. . .and in many regions many plants are
being used as Kakanasa. .. one of such plants is Asclepias
curassavica. . .i had got a reference that the medicinal uses of
M.annua are similar to that of A.curassavica. . .So Martynia annua
also gets added up to the set of drugs used in the name of
Kakanasa. . .

Medicinal uses of M.annua (Folk & Siddha system)

Part used: Leaves & Fruit

Leaves are used in Epilepsy, as a gargle in sore throat
Fruits are allexiteric, used in inflammations
A paste of the nut is used as a local sedative
based on the "Doctrine of signature", the fruits resemble the head of
a snake. . .So a name Snake's head is also used in English. . .based
on its appearance like a snake's head, Folk practitioners use this
plant to treat venomous bites. . .