Indian Kudzu
From DrugPedia: A Wikipedia for Drug discovery
Common name: Indian kudzu, {Sural, Bilaikand, Bharda, Tirra, Bankumra} (Hindi), Shimia batraji (Bengali), Ghorbel (Marathi), Vidarikand (Gujrati), Darigummadi (Telugu), Gumadigida (Kannada), Mutukku (Malayalam), Bhukushmandi भूकुशमंडी (Sanskrit)
Botanical name: Pueraria tuberosa
Family: Fabaceae (pea family)
Indian kudzu is a large perennial climber with very large tuberous roots, distributed nearly throughout India, except in very humid or very arid regions, and ascending up to l,200 m. Woody stems grow up to 12 cm in diameter. Leaves are divided into 3. Flowers blue or purplish blue, in 15-30 cm long racemes. Pods are flat and 5-7 cm long, densely clothed with long, silky, bristly brown hairs; seeds 3-6.
Medicinal uses: In Ayurveda, this herb is used as a general tonic, for headaches, and as a aphrodisiac. The roots are said to be used in medicine as a demulcent and refrigent in fevers, as cataplasm for swelling of joints, and as lactagogue. It is also emetic, galactogogue and tonic. Now a days it is used in preparing sexual potency enhancement pills.
