Scientific Name Cassia fistula Linn.

Family Caesalpiniaceae (Fabaceae)



Used Part Root.



Distribution Area A deciduous medium-sized tree, occurring in

deciduous forests throughout the greater part of India, ascending up to an altitude of 1,220 m in the sub- Himalayan

tract and outer Himalayas.

Common Uses . The bark possesses tonic and anti-dysenteric properties. It is also used for skin complaints. The wood is given in dysentery; the ash is reported to be employed as caustic to open abscesses. The powder or decoction of the bark is administered in leprosy, jaundice, syphilis and heart diseases. The stembark is reported to be eaten raw for stomachache. The extract of stembark showed high interferon-like anti-viral activity against Ranikhet Disease Virus and Vaccinia Virus

(VV). In Papua New Guinea, bark- scrapings and leafsap are employed to heal broken bones and topical ulcers. A decoction of the stembark along with cumin seeds and garlic is given as a purgative to cattle. The bark possesses tonic and anti-dysenteric properties. It is also used for skin complaints. The wood is given in dysentery; the ash is reported to be employed as caustic to open abscesses. The powder or decoction of the bark is administered in leprosy, jaundice, syphilis

and heart diseases. The stembark is reported to be eaten raw for

stomachache. The extract of stembark showed high interferon-like anti-viral activity against Ranikhet Disease Virus and Vaccinia Virus (VV). In Papua New Guinea, bark- scrapings and leafsap are employed to heal broken bones and topical ulcers. A decoction of the stembark along with cumin seeds and garlic is given as a purgative to cattle.

The pods are official for their laxative properties. The drug

consists of the dried pod, known as CASSIA-FRUIT, or CASSIA-POD, and its pulp, CASSIA-PULP.

In Europe, the pods are used in the preparation of tobacco for smoking. The heated pods are applied to swellings on the neck due to cold. The fruits are reported to be used for asthma in Andhra Pradesh. The pulp from the crushed ripe pods has a dark brown colour, sickly odour and a sweet, mucilaginous taste. It is widely used in a combination called CONFECTION OF SENNA, which contains the leaves of senna, coriander, figs, tamarind, prunes, licorice extract and sucrose. The pulp is used to prepare a sherbet. It also forms an

ingredient of special tobacco-cakes for hookah.

The pulp is a safe purgative, and is recommended for children and pregnant women. It is given in disorders of liver, and in biliousness, and acts as a tonic; it is also applied in gout and rheumatism. The drug may safely be used as an analgesic. As an antipyretic, it is a remedy for malaria and blackwater fever. It is also utilized in blood-poisoning, anthrax and dysentery, and given in leprosy and diabetes and for the removal of abdominal obstructions. A decoction of it is given in hoarseness. Fruit pulp and stembark are used in Ayurvedic

preparations for the treatment of blood impurities. The decoction of the pods is given in pneumonia and common fever. The pulp, mixed with rapeseed oil, is orally given to cattle suffering from cough, and as a stomachic. The crushed seeds and leaves are employed for making a sherbet. The

seeds are slightly sweet and possess laxative, carminative, cooling and anti-pyretic properties; they are given in constipation. They are useful in jaundice, biliousness, skin- diseases, and in swollen.

throat. The whole seed powder cures intestinal amoebiasis.

Powdered seeds are administered in Raktapradara by

the Bhil tribals in southern Rajasthan. The seeds yield a

dark-coloured gum slightly soluble in water and hence have a

possibility as a source for industrial gum.

They possess antiperiodic and laxative properties. The leaves are used in jaundice, piles, rheumatism, ulcers, and also externally, in skin eruptions, ringworm, eczema, prurigo, pruritis, etc. The leaves and bark, mixed with oil, are applied to pustules, insect- bites and to lessen inflammation in facial paralysis. Internally, the leaf-juice is also given for paralysis and brain affection, and to cure ringworm; also used to allay irritation. A poultice is used to treat chilblains.



The root and its bark possess astringent, tonic, febrifugal, and

purgative properties. The aqueous extract of the rootbark exhibits anti-inflammatory activity. The root is useful in cardiac disorders, biliousness, rheumatic condition, haemorrhages, wounds, ulcers and boils, tubercular glands and various skin diseases; also reported to be beneficial in leprosy. The alcoholic extract of the rootbark can be used for the treatment of black-water fever.



A paste of the roots, pepper, leaf-juice of Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. and red mud is applied to the swellings of throat in cattle.

The flowers are eaten. They possess astringent, purgative, febrifugal and anti-bilious properties. A decoction of the flowers is given in stomach troubles. The pollen-grains are starchy- and lipid-type, and the former type have been reported to cause allergy.