Scientific Name  Cassia fistula  Linn

Family  Caesalpiniaceae  

Used Part     Fruit –a part

Distribution Area   The 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 . 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 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.

   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.

    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. In <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Papua New Guinea, bark- scrapings and leafsap are employed to   heal broken bones and topical ulcers.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.

A Powdered seeds are administered in Raktapradara  by

      the Bhil  tribals in southern Rajasthan.

    The leaves possess antiperiodic and laxative properties and  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.

Pharmacological Effect The extract of stembark showed high interferon-like    anti-viral activity against Ranikhet Disease Virus and Vaccinia Virus (VV). The ethanolic (50%) extract of the pods showed    anti-fertility activity in female albino rats, which is due probably

    to its estrogenic nature. The shell provokes abortion and the

    expulsion of the placenta. The pods exhibit similar anti-viral

    activity as the bark and also show similar Interferon-like activity

    against Ranikhet Disease Virus and Vaccinia Virus.

An aqueous extract of the pulp exhibited

    slightly lower anti- bacterial activity than its dealcoholized extract    against Micrococcus pyogenes  var. aureus , M.pyogenes  var.    albus  Hucker,M.citreus  Eisenb., Corynebacterium diphtheriae   (Kruse) Lehmann&Neumann, Bacillus  megaterium   de Bary, Salmonella    typhi  (Schroter), S . paratyphi  (Kayser) Castell & Chalm., S. schottmuelleri  (Winslow et al ) Bergey et al, and Escherichia    coli  Castell. & Chalm.

Seed-diet    produced marked hypoglycaemic activity in normal albino rats but not    in alloxan-diabetic albino rats. The dealcoholized extract of seeds    inhibits organisms, but to a lesser extent than the pulp; the aqueous    extract inhibits only Salmonella typhi  and Corynebacterium diphtheriae .

Others Other uses:

Fishing- nets are tanned and dyed with the extract of the    bark, for preservation. A decoction of the stembark    along with cumin seeds and garlic is given as a purgative to cattle.

The pulp, mixed with  rapeseed oil, is orally given to cattle suffering from cough, and as a stomachic.

The seeds yield a    dark-coloured gum slightly soluble in water and hence have a    possibility as a source for industrial gum.