Family: Caesalpiniaceae The members of sub family Caesalpiniaceae are trees, shrubs or rarely herbs numerous in the Tropics. They scarcely extend beyond the tropical belt in the old world and they are rather few in North America. The sub family includes 56 genera with about 650 species. The members exhibit mostly tonic, astringent and mucilaginous properties, some have a pectoral and laxative or cathartic action; others are anthelmintic antiseptic , antipyretic, styptic. Some of the important genera are Bauhinia sp., Cassia sp., Cynometra sp. 16. Bauhinia purpurea Linn. ‘Khairwal’ (Caesalpiniaceae):- In Raigarh ( Sisrangha) the tribal people used the stem bark decoction (50 ml.) three times daily in body pain and fever . The young leaves and buds are cooked as food. Santhals , Bhumij , Birhors and Kherias of West Bengal apply paste of its bark on sores of small-pox ( Jain and De, 1966 ) . Nagas of Nagaland use its bark for curring cancerous growth in stomach ( locally known as ‘Chapo’ ) . Paste of bark is given in internally. Among the inhabitants of Dharmpuri Forest Division in Tamil Nadu , the leaf – paste of this plant mixed with milk (latex) of Jatropha curcas is administered to cure jaundice ( Apparanantham and Chelladurai , 1986 ) . It is also known as anthelmintic , diuretic , astringent , carminative and for diarrhoea . 17. Bauhinia vahlii Wight and Arn.‘Sehar’( Caesalpiniaceae ) In Sisrangha (Raigarh) of Madhya Pradesh the Korwa tribal people make the root paste and mixed with jaggery and ghee and used it in bone fracture . Seeds are roasted and eaten . Leaves are used for making plates by korwa tribe. 18. Bauhinia variegata Linn. ‘Guiral’ ( Caesalpiniaceae ) :- It is known as astringent , carminative , alterative , anthelmintic antidote to snake poison and laxative and used for dysentery , diarrhoea, skin disease , ulcer , piles and leprosy. Inhabitants of Garhwal Himalayas use its bark for malaria ( Negi et al. , 1985 ) . 19. Caesalpinia pulcherrima (Linn.) Swartz. ‘Puraiphul’ (Caesalpiniaceae) It is used as an abortifacient , febrifuge , purgative , emmenagogue , tonic , stimulant and for asthama , bronchitis and malerial fever. Seeds and some common salts are made into a paste and applied on ring worm ( Chaudhary et al., 1975 ). Kondh , Bhumij and Saora tribes of Orissa use the decocation of its fresh seeds for pain in gums due to inflammation. It is also used as tonic , purgative , stimulant , abortifacient, emmenagogue , febrifuge and also used for bronchitis , asthama and malerial fever. 20. Cassia auriculata Linn. ‘Anwal , Avaram’ ( Caesalpiniaceae ) Tribals of Eastern Rajasthan use the extract of its seeds for asthama ( Singh and Pandey , 1980 ) Inhabitants of Maharashtra use its root extract for rheumatism pain . The root are mixed with Maytenus emarginatus roots . ( Sharma and Mehrotra , 1984 ).. In India it is used as astringent and anthelmintic , used for urinary complaints , skin affection , diabetes , and ophthalmia . 21. Cassia occidentalis Linn.‘Dhendheni’ ( Caesalpiniaceae ) In Kundi (Surgiya) of Madhya Pradesh the tribal people use the twigs as tooth brush . 22. Cassia sophera Linn. ‘Raw Asan’ (Caesalpiniaceae ) :- Bhoxa of U.P. use its leaves for piles . In India it is used as diuretic, purgative and antidote to snake bite and used for ring worm and bronchitis. The leaf paste with Neem oil is applied locally, it relieves itching and pain ( Singh , 1988 ) . 23. Cassia tora Linn. ‘Panavar’( Caesalpiniaceae ) In Bihar the Oraon and Khond tribes, make root into a paste and along with the powder prepared from the horns of a cow, give orally once daily in high fever and to a patient who are unable to speak and hear (Tarafdar and Chaudhari, 1997). In Raigarh (Aeppu) of Madhya Pradesh the tribal people make the seed powder and mixed with tea and is used 2-3 times daily in cough , headache and fever. In Madhya Pradesh the tribals of Ambikapur district take stem and seeds in equal quantities are boiled in water and filtered by tribals and about 100 ml filtrate taken orally twice a day for 5 to 10 days as an anti-asthamatic drug (Jain and Singh 1997). The young leaves are cooked as vegetable (Maheshwari , Painuli, Diwivedi, 1997). In India it is used as laxative, antidote to snake bite and purgative. It is used for skin affection, itches and ring worm.