Abroma augusta, Pishacha karpasa

Devil’s Cotton, Perennial Hemp
Pishacha karpasa, Pivari (Ayurveda)
Ulat kambal (Unani)
Sivapututi (Siddha)
Picture Abroma augusta
Botanical Register, vol. 6 (1820)

Picture Abroma augusta
Photo by Aparajita Datta) (Wikimedia)

Botanical name:


Abroma augusta

Parts used:


Root, root-bark, leaves

Temperature & Taste:


Warm, dry.

Uses:


1. Moves the Blood, Regulates Menstruation, Eases Pain:
-Amenorrhea, Dysmenorrhea
-regarded as regulating menstruation if taken for 7 days during menstruation for several months.
-Infertility; a single dose taken during menstruation is regarded as promoting menstruation
-abortifacient

2. Promotes Milk:
-promotes breast milk

3. Used for Diabetes:
-Diabetes; Diabetic Nephropathy


Dose:


Powder of the Root: 1–3 grams
Root-bark in Powder: 3–6 grams
Paste of the fresh root: 4–8 grams
Root juice: 5–10mls
Leaf juice: 10–20mls
As a douche, 2–4 grams of the root or root-bark is decocted to make 70mls. which is injected warm.

Corrective:


1. Sour foods; Lemon jucie
2. Oxymel (Vinegar and Honey)

Substitute:


1. Rue; Wild (Syrian) Rue (Unani)
2. Valerian
3. Maidenhair

Main Combinations:


1. Dysmenorrhea:
i. Mix 4 grams of the root with 21 Black peppers, powder, and take in a dose of 500mg–1 gram for 7 days during menstruation. If there is pain before menstruation, start when the pain starts.
2. Female tonic, Infertility, Abroma leaf with Bombax ceiba gum (Mochrus), Poppy seed, Mucuna, Chlorophytum, Asparagus root, Mastic gum. (Ayurveda

Major Formulas:



Cautions:


1. Not used during pregnancy

While it is believed to regulate menstruation and tone the uterus, and is thereby recommended for Infertility, it has demonstrated an anti-implantation effect in animal studies. Extracts induced abortion when taken in the first week of pregnancy in animal experiments. Therefore, it may be useful to help regulate menstruation to promote fertility, but should not be used while actively trying to become pregnant, or once pregnant.

Main Preparations used:



1. DIABETES:
–Taraxerol, a pentacyclic triterpenoid, from Abroma augusta leaf attenuates diabetic nephropathy in type 2 diabetic rats.
–Abroma augusta L. (Malvaceae) leaf extract attenuates diabetes induced nephropathy and cardiomyopathy via inhibition of oxidative stress and inflammatory response.
–Effects of Aqueous Extract of Fresh Leaves of Abroma augusta L. on Oral Absorption of Glucose and Metformin Hydrochloride in Experimental Rats.
–Lowering of blood sugar by water extract of Azadirachta indica and Abroma augusta in diabetes rats.
–Preliminary studies on the hypoglycaemic effect ofAbroma augusta in alloxan diabetic rats.
–Effect ofCoccinia indica (L.) andAbroma augusta (L.) on glycemia, lipid profile and on indicators of end-organ damage in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats.
–Hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic and antioxidant properties of combination ofCurcumin fromCurcuma longa, Linn, and partially purified product fromAbroma augusta, Linn. in streptozotocin induced diabetes.
2. FERTILITY:
–Ethnomedicobotanical study of indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants used for the treatment of reproductive problems in Nalbari district, Assam, India.