Common Name: Viddhadaru, Vidhara, Samundrasokh
English Name: Elephant Creeper
Botanical Name: Argyreia speciosa Sweet.
Family: Convolvulaceae
Description: It is grown throughout India except dry western areas. A very large climber, stem stout, white-tomentose. Leaves are 7.5-30.0 cm. in diameter, acute, ovate, glabrous above, persistently white-tomentose beneath, base cordate; petioles 5-15 cm, long, white-tomentose. Flowers in subcapitate cymes; penduncles 7.5-15 cm, long, stout, white-tomentose; bracts large, ovate-lanceolate with a long acumen, thin, veined, pubescent outside, glabrous inside, deciduous the outer sometimes 5 cm, long.
Chemical Constituents: The plant contains triterpenoids, flavanoids, steroids and lipids. 24R-ergost-5-en-11-oxo-3 beta-ol alpha–D glucopyranoside xylose was isolated from seeds of Argyreia nervosa known as Argyreioside.
Properties: The plant appears to have a broad spectrum of activity on several ailments. Various parts of the plant have been explored for central nervous depressant activity, nootropic activity, aphrodisiac activity, anticonvulsant activity, immunomodulatory activity, antioxidant activity, analgesic activity, antiinflammatory activity, hypoglycemic activity, hepatoprotective activity, antibacterial activity, antifungal activity and many other activities.
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