Common Name: Sarphonka, Sharapunkha
English Name: Wild Indigo, Purple tephrosia
Botanical Name: Tephrosia purpurea (Linn.), Pers
Family: Fabaceae
Description: Tephrosia purpurea isan erct orspreading anual or short-lived perennial herb, sometimes bushy, 40-80 cm tal, raely upto 1.5 m; indumentum sericeous, trigose orvelutinous; stem slender, errect or decumbent at base.
Chemical Constituents: The plant is known to contain bioactive compounds like pongamol, β‐sitosterol, ursolic acid, spinosterol, α‐ tetratriacontane, ratenone, tephrosine, betutinic acid, and dimethyl glabranin, epoxyflavonone have also been isolated from the plant. T. purpurea is reported to contain three novel flavonoids,tephrorins A and B and tephrosones, tephropurpurin, purpurin, pongamol, laceolatin B, maackiain, and medicarpin were obtained as active.
Properties: This herb is useful in insufficiency of liver, but not effective in infantile cirrhosis. Decoction of roots preferable in dyspepsia, diarrhoea, rheumatism, asthma and urinary disorders as well as roots are given with black pepper in colic.
Used in the following MATXIN product: