Achyranthes aspera L. / Amaranthaceae

Achyranthes aspera L.

English name:

Prickly chaff-flower.

Description:

Herbaceous plant about 1m. high. Stems erect, pubescent, swollen at the nodes. Leaves opposite, short-petioled, margins undulate. Flowers numerous, stiffly deflected against the pubescent rachis in elongate terminal spike, 20-30 cm. long. Utricle oblong-cylindrical, enclosed in the hardened perianth, brown. Seeds oblong-ovoid.

Flowering period:

July - December.

Distribution:

Grows wild along roadsides.

Parts used:

The whole, plant, especially the roots. Collected throughout the year, they are carefully washed and sun-dried or heat-dried.

Chemical composition:

The roots contain triterpenoid saponins that on hydrolysis give oleanolic acid and a sugar portion consisting of glucose, galactose and rhamnose.

Therapeutic uses:

The whole plant and especially the roots, characterized by their anti-inflammatory and uterine stimulant activity, are prescribed in the therapy of rheumatism, contusions, lumbago, osteodynia, dysuria, post-partum haematometra and dysmenorrhoea. The daily dose is 8 to 16g in the form of a decoction. The drug is used on its own or in combination with some other plants.

Medicinal plants in Viet Nam (Institute of Materia Medica - HANOI - WHO/WPRO, 1990, 444 p.
ETHNOMEDICINAL USES OF ACHYRANTHES ASPERA (AMARANTHACEAE) IN MANAGEMENT OF GYNAECOLOGICAL DISORDERS IN WESTERN UTTAR PRADESH