Kids Portal For Parents India Kids Network
Tinospora Cordifolia (Gulanshe Tinospara, Gulancha Tinospara, Tinospara, Giloy) — Family Name: Menispermaceae
Botanical Name: Tinospora Cordifolia
Common Name: Gulanshe Tinospara, Gulancha Tinospara, Tinospara, Giloy
Part Used: Stem
Habitat: North And South India.
Uses: It is an Antiperiodic, Antipyretic, Alterative, Diuretic, Anti-inflammatory. It is a contituent of several compound preparations. It is used in fever, urinary disorders, dyspepsia, general debility and urinary diseases. It is also used in treatment of rheumatism and jaundice.
Introduction
Tinospora cordifolia, also called Guduchi is an herbaceous vine of the family Menispermaceae indigenous to the tropical areas of India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
The plant is a glabrous climbing shrub found throughout India, typically growing in deciduous and dry forests. The leaves are heart shaped. The succulent bark is creamy white to grey in color, with deep clefts spotted with lenticels. It puts out long, slender aerial roots, often growing on mango or neem trees. Flowers are yellow, growing in lax racemes from nodes on old wood. Fruits are drupes, turning red when ripe.
Constituents
The active adaptogenic constituents are diterpene compounds including tinosporone, tinosporic acid, cordifolisides A to E, syringen, the yellow alkaloid, berberine, Giloin, crude Giloininand, a glucosidal bitter principle as well as polysaccharides, including arabinogalactan polysaccharide (TSP). Picrotene and bergenin were also found in the plant.
In Herbal Medicine
Tinospora cordifolia and similar species like Tinospora crispa and Tinospora rumphii Boerl are used in Ayurvedic and Jamu herbal medicine as a hepatoprotectant, protecting the liver from damage that may occur following exposure to toxins, as well as in Thailand, Philippines. Recent research has demonstrated that a combination of T. cordifolia extract and turmeric extract is effective in preventing the hepatotoxicity which is otherwise produced as a side effect of conventional pharmaceutical treatments for tuberculosis using drugs such as isoniazid and rifampicin.
