Kutaja

Botanical Name

Holarrhena Antidycentrica

Family

Apocynaceae

Sanskrit

Kalinga, Girimallika

English

Kurchi

Hindi

Kuda

Kannada

Korachi

Malayalam

Kodagapala

Telugu

Kodisepala

Tamil

Veppalai

Marathi

Kuda

Distribution

Common in tropical parts of india and in sub himalayan tract.

Parts Used

Bark, Leaves, Seeds, Flowers

Dose

Churna:3-6gm, Kashaya:50-100ml

Chemical Constituents

Conessidine, connessimine, conkurchine, holarrhenine, holarrhimine, holadysamine etc

Ayurvedic Properties

Quality (Guna)

Laghu, Ruksha

Taste (Rasa)

Tikta, Kashaya

Metabolism (Vipaka)

Katu

Potency (Virya)

Sita

Impact (Prabhava)

Deepana, Grahi

Pharmacological Action

  • Antipyretic: helps in reducing fever and fever due to infections.
  • Anti-inflammatory:reduces infalammations of the skin by improving the immunity.
  • Antibacterial, antifungal: reduces skin problems.
  • Anthelmentic: removes intestinal worms.
  • Its grahi property helps in arresting diarrhea and maintains the hydration of the body.

Therapeutic Uses

  • Pithatisara: seeds and bark of kutaja are pounded with honey and ativisha is added to it, this combination is taken with rice water.
  • Kushta: paste of kutaja is applied externally.
  • Jvara: decoction prepared out of kutaja bark is taken along with rice water.
  • Shonitarsha: bark powder is given with ghee.
  • Bark decoction is made and rock salt is added and can be applied in inflamed joints.

Some of the common formulations

  • Kutajarishta
  • Kutajavalehya
  • Kutaja ghana vati etc