“Haridra”
Curcuma longa
Botanical Name:
Curcuma longa

Haridra consists of the dried rhizome of Curcuma longa L., Family Zingiberaceae

Common Name(s) in English & Indian Languages
Sanskrit: Rajani, Nisa, Nisi, Ratri, Ksanada, Dosa
Assamese: Haldhi, Haladhi
Bengali: Halud, Haldi
English: Turmeric
Guajarati: Haldar
Hindi: Haldi, Hardi
Kannada: Arishina
Kashmiri: Ledar, Ladhir
Malayalam: Manjal
Marathi: Halad
Oriya: Haladi
Punjabi: Haldi, Haldar
Tamil: Manjal
Telugu: Pasupu
Urdu: Haldi

Botanical description:
Perennial herb up to 1.0 m in height; stout, fleshy, main rhizome nearly ovoid (about 3 cm in diameter and 4 cm long). Lateral rhizome, slightly bent (1cm -2–6cm), flesh orange in colour; large leaves lanceolate, uniformly green, up to 50cm long and 7–25 cm wide; apex acute and caudate with tapering base, petiole and sheath sparsely to densely pubescent. Spike, apical, cylindrical, 10– 15cm long and 5–7 cm in diameter. Bract white or white with light green upper half, 5–6 cm long, each subtending flowers, bracteoles up to 3.5 cm long. Pale yellow flowers about 5 cm long; calyx tubular, unilaterally split, unequally toothed; corolla white, tube funnel shaped, limb 3-lobed. Stamens lateral, petaloid, widely elliptical, longer than the anther; filament united to anther about the middle of the pollen sac, spurred at base. Ovary trilocular; style glabrous. Capsule ellipsoid.

Parts used:
Dried rhizome

Major chemical constituent
Essential oil and a coloring matter (curcumin)

Therapeutic uses:
• Anaemia (Pandu)
• Urinary disorders (Prameha)
• Ulcer (Vrana)
• Morbidity due to Poisonous substance (Visavikara)
• Skin disease (Tvagroga, Kustha)
• Urticaria (Sitapitta)
• Chronic rhinitis (Pinasa)
 

 
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