|
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) |
|
|
|
|