Cissus quadrangularis L.
Family: Vitaceae
Synonyms: Cissus bifida Schumach. & Thonn., Cissus edulis Dalzell,
Cissus quadrangula L., Cissus quadrangula Salisb., Cissus succulenta
(Galpin) Burtt-Davy, Cissus tetragona Harv., Cissus tetraptera Hook.f.,
Cissus triandra Schumach. & Thonn., Saelanthus quadragonus (L.)
Forssk., Vitis quadrangularis (L.) Wall. ex Wight, Vitis succulenta
Galpin
Vernacular names:
- English: Devil's Backbone
- Bangla: হাড়জোড়া
- Hindi: हड़जोड़ hadjod
- Kannada: ಮಂಗರವಳ್ಳಿ mangaravalli
- Kinyarwanda: Umubogora
- Malayalam: ചങ്ങലംപരണ്ട
- Odia: ହାଡ଼ଭଙ୍ଗା
- Sinhala: Hiressa
- Sanskrit: Amara, Asthisamhara
- Tamil: பிரண்டை pirandai
- Telugu: నల్లేరు nalleru
- Thai: เพชรสังฆาต
- Vietnamese: Hồ đằng bốn cạnh
Description: Vine, rambling shrub, herbaceous, climbing, scandent, sprawling, jointed stems, quadrangular and four-winged succulent stems rooting at the nodes, young branches winged bearing long slender tendrils, simple leaves broadly ovate, flowers in clusters at nodes, perianth green with red lobes, apiculate berries, tender leaves as vegetable.
Aphrodisiac, carminative [Medicinal Plants Kerala Ag. University]
Used in Ayurveda, Sidha and Unani. Presence of calcium oxalate crystals, irritating action of the fresh stem on the skin. Powdered root and stem specifically used in bone fracture. Root decoction antioxidant, widely used as remedy for hemorrhoids, in the treatment of gastric ulcers, peptic ulcer disease, dysentery; crushed stem and roots used as a plaster for bone fractures, analgesic, haemostatic. Whole plant infusion purgative. Succulent stem crushed with onion given orally for asthma; stem juice applied on swellings, body pains and bone fracture; stem juice for irregular menstruation and scurvy, dropped into ear for earache and into nose for epistaxis; stem paste for fertility, applied on rheumatic disorders; stem decoction in lime water taken as stomachic and alterative; paste of shoot for burns and wounds. Ash of leaves and shoots in bowel complaints and digestive troubles. Veterinary medicine, leaves infusion for diarrhea of calves; leaf paste applied on bone fracture; leaves ground with those of Pedalium murex and the decoction given in fevers; leaves of Crotalaria verrucosa along with those of Cissus quadrangularis pounded and given for ephemeral fever; stem fed in the bone fracture of cattle; stem juice with salt given to cure anorexia; roots of Indigofera trita along with stem bark of Balanites aegyptiacus, stem of Cissus quadrangularis and Tinospora cordifolia pounded and the extract given in impaction; stem and the leaves of Erythroxylum monogynum pounded and the extract applied over the fractured area and bandaged; stem extract given in dysentery; stem paste applied on sprains and swellings; warm crushed plant applied locally on wounds of oxen. [CRC World Dictionary of Medicinal and Poisonous Plants]
Phytoconstituents: Quadrangularins A-C, 5-amyrin, 5-amyrone, resveratrol, piceatannol, pallidol,parthenocissine A and others. Whole plant is used for urinary schistosomiasis in Mali.[A Guide to Medicinal Plants: An Illustrated, Scientific and Medicinal Approach]
A mixture of stem powder and wheat flour in 1:1 ratio is fed to animals to cure fractures and dislocations of bones. [Herbal Cures: Traditional Approach]
The leaves and young shoots are powerful alteratives. The juice of the stem is a reputed cure for scurvy and irregular menstruation. The juice is dropped into the ear for otorrhoea and into the nose for epistaxis. The root is used as a specific for fractures of bones. In Tanganyika, the leaf is used for treating ulcers and wounds, the root for myalgia and the juice of the stem for earache. In central Africa, a decoction of the stem is given for Menorrhagia, palpitation of the heart and as an anthelmintic. Externally, a poultice of the plant is applied for muscular pains. This plant is also used as a fish poison. [Medicinal Plants (Indigenous and Exotic) Used in Ceylon]
The fresh leaves and pounded stems are applied to burns, wounds and also to saddle sores of horses, camels, etc. The stem is also used for gastrointestinal complaints or as a stomachic sometimes taken in the form of the succulent stem boiled and sugared. In Guinea the stems and leaves are given to cattle to induce milk and in Senegal a decoction of the stems and leaves is used as a friction and wash in pains with fever and in malaria. [Medicinal Plants in Tropical West Africa]
270 Published articles of Cissus quadrangularis
