Asteracantha longifolia is a plant common in India.
This plant is a member of Acanthaceae plant family. Synonym is Hygrophila auriculata .
This is an annual herb or under shrub, it grows to a height of about 60 cms. Generally the plant is found on wet places. The stem is square and thickened at nodes and hairy. The bark is dark brown. The leaves are elliptic-lanceolate, hispid and sessile. The flowers are bluish purple. The capsules are 1 cm. long, linear oblong, pointed glabrous, and about 8 seeded. The seeds are dark brown, hairy and spherical. The powdered seeds with water forms a gel. The flowering season is September-March.
Usage:
In Ayurveda the leaves, seeds and the roots are used for treatment of rheumatism, urinary tract infection, inflammation, jaundice, hepatic obstruction, pain, etc. . powdered seeds taken with milk is said to increase libido.(increase in sexual desire)
For more details Please visit
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Search&db=pubmed&term=asteracantha+longifolia&tool=fuzzy&ot=astercantha+longifolia
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Gujarati: Ekhro,
Marathi: Talimkhana, Vikhra, Kolsunda
Bengali: Shulamardan
Kannada: Kalavankabija
Tamil: Nirumuli
Malayalam: Voyal-chullai
Telugu: Kokilakshi
