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Botanical Name |
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Opuntia dillenii Haw. |
English
Name |
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Prickly Pear Cactus |
Synonym(s) |
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Cactus indicus Roxb. |
Family |
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Cactaceae |
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General Info
Description |
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An erect shrub, about 2.0 m. high, with broadly ovate, dull bluish green joints, bearing 4-6, pale yellow or light horn-coloured spines on each areole; spines usually somewhat curved, the largest very stout, 2.5-3.8 cm. long; flowers yellow, tinged with orange at the base; fruits pyriform, truncate, depressed at the apex, deep reddish purple when ripe. |
Herb Effects |
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Diuretic and stimulates the central nervous system (fruit); bitter, hot, laxative; stomachic, carminative, antipyretic (plant) |
Chemistry
Active Ingredients |
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Arabinogalactan (pod polysaccharide) |
Pharmacology
Medicinal Use |
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Ophthalmia and for boils (leaf); cures biliousness, burning, leucoderma, urinary complaints, tumours, loss of consciousness, piles, inflammations, anaemia, ulcers, gonorrhoea and the enlargement of the spleen (fruit) ; whooping cough (baked fruit); to increase the secretion of bile and control spasmodic cough and expectoration (fruit syrup); in bronchitis and asthma (flower). |
Reference |
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Chandel et al., Biodiversity in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in India. |
Dealers
Products
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