BILWA-AEGELE MARMELOS
For the Hindus this
Bilwa tree as it called is a sacred tree and is a strong anti-toxic drug. But
this drug also contains numerous toxic chemicals also.
Family : Rutaceae
Scientific Name : Aegle marmelos
Nomenclature in other languages
Sanskrit : Vilwa, Maloora, Sreephala, Shandilya,
Mahaakapitha, Mangalya, Sadaphala, Shailoosha
Hindi : Bilwa
Bengali : Bel, Bela
Tamil : Vilwa
Telugu : Vilwam
English : Bael Tree
Malayalam : Koovalam
Distribution : Seen
all throughout India, and usually grown in temples of Shiva.
Botanical Description : Bael is the only member of the monotypic genus Aegle. It is a mid-sized, slender, aromatic,
armed, gum-bearing tree growing up to 18 meters tall. It has a leaf with three
leaflets.
Ecology
Bael occurs in dry forests on hills and plains of
northern, central and southern India, Pakistan, southern Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar,Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. It is cultivated throughout India, as well as in Sri Lanka, the northern Malay Peninsula,Java, the Philippines, and Fiji. It has a reputation in India for being able to grow
in places that other trees cannot. It copes with a wide range of soil
conditions (pH range 5-10), is
tolerant of waterlogging and has an unusually wide temperature tolerance (from
-7°C to 48°C). It requires a pronounced dry season to give fruit.
This tree is a larval foodplant for the following two Indian Swallowtail butterflies:
·
The Lime Butterfly: Papilio demoleus
·
The Common Mormon: Papilio polytes
Fruit
The bael fruit has a
smooth, woody shell with a green, gray, or yellow peel. It takes about 11
months to ripen on the tree and can reach the size of a large grapefruit or pomelo, and some are even
larger. The shell is so hard it must be cracked with a hammer or machete. The fibrous
yellow pulp is very aromatic. It has been described as tasting of marmalade and smelling of roses. Boning (2006) indicates that the
flavor is "sweet, aromatic and pleasant, although tangy and slightly
astringent in some varieties. It resembles a marmalade made, in part, with
citrus and, in part, with tamarind."[4]Numerous hairy
seeds are encapsulated in a slimy mucilage.
Uses
The fruit is eaten fresh or dried. If fresh, the juice is strained and sweetened to make a drink similar to lemonade. It can be made into sharbat (Hindi) orBela pana (Oriya: ବେଲ ପଣା) or bel pana (Bengali: বেল পানা), a refreshing drink made of the pulp with water, sugar, and lime juice, mixed, left to stand a few hours, strained, and
put on ice. One large bael fruit may yield five or six liters of sharbat.
If the fruit is to be dried, it is usually sliced and sun-dried.
The hard leathery slices are then immersed in water.
The leaves and small shoots are eaten as salad greens.
The Tamil Siddhars call the plant koovilam (கூவிளம்) and use the fragrant leaves for medicinal purposes, including dyspepsia andsinusitis. A confection called ilakam (இளகம்) is made of the fruit and used to treat tuberculosis and loss of appetite.
In the system of Ayurveda this drug finds several and frequent
therapeutic uses in different forms and recipes. They are prescribed in a
number of diseases such as gastro intestinal diseases, piles, oedema, jaundice,
vomiting, obesity, pediatric disorders, gynecological disorders, urinary
complaints and as a rejuvenative. Besides the wide medicinal utility the plant
and its certain parts (leaves and fruits) are of religious importance since the
tree is regarded as one of the sacred trees of Indian heritage.
Aegeline (N-[2-hydroxy-2(4-methoxyphenyl)
ethyl]-3-phenyl-2-propenamide) is a known constituent of the bael leaf and
consumed as a dietary supplement for a variety of purposes.
Religious significance of Holy-Beal
The fruit is also used in religious rituals.
In Hinduism the tree is sacred. It is used in the worship
of Shiva,
who is said to favor the leaves. The tri-foliate form of leaves symbolize the trident that Shiva holds in his right hand. The fruits
were used in place of coconuts before large-scale rail transportation became
available. The fruit is said to resemble a skull with a white, bone-like outer
shell and a soft inner part, and is sometimes called seer phael (head-fruit). However, it is quite likely that, the term 'Seer
Phal' has coined from the Sanskrit term 'ShreePhal, which again is a
common name for this fruit. Many Hindus have bael trees in their gardens.
In the traditional Newari culture of Nepal, the bael tree
is part of a fertility ritual for girls known as the Bel baha. Girls are "married" to the bael
fruit and as long as the fruit is kept safe and never cracks the girl can never
become widowed, even if her human husband dies. This was seen to be protection
against the social disdain suffered by widows in the Newari community.
Medicinal Uses
Research has found the essential oil of the Bael tree to be
effective against 21 types of bacteria. It is prescribed for smooth bowel
movement to patients suffering fromconstipation and other gastrointestinal problems.
Research also indicates that unripe Bael fruit is effective in
combating giardia and rotavirus.
While unripe Bael fruit did not show antimicrobial properties, it did inhibit
bacteria adherence to and invasion of the gut (i.e. the ability to infect the
gut).
Ayurvedic properties of Bilwa
Rasa : kashaya, tikta
Guna : laghu, rooksha
Veerya : ushna
Vipaka : katu
Medicinal properties of Bilwa
It allieviates Kapha, vata, pain, oedema, poison. Unripe fruit
pulp is anti-diarrhoeal, creates constipation. But ripe fruit pulp is of
opposite nature, enhances bowel motility. Both are used for treating intestinal
worms. Leaves are anti-diabetic. It has been scientifically proved that an oil
extrected from the leaves are effective anti-fungal drugs. The unripe fruits
along with leaves are anti-diabetic.
Useful parts : root, leaves, fruit.
Therapeutic single drug uses of bilwa :
-unripe fruit pulp cut , dried and powdered , if that powder
taken 3-10 gms daily three times it cures diarrhoea, dysentry, intestinal worms
-ripe fruit 250gm-500gm if taken instead of one meal as a whole
regularly completely cures intestinal worms (anti-helminthic), the worms are
completely excreted through faeces (C.C.R.M.S)
-oil prepared out of leaves of bilwa is used for otalgia, CSOM
etc
-juice of leaves of bilwa 10ml-15ml taken regularly cures
diabetes
-for kids the decoction of bilwa roots taken with honey as
adjuvant cures diarrhoea, dysentry, vomitting
-Viwadi tablet, a well known classical preparation mentioned in
Astanga Hrudaya is effective for all poison bites of insects and snakes
-Vilwadi lehya, Vilwa patra taila, Vilwadi gutika are some
medicinal preparations containing Vilwa as the main ingredient
Action _ Stomachic,
antimicrobial
(specific for diarrhoea,
colitis,
dysentery and enteric
infections),
digestive, astringent,
spasmolytic,
hypoglycaemic.
Key application _ As
antidiarrhoeal.
(Indian Herbal Pharmacopoeia.)
Along with other
therapeutic
applications, The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia
of
India indicates the
use of root in dysuria; stembark in
diabetes and lipid disorders.
A number of coumarins (including
xanthotoxol and alloimperatorin
methyl ether), flavonoids (including
rutin and marmesin), alkaloids (including
alpha-fagarine), sterols and
essential oils have been isolated from
plant parts. Pectin is an important
constituent of the fruit.
Alkaloid aegeline, present in the
leaves, is efficacious in asthma. The
active principle in aqueous extract of
leaf shows hypoglycaemic activity similar
to insulin. Leaves are also given
in jaundice. Alcoholic extract of seeds
shows antiallergic activity.
Marmin, a coumarin isolated from
the roots, shows anti-inflammatory effects
experimentally. Marmin also inhibited
gastric haemorrhagic lesions
in rats and exhibited antiulcer effects.
Seed oil showed beneficial effects in
regeneration of tumour cells.
Aurapten is found to be the most
potent inhibitor of heart rate. Rootbark
is used for palpitation of the heart.
References :
1.Nesamanis text of AY.MED plants
2.Springers med plants
3.Wikipedia.
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