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Cassia fistula L. (Fabaceae/Leguminosae)

(Syns.: C. bonplandiana DC; C. excelsa Kunth; C. fistuloides Collad; C. rhombifolia Roxb.)

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Handbook of 200 Medicinal Plants

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Abstract

A moderate-sized erect , deciduous tree of tropical Asia. Arabs are credited for the discovery of medicinal uses of its pulp, which is mild laxative in small doses and acts as a purgative in large doses. Greek physicians came to know about the drug through Arab physicians, and described it as lenitive, useful for relieving thoracic obstructions and heat of blood, a safe aperient for children and women, even when pregnant, but slow in action. It is well adapted to febrile and inflammatory afflictions and is a convenient, palatable purgative for children; however, external application of pods provokes abortion and expulsion of placenta. Fruit pulp is also used in Ayurveda for vibandha, udavarta, gulma, sula, udararoga, hrdroga, and prameha. Externally, it is said to be a good application in gout and rheumatism. In traditional Iranian medicine, it has been used for the treatment of IBD. Leaves are used in Panamanian folk medicine for treatment of diabetes, and in northern Peru, it is traditionally used to treat bacterial infections, which are referred to by local healers as ‘inflammation.’ Native populations of Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Brazil use the plant to treat malaria and associated symptoms, and in Brazil, the root is also used as anthelmintic. Anthraquinone glycosides, the active laxative content, are concentrated in leaves and flowers during peak flowering, and hydroxyanthraquinones reach peak during the months of September and October. Fruit pulp contains a sterol, clerosterol with antileishmanial activity and significantly less toxicity than pentamidine, and is rich in mineral nutrients, potassium and calcium. Seeds and various flower extracts have shown antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant properties. Fluconazole-resistant Candida species isolated from HIV patients (C. krusei and C. parapsilosis) were most sensitive to ethanol seed extract. Methanol leaf extract is larvicidal and ovicidal to chikungunya vector, Aedes aegypti, and filarial and malarial vector mosquitos. Seed powder killed 100% trophozoites of axenically grown E. histolytica and cured experimental intestinal amoebiasis in rats and hepatic amoebiasis in golden hamsters. In clinical trials, patients aged 12–60 years old, treated with 150–250 mg dose/day of seed powder were cured of amoebiasis in seven days.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Tayyab M: Personal Communication.

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    Shahid Akbar

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Akbar, S. (2020). Cassia fistula L. (Fabaceae/Leguminosae). In: Handbook of 200 Medicinal Plants. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16807-0_57

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