apoedika :

Basella alba is an edible perennial vine in the family Basellaceae. It is found in tropical Asia and Africa where it is widely used as a leaf vegetable

HISTORICAL AND MYTHOLOGICAL REVIEW:

No specific data available

Taxonomical Classification

Kingdom: Plantae - Plants
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons
Family: Chenopodiaceae
Genus: Basella
Species: B.alba

Allied species:

Basella rubra L.

Basella olerracea Landw.

Basella lucida L.

Basella japonica Burm.f.

Basella cordifolia Lam.

Basella nigra Lour.

Basella crasiifolia Salisb.

Basella volubilis Salisb.

Basella ramosa J.Jacq. ex Spreng.

Gandola nigra (Lour).Raf.

VERNACULAR NAMES

Sanskrit: Upodika
English: Indian spinach, Malabar nightshade ,Red vine spinach,Creeping spinach
Hindi: Poi
Telugu: bachhali
Bengali: Pui shak
Marathi: mayalu
Konkani: Valchi bhaji
Oriya: poi saaga
Gujarathi: poi ni bhaji
Tamil: Vasalakkirai
Malayalam: Vallicheera, Basala cheera
Kannada: Basale soppu
Spanish: espnaca de Malabar
Mexican: espinaca china
Japanese: tsurumurasaki
Chinese: Chan cai
French: baselle
German: indischer spinat
Sinhalese: vel niviti
Tulu: Basale

Varities:

Mainly two varieties- Green and Red.

Stem of Basella alba is green and that of Basella rubra is reddish purple.

Definition

The literal meaning of its Latin name (Basella alba) is Small White Pedestal

Synonyms

Synonyms in Ayurveda: potaki, malava, amritavallari, urdva-vallari, raktabeeja

Rasa: Kashaya Tikta
Guna: Laghu Ruksha Teeskhsna
Veerya: Ushna
Vipaka: Katu
Karma: Kapha-pittaghna

Used widely as effective medicine for mouth ulcers. Also can be used as medicine for diabetes .

Cultivation:

Cultivation of the plant is mainly from stem. Stem cut in small lengths are planted atleast a foot apart.

Propogation:

The plant propagates through Seeds and also through stem cutting. Six inch cutting can be put in potting soil to grow new plant.

Harvesting:

The plant can be harvested mainly during the month of December & January in Tropical climates. Its found that the plant grows through out the year.

Phytochemistry:

The leaves contain Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, flavonoids, saponins, ?- Carotene, water soluble polysaccharides, bioflavonoids, essential amino acids (arginine, leucine, isoleucine, lysine, threonine and tryptophan) and minerals (rich in calcium and iron compounds and contains a low percentage of soluble oxalates)

PHARMACOLOGY:

Malabar Spinach is used as cooling medicine in digestive disorders. The leaves have diuretic action. Diuretics are also known as water pills as they increase the urinary output and electrolyte excretion. They are useful in various diseases such as high blood pressure, fluid retention, oedema, acute and chronic renal failure, sciatica, kidney stones, lymphatic swelling, glaucoma, liver disorders and many more diseases. This herb is a natural diuretic. Natural diuretics work by stimulating the kidney to produce more urine by reducing the amount of water and salts that the kidney reabsorbs into the bloodstream. This improves the functioning of tissues and organs, and also, prevents fluids from accumulating in tissue matrices. Malabar spinach/ Potaki leaves causes increased total urine output and increased excretion of sodium, potassium, chloride and bicarbonate levels. They also exerts significant anti-urolithiatic (against stone) activity by lowering the elevated levels of oxalate, calcium and phosphate in urine, further calcium, creatinine, and uric acid in serum. The leaves are also used traditionally in inflammation of respiratory tract, cold, cough due to demulcent action. Demulcents are agents that form soothing layer on mucous membrane thus giving relief in pain and inflammation.

This medicinal plant is used both internally and externally for treatment of diseases. The plant is reported to be beneficial in treatment of constipation, inflammation, skin diseases, burns, ulcers, diarrhoea and fluid retention.

Parts used for medicinal purpose

Bark, Leaves, Whole plant, ,

Dosage:

The fresh leaves juice of plant can be taken in dose of 10-20 ml.

Antidote:

Nil

Substitute:

Basella Alba is usually used as a substitue to Spinach

Adultrants:

Nil

Controversy:

Nil

Commercial value:

Used in preparation of ayurvedic medicines and as edible vegetable. It has nutritional and medicinal properties.Although both green and red leaves variety are eaten as vegetable but green variety is cultivated commercially.

Morphology:

The plant is a perennial twining herb. Stem is fleshy, stout at the base with slender upper branches. Leaves are axillary dark green, broadly ovate in shape and acute. Flowers are sub sessile, white, pink or red coloured and closed at anthesis. Bracts are scaly and small. Bracteoles are acute. Stamens are included with short filaments and cordate anthers. Ovary is unilocular. Fruit is black or dark purple coloured and enclosed within the persistent fleshy calyx. Seeds are black, globose and indehiscent.

Histology:

T.S. of stem shows star shaped with five extended wings with single layer of epidermis, made up of parenchymatous cells covered by a thin layer of cuticle, followed by an epidermis of two to three layers. The hypodermis is composed of compactly arranged polygonal parenchymatous cells without any inter cellular spaces. Besides the hypodermis, cortex region is formed by 6-10 layers of compactly arranged polygonal thin walled parenchymatous cells followed by the cortex, 3-4 layers of compactly arranged sclerenchymatous layer of cells (pericycle), where vascular bundles are collateral, conjoint and closed. In the centre portion, pith region shows compactly arranged parenchymatous cells with simple and compound starch grains in groups and with clustered calcium oxalate crystals.

T.S. of petiole is strongly convex and spherical on the lower side. A central narrow groove on the upper surface and two lateral narrow winged extensions on either side and shows a single layer of epidermis. Epidermis made up of single layer of rectangular cells covered with thin cuticle. It is followed by 8 to 10 layers of tangentially elongated thin walled parenchymatous cells forming the ground tissue. Calcium oxalate crystals abundantly present in this region. Most of the calcium oxalate crystals present in the narrow winged extensions and some crystals are present close to the vascular bundle region. The collateral meristele shows 3-7 vascular bundles that face each other laterally.

T.S. of the leaf through midrib region was convex at the lower side and grooved at the upper side, young leaf showed bicollateral meristeles in the centre, getting connected forming a single meristele encircled by a parenchymatous ring of pericycle in mature leaf. Parenchyma cells are 3-4 layers are in the narrow groove at the upper side, 5 to 6 layers towards the lower side. These cells are polygonal and compactly arranged without any air spaces. Clustered calcium oxalate crystals are present abundantly in the ground tissue region of the leaf. Most of the calcium oxalate crystals are present in the narrow winged extensions in laminar region, few crystals are also present close to meristele region. The single layered epidermis cells are rectangular, arranged compactly and covered by a thin cuticle and traversed with stomata. The laminar mesophyll region showed one to two layers of compactly arranged palisade parenchyma cells, two to four layers of loosely arranged spongy parenchyma cells, the calcium oxalate crystals were present abundantly in the upper layer of palisade parenchyma cells and were absent in the spongy parenchyma cells. Spongy parenchyma cells showed simple and compound starch grains in groups

Geographical distribution:

It is native to the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and New Guinea. It is reportedly naturalized in China, tropical Africa, Brazil, Belize, Colombia, the West Indies, Fiji and French Polynesia.

ECOLOGICAL ASPECT:

No Specific data, though it spreads pretty quickly in the garden.

Plant conservation:

Not in endangered list

General Use:

Used as edible vegetable.

Therapeutic Uses:

Medicinally Upodika/Malabar Spinach/Pasalai/Kodippasalai is used for treating variety of diseases.

The leaves are used externally in treatment sores, urticaria and gonorrhoea. The leaves poultice is applied externally on affected body areas.

Due to cooling action of this herb, the leaves are considered specific remedy for burns. In case of burn and scalds, the leaf juice is mixed with ghee/butter and applied topically.

The paste of leaves is applied externally on ulcers, boils and abscesses to hasten suppuration.

For snakebites, crushed plant is applied topically at place of bite.

The fresh leaves juice of plant can be taken in dose of 10-20 ml. This juice has diuretic, demulcent, febrifuge, and laxative properties. It is beneficial to drink it during fluid retention, dysentery, diarrhoea, constipation and catarrh.

Medicinally Upodika/Malabar Spinach/Pasalai/Kodippasalai is used for treating variety of diseases.

The leaves are used externally in treatment sores, urticaria and gonorrhoea. The leaves poultice is applied externally on affected body areas.

Due to cooling action of this herb, the leaves are considered specific remedy for burns. In case of burn and scalds, the leaf juice is mixed with ghee/butter and applied topically.

The paste of leaves is applied externally on ulcers, boils and abscesses to hasten suppuration.

For snakebites, crushed plant is applied topically at place of bite.

Administration:

Juice- Oral

Paste - External application.

Pharmacological:

Molecule from the fruits appears to have remarkable antioxidant capacities.

Clinical trials:

Clinical Trials have been conducted for verifying the capability of wound healing , antimicrobial, anti viral,anti inflammtory, anti ulcer, Hepatoprotective, Antidiabetic activity in relationship with the Antioxidant property, antioxidant activities etc.

Interaction with hormones, testosterone and estrogen.