Carissa carandas, Karamarda

Karanda
Karamarda (Ayurveda)
Kalakkai (Siddha)
Kakronda, Karaunda (Unani)
Laaz (Arabic)

Carissa carandas
W. Roxburgh, Plants of the coast of Coromandel, (1795)

Carissa carandas
(Photo by Sakurai Midori, cropped) (Wikimedia)

Botanical name:

Carissa carandas
Others reportedly used include Carissa spinarum, C. inermis (Syn. C. macrophylla)

Parts used:

Root; also leaf and fruit

Temperature & Taste:

Cool, dry. Pungent, Bitter (Warm according to Unani)
Fruit is cool and sour when unripe, and cool and sweet when ripe.

Classification:

4c. CARDIAC

Uses:

1. Clears Heat:

-Fever
-skin diseases; pustular eruptions
-Ulcer

2. Benefits the Heart:

-contains Cardiac glycosides
-fruit juice is also taken as a cardiac tonic in doses of 15–20 mls.

3. Promotes Urine, Clears Damp:

-aids slimming in obesity and fluid retention
-difficult Urination

4. Kills Worms:

-Worm infestation

5. Externally:

-applied to Conjunctivitis
-applied to Piles
-root powder was applied to Wounds infected with maggots
-root paste is applied to Diabetic Ulcers

FRUIT:

The Fruit is sweet and eaten as food.
-cooling in Fevers; alleviates Thirst (juice)
-juice is taken to promote appetite and digestion
-used for Scurvy
-Septicemia
-unripe fruit is sour and used for pickles

Dose:

Root in Powder: 1–3 grams
Decoction (1 in 10): 40–50 mls.
Fruit Juice: 10–15 mls.

Correctives:

1. Salt
2. Sugar
3. Black Pepper

Main Combinations:

Major Formulas:

Cautions:

None noted

1. Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of naringin isolated from Carissa carandas L.: In vitro and in vivo evidence.
2. Antioxidant, cytotoxic and antineoplastic effects of Carissa carandas Linn. leaves.
3. Activity-guided investigation of Carissa carandas (L.) roots for anti-inflammatory constituents.
4. Pharmacological basis for the medicinal use of Carissa carandas in constipation and diarrhea.
5. Anthelmintic activity of root bark of Carissa carandas.

6. Report: Studies on antibacterial activity of some traditional medicinal plants used in folk medicine.
7. Pharmacodynamic study on acute hypotensive activities of Carissa carandas extract in normal rats.
8. Antidiabetic potential of unripe Carissa carandas Linn. fruit extract.
9. Hepatoprotective effect of Carissa carandas Linn root extract against CCl4 and paracetamol induced hepatic oxidative stress.

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