Dhataki

BOTANICAL NAME: Woodfordia fruticosa

FAMILY: Lythraceae

 

CLASSICAL CLASSIFICATION:

Charaka- Pureesh Sangrahaniya, Mutra Viranjaniya.

Sushruta- Priyangvadi Gana and Ambashthadi Gana.

Bhavprakash- Haritkyadi Varga

 

ENGLISH NAME: Fire flame bush

COMMON NAME:

Hindi name: Dhaaya/ Dhaay ke Phool

Punjabi name: Dhavi

Bengali Name: Dhai

Kannada: Bela, tamrapuspi

REFERENCE: BHAVAPRAKASH SAMHITA with link e Nighantu:

https://niimh.nic.in/ebooks/e-Nighantu/bhavaprakashanighantu/?mod=read

धातकी धातुपुष्पी च ताम्रपुष्पी च कुञ्जरा |

सुभिक्षा बहुपुष्पी च वह्निज्वाला च सा स्मृता ||१६३||

धातकी कटुका शीता मृदुकृत्तुवरा लघुः |

तृष्णाऽतीसारपित्तास्रविषक्रिमिविसर्पजित् ||१६४|

HABITAT: Dhataki consists of flowers of Woodfordia fruticosa (Linn.) Kurz. (Fam. Lythraceae): much branched, semi deciduous, undershrub or shrub, 1-3 m high, rarely upto 3 m, found throughout India, ascending to 1500 m in Himalayas and also in the Gangetic plains, also cultivated in gardens.

Flowering and Fruiting time: Flowering in Feb-april & fruiting in april-june.

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION: It is a bushy shrub, with long, spreading branches, pubescent, young branches and leaves with numerous, small, black glands. Leaves are opposite or subopposite, grey pubescent beneath, ovate or linear-lanceolate. Flowers are scarlet, showy, tubular or slender pedicels dilated above, borne in axillary clusters. Fruits are capsules, ellipsoid, membranous, included in the calyx. Seeds are cuneate-obovate, smooth.

MAJOR CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS: Tannins and cyaniding, diglucoside, octacosanol and beta-sitosterol are isolated from leaves. Leaves are rich in ellagic acid, polystachoside, pelargonidin-3 and 5-diglucoside.

THERAPEUTIC USES:

• Dysentery: Dried flowers are given with the milk
• Foul ulcer and wound healing: Powder of the flower in dried form or their decoction is applied locally.
• Burns: Local application of ointment prepared from its bark.

INDICATIONS:

Shvetapradara Leucorrhea, Prajasthapana female infertility, Pittabhishyanda conjunctivitis.

USEFUL PART: Flower

DOSAGE: Powder-1.5 g

AYURVEDIC FORMULATION:

1. Dhatakyadi tail,
2. Dhatakyadi churna,
3. Aravindasava.