Indian Kino Tree, Malabar kino tree 

Sanskrit Name:

Asana,

Beejaka,

Peetshal,

Vijaysar

Pterocarpus marsupium - Leguminosae

Rasa (Taste) Kashaya (Astringent), Tikta (Bitter)

Guna (Characteristics) – Lakhu (Light), Ruksha (Rough)

Veerya (Potency) – Sheeta (Cold)

Vipaka (Post digestion effect)-  Katu (Pungent)

Its principal constituents are liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin. An aqueous infusion of the wood is used in diabetes. It has been found to reduced the glucose absorption from the gastrointestinal tract and improve insulin and pro-insulin levels. It is effective in beta cell regeneration and has also been found to have a hypocholesteremic effect.

Effect on Tridosha (Three bio humors):

Actions according to Ayurveda:

• Kushthaghna: Vijaysar is very useful in management of all skin diseases
  
• Rasayana: Vijaysar rejuvenates each and every cell of the body
  
• Keshya: Vijaysar rejuvenates and revitalizes hairs
  
• Tvachya: Vijaysar imparts glowing skin to the body.
  
• Raktasodhana: Vijaysar purifies the blood and removes all toxins from it.
  
• Krimirogahar (Antihelmenthic): Vijaysar is very useful in diseases which originate from external causes like infection, worm infestation etc.
  
• Pramehaghna: Vijaysar is useful in all diseases which involve discoloration of urine including diabetes
  
• Medohara: Vijaysar removes unwanted fat from the body. 
  

Medicinal value:

• The study was designed to investigate the effect of aqueous extract of Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb. on elevated inflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-? in type 2 diabetic rats. Aqueous extract of P. marsupium at both doses, i.e., 100 and 200 mg/kg, decreased the fasting and postprandial blood glucose in type 2 diabetic rats. The 200 mg/kg had more pronounced effect on postprandial hyperglycemia. The drug also improved the body weight of diabetic animals. Cytokine TNF-? was found to be elevated in untreated diabetic rats due to chronic systemic inflammation. The aqueous extract at both doses significantly (P < 0.001) decreased the elevated TNF-? level in type 2 diabetic rats.
  
• The study of aqueous extract of Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb. on cytokine TNF-? in type 2 diabetic rats; Kirana Halagappa Delhi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research (DIPSAR), New Delhi India, HN Girish T.V.M. College of Pharmacy, Gandhinagar, Bellary India, BP Srinivasan Department of Pharmacology, Delhi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research (DIPSAR), New Delhi India

• Glucose levels in rats with hyperglycemia induced by streptozotocin were determined after i.p. administration of marsupsin (1), pterosupin (2), and pterostilbene (3), three important phenolic constituents of the heartwood of Pterocarpus marsupium. Marsupsin and pterostilbene significantly lowered the blood glucose level of hyperglycemic rats, and the effect was comparable to that of 1,1-dimethylbiguanide (metformin).
  
• Antihyperglycemic activity of phenolics from Pterocarpus marsupium.Manickam M, Ramanathan M, Jahromi MA, Chansouria JP, Ray AB.Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India.
• In methanol extract-treated animals, the toxic effect of CCl4 was controlled significantly by restoration of the levels of serum bilirubin, protein and enzymes as compared to the normal and the standard drug silymarin-treated groups. Histology of the liver sections of the animals treated with the extracts showed the presence of normal hepatic cords, absence of necrosis and fatty infiltration, which further evidenced the hepatoprotective activity. So in conclusion methanol extract of the stem bark of P. marsupium possesses significant hepatoprotective activity.
  
• Evaluation of hepatoprotective activity of stem bark of Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb. K. L. Mankani, S. D. Jagadeesh Singh, Y. N. Manohara, Department of Pharmacology, National College of Pharmacy, Shimoga, Karnataka, India; V. Krishna, Department of PG Studies and Research in Biotechnology, Kuvempu University, Shankaraghatta, Karnataka, India; B. K. Manjunatha, S. M. Vidya, Anees-Ur Raheman, K. R. Avinash Department of Botany, S. R. N. M. College of Applied Sciences, Shimoga, Karnataka, India
• Long-term complications are frequently encountered in diabetes mellitus and are difficult to treat. This study was undertaken to assess the effect of three antidiabetic plants on the development of cataract in rats. An aqueous extract of Pterocarpus marsupium Linn bark (PM, Hindi name: Vijaysar) (1 g kg^?1 day^?1),Ocimum sanctum Linn leaves (OS, Hindi name, Tulsi) (200 mg kg^?1 day^?1) and alcoholic extract of Trigonella foenum-graecum Linn seeds (FG, Hindi name, Methi) (2 g kg^?1 day^?1) were given to alloxan (120 mg kg^?1) diabetic rats until the development of cataract. Serum glucose and body weight were monitored at regular intervals while cataract was examined through naked eye as well as slit lamp at 75, 100 and 115 days after alloxan administration. Administration of all the three plant extracts exerted a favorable effect on body weight and blood glucose, the effects were best with PM followed by FG and OS. On the course of cataract development, PM followed by FG exerted anti-cataract effect evident from decreased opacity index while OS failed to produce any anti-cataract effect in spite of significant antihyperglycemic activity.
  
• Anti-cataract activity of Pterocarpus marsupium bark and Trigonella foenum-graecum seeds extract in alloxan diabetic rats; V. Vats, S. P. Yadav, J. K. Grover Department of Pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi India N. R. Biswas, Department of Ocular Pharmacology, Dr Rajendra Prasad Center for Ophthalmic Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi India

Useful part:

Doses:

§         Beejaka (vijay sar) along with Khadira; is the best herb to alleviate all the skin diseases.