Vitex negundo
Encyclopedia
Vitex negundo, commonly known as the five-leaved chaste tree, is a large aromatic
shrub
with quadrangular, densely whitish, tomentose
branchlets. It is widely used in folk medicine
, particularly in South
and Southeast Asia
.
It is known under a variety of names in different languages: Tamil
: நொச்சி, nochhi; Hindi
: निर्गुंडी, nirgundi; Sanskrit
: सिन्धुवार, sindhuvara; Filipino
: lagundî; Sinhala: නික, nika; and Bengali
: Nishinda (নিশিন্দা), among others.
or small tree growing from 2 to 8 m (6.6 to 26.2 ft) in height. The bark is reddish-brown. It leaves are digitate, with five lanceolate leaflet
s, sometimes three. Each leaflet is around 4 to 10 cm (1.6 to 3.9 in) in length, with the central leaflet being the largest and possessing a stalk. The leaf edges are toothed or serrated and the bottom surface is covered in hair.
The numerous flowers are borne in panicle
s 10 to 20 cm (3.9 to 7.9 in) in length. Each is around 6 to 7 cm (2.4 to 2.8 in) long and are white to blue in color. The petal
s are of different lengths, with the middle lower lobe being the longest. Both the corolla and calyx are covered in dense hairs.
The fruit is a succulent drupe
, 4 mm (0.15748031496063 in) in diameter, rounded to egg-shaped. It is black or purple when ripe.
and Asia
. It is widely cultivated and naturalized elsewhere.
Countries it is indigenous to include Afghanistan
, Bangladesh
, Bhutan
, Cambodia
, China
, India
, Indonesia
, Japan
, Kenya
, Madagascar
, Malaysia, Mozambique
, Myanmar
, Nepal
, Pakistan
, the Philippines
, Sri Lanka
, Taiwan
, Tanzania
, Thailand
, and Vietnam
.
Vitex negundo are commonly found near bodies of water, recently disturbed land, grasslands, and mixed open forests.
Vitex
of the subfamily Viticoideae
. It is classified under the family
Lamiaceae
, but is sometimes placed under Verbenaceae
.
Three varieties are currently recognized:
s of Vitex negunda in different languages include:
of V. negundo possess discutient properties and are applied to rheumatic swellings of the joints and in sprains. They may be applied locally to swellings from rheumatic arthritis
and sprains.
The juice of the leaves is used for the treatment of fetid discharges. The principal constituents the leaf juice are casticin, isoorientin, chrysophenol D, luteolin
, p–hydroxybenzoic acid and D-fructose
.
The plant has anti-inflammatory
, antibacterial,
antifungal
and analgesic
activities. These properties are useful in the treatment of superficial bruises, injuries, sores and skin infections.
The essential oil
of V. negundo has been used to reduce inflammation and swelling of joints due to rheumatism and injuries. The main constituents of the oil are sabinene
, linalool, terpinen-4-ol
, β-caryophyllene, α-guaiene
and globulol constituting 61.8% of the oil.
against pest
s in the Philippines
.
Essential oil
An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils or aetherolea, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove...
shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
with quadrangular, densely whitish, tomentose
Tomentose
Tomentose is a term used to describe plant hairs that are flattened and matted, forming a woolly coating known as tomentum. Often the hairs are silver or gray-colored...
branchlets. It is widely used in folk medicine
Folk medicine
-Description:Refers to healing practices and ideas of body physiology and health preservation known to a limited segment of the population in a culture, transmitted informally as general knowledge, and practiced or applied by anyone in the culture having prior experience.All cultures and societies...
, particularly in South
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
.
It is known under a variety of names in different languages: Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
: நொச்சி, nochhi; Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
: निर्गुंडी, nirgundi; Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
: सिन्धुवार, sindhuvara; Filipino
Filipino language
This move has drawn much criticism from other regional groups.In 1987, a new constitution introduced many provisions for the language.Article XIV, Section 6, omits any mention of Tagalog as the basis for Filipino, and states that:...
: lagundî; Sinhala: නික, nika; and Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
: Nishinda (নিশিন্দা), among others.
Description
Vitex negundo is an erect shrubShrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
or small tree growing from 2 to 8 m (6.6 to 26.2 ft) in height. The bark is reddish-brown. It leaves are digitate, with five lanceolate leaflet
Leaflet
A leaflet in botany is a part of a compound leaf. A leaflet may resemble an entire leaf, but it is not borne on a stem as a leaf is, but rather on a vein of the whole leaf. Compound leaves are common in many plant families...
s, sometimes three. Each leaflet is around 4 to 10 cm (1.6 to 3.9 in) in length, with the central leaflet being the largest and possessing a stalk. The leaf edges are toothed or serrated and the bottom surface is covered in hair.
The numerous flowers are borne in panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
s 10 to 20 cm (3.9 to 7.9 in) in length. Each is around 6 to 7 cm (2.4 to 2.8 in) long and are white to blue in color. The petal
Petal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...
s are of different lengths, with the middle lower lobe being the longest. Both the corolla and calyx are covered in dense hairs.
The fruit is a succulent drupe
Drupe
In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
, 4 mm (0.15748031496063 in) in diameter, rounded to egg-shaped. It is black or purple when ripe.
Distribution and habitat
Vitex negundo is native to tropical Eastern and Southern AfricaSouthern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. It is widely cultivated and naturalized elsewhere.
Countries it is indigenous to include Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, Malaysia, Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
.
Vitex negundo are commonly found near bodies of water, recently disturbed land, grasslands, and mixed open forests.
Taxonomy
Vitex negundo belongs to the genusGenus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Vitex
Vitex
Vitex is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae Martynov, nom. cons. . It has about 250 species. Its type species is Vitex agnus-castus. There is no universal English name, though "chastetree" is common for many species...
of the subfamily Viticoideae
Viticoideae
Viticoideae is one of the seven subfamilies of Lamiaceae-The Genera of Viticoideae:This subfamily contains the following 10 genera:* Cornutia L.* Gmelina L.* Paravitex Fletcher* Petitia Jacq.* Pseudocarpidium Millsp....
. It is classified under the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Lamiaceae
Lamiaceae
The mints, taxonomically known as Lamiaceae or Labiatae, are a family of flowering plants. They have traditionally been considered closely related to Verbenaceae, but in the 1990s, phylogenetic studies suggested that many genera classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae...
, but is sometimes placed under Verbenaceae
Verbenaceae
Verbenaceae, commonly known as the verbena family or vervain family, is a family of mainly tropical flowering plants. It contains trees, shrubs and herbs notable for heads, spikes, or clusters of small flowers, many of which have an aromatic smell.Recent phylogenetic studies have shown that...
.
Three varieties are currently recognized:
- Vitex negundo L. var. cannabifolia (Siebold & Zucc.) Hand.-Mazz. - found in China (including Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
), India, Nepal, and Thailand. - Vitex negundo L. var. incisa (Lam.) C. B. Clarke - found in China, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
- Vitex negundo L. var. negundo - Found in China, Japan, and Taiwan.
Nomenclature
Common nameCommon name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
s of Vitex negunda in different languages include:
- BengaliBengali languageBengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
: Nirgundi; Nishinda; Samalu - Bontok : Liñgei
- ChineseChinese languageThe Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
: Huang jing - EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: Five-leaved chaste tree; Horseshoe vitex; Chinese chaste tree - FilipinoFilipino languageThis move has drawn much criticism from other regional groups.In 1987, a new constitution introduced many provisions for the language.Article XIV, Section 6, omits any mention of Tagalog as the basis for Filipino, and states that:...
: Lagundî - GujaratiGujarati languageGujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
: Nagoda; Shamalic - Hindi : Mewri; Nirgundi; Nisinda; Sambhalu; Sawbhalu (निर्गुंडी)
- IfugaoIfugao languageIfugao or Batad is a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken in the Ifugao Province of the northern valleys Philippines, closely related to Bontok and Kankanai...
: Dabtan - IlokanoIlokano languageIlokano or Ilocano is the third most-spoken language of the Republic of the Philippines....
: Dangla - KannadaKannada languageKannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...
: Bile-nekki - MalayalamMalayalam languageMalayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people...
: Indrani - MarathiMarathi languageMarathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
: Nirgunda - PunjabiPunjabi languagePunjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
: Banna; Marwan; Maura; Mawa; Swanjan Torbanna - Sanskrit : Nirgundi; Sephalika; Sindhuvara; Svetasurasa; Vrikshaha (सिन्धुवार)
- Sinhala: Nika
- TamilTamil languageTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
: Chinduvaram; Nirnochchi; Nochchi; Notchi; Vellai-nochchi - TeluguTelugu languageTelugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
: Sindhuvara; Vavili; Nalla-vavili; Tella-vavili (వావిలి / సింధువార)
Folk medicine
The leavesLeaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
of V. negundo possess discutient properties and are applied to rheumatic swellings of the joints and in sprains. They may be applied locally to swellings from rheumatic arthritis
Arthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
and sprains.
The juice of the leaves is used for the treatment of fetid discharges. The principal constituents the leaf juice are casticin, isoorientin, chrysophenol D, luteolin
Luteolin
Luteolin is a yellow crystalline compound. It is a flavonoid; to be specific, it is one of the more common flavones. From preliminary research, it is thought to play a role in the human body possibly as an antioxidant, a free radical scavenger, a promoter of carbohydrate metabolism, or an immune...
, p–hydroxybenzoic acid and D-fructose
Fructose
Fructose, or fruit sugar, is a simple monosaccharide found in many plants. It is one of the three dietary monosaccharides, along with glucose and galactose, that are absorbed directly into the bloodstream during digestion. Fructose was discovered by French chemist Augustin-Pierre Dubrunfaut in 1847...
.
The plant has anti-inflammatory
Anti-inflammatory
Anti-inflammatory refers to the property of a substance or treatment that reduces inflammation. Anti-inflammatory drugs make up about half of analgesics, remedying pain by reducing inflammation as opposed to opioids, which affect the central nervous system....
, antibacterial,
antifungal
Antifungal
* Antifungal medication, a medication used to treat fungal infection s such as athlete's foot , ringworm, candidiasis, etc.* Antifungal protein, a protein family* an adjective referring to a fungicide compound...
and analgesic
activities. These properties are useful in the treatment of superficial bruises, injuries, sores and skin infections.
The essential oil
Essential oil
An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils or aetherolea, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove...
of V. negundo has been used to reduce inflammation and swelling of joints due to rheumatism and injuries. The main constituents of the oil are sabinene
Sabinene
Sabinene is a natural bicyclic monoterpene with the molecular formula C10H16. It is isolated from the essential oils of a variety of plants including holm oak and Norway spruce...
, linalool, terpinen-4-ol
Terpinen-4-ol
Terpinen-4-ol is a terpene with a molecular weight of 154.249.It is considered the primary active ingredient of tea tree oil. It is also the compound of highest concentration in the essential oil of nutmeg.-Additional images:...
, β-caryophyllene, α-guaiene
Guaiene
Guaienes are a series of closely related natural chemical compounds that have been isolated from a variety of plant sources. The guaienes are sesquiterpenes with the molecular formula C15H24. α-Guaiene is the most common and was first isolated from guaiac wood oil from Bulnesia sarmientoi...
and globulol constituting 61.8% of the oil.
Other
Vitex negunda is used for treating stored garlicGarlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
against pest
Pest
Pest may refer to:*Pest , an animal or plant detrimental to humans or human concerns*Pest, an archaic term for pestilence, originally the Black Death*Pest , an ice hockey player specialising in aggravating opponents...
s in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.