Parijat: Introduction, Benefits & Effects

Introduction
Nepal is a country, which is rich in medicinal plant. There are thousands of plant with different species, among them parijat is one of the divine and mysterious plant having medicinal and spiritual vane.Scientifically, it is named as Nyctanthus arbor-tristis Linn,which belongs to family oleaceae of order lamiales .It is named as parijat in Nepal ,night jasmine in English and har-singhar in Hindi .Almost parts of parijat is very useful i.e. root, leaves, flower ,bark and due to its high medicinal and spiritual value, it become the matter of interest for research.

Habit
Parijat is a perennial, small tree growing up to 10 m tall and having life spans 5 to20 years. It has flask grey bark. The leaves of parijat are opposite, simple, long and broad with an entire margin .The flower are small and white in color with orange red tube the tree flowers from September to December. It blooms at night. The fruit is a flat brown heart-shaped to round with 2 sections containing a single seed.

Habitat
Parijat is found in sub-tropical Himalayan of Nepal, mostly found in southern parts of India. It can be cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical regions all over the world from sea level up to 1500m attitude at the equator. It grows best in sandy and moist soil. It can be grown from seed but also can propagate by cutting its parts.

Benefits
Every part of parijat is very useful .It is used for various healing properties.

Leave:
The leaves of parijat are bitter in taste .It contains chemicals like D-mannital, ascorbic acid ,Nyctanthus acid, nicotoflorin , tannic acid , mannital , glucose, benzoic acid etc. It have anti-viral ,anti-fungal , antipyretic, anti-malaria, anti bacteria, anti-inflammatory and anti-orisdant properties so ,it has been used to treat different kind of fever, cough ,worm infestation, antidote of reptiles,venorms, snake bite…etc.

Flower:
The flower of parijat are also bitter in taste .It contains chemicals like Nyctanthin , D-mannitol,tannins, glucose carotenoids etc . It is used to cure large number of disease like gastric complaints, respiratory complaints, prevent hair fall, strengthen the hair, astringent, ophthalmic, dyspepsia etc

Bark:
The bark contains chemicals like glycosidies and alkaloids. It is used to cure disease like fever, eye disease, ulcers, bleeding gums, internal heading wounds including fractured bones etc.

Seed:
The seeds contains chemical arbortistoside A and B, oleic, Nyctanthin acid , lignoceric, stearic, plamitic, myristic acid , 3,4-secotriterpene acid etc. It is mostly used for treatment of dandruff, hair lice, scurvy, digestive problems such as hyper acidity, nausea, worm infestation etc .also prevent dental issues, manages anxiety etc.

Side effects:

Every thing in the world has its own advantage as well as disadvantage. Likewise, parijat plant too has some disadvantage:

– Parijat plant is quite biter in taste ,so it can cause vomiting.

– Due to presence of tannic acid in leaves can cause nausea, vomiting, liver damage, stomach irritation if consumed in large amount.

– It can cause gastric lesions in animal models.

-Due to continuous use of parijat leaves tongue can also become yellow and unattractive.

– If we take it in excessive amount to cure cough, it can prove fatal to the throat.

Conclusion:

Parijat is a very useful plant for mankind .It has been used for medicinal as well as domestic purpose .Due to its high value in health sector; it has become the subject of interest now a days. But many people are still unknown about its importance, causing its huge wastage. So, it has become emergent necessity to prompt about its benefits, to perform more researches and to make people (of all age group) aware about its medicinal importance.

Writer: Babita Magar (Student, Bsc. Ag IAAS Paklihawa Campus)