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Botanical Name :
Abelmoschus
moschatus Malvaceae / Hibiscus
abelmoschus Linn.
Sanskrit name
:
Latakasturi, Gandapura, Kasturilatika
English Name :
Musk
Mallow, Ambrette Plant
Family:
Malvaceae
Description
of
Abelmoschus
moschatus Malvaceae:
This plant is cultivated for its musk-scented seeds that are used in
perfumes and medicine. In Malaysia, it is mixed with cosmetics and used
to perfume hair.
A.moschatus
is an erect, annual or biennial, hirsute herb. The leaves are
polymorphous: the lower, ovate and acute; the upper, palmately 3-7
lobed; the flowers are bright yellow, large, usually solitary and
axillary, sometimes in few-flowered racemes; the capsules are ovate,
acute and hispid; the seeds are sub-reniform, black and musk-scented.
The crushed seeds, on steam distillation, yield a volatile oil, known as
musk seed oil or ambrette seed oil.
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Principal
Constituents:
The
oil from the seeds is rich in linoleic acid and contains a-cephalin,
phosphatidylserine, its plasmalogen and phosphatidylcholine plasmalogen.
The characteristic musk-like odor of the seed oil is mainly due to the
presence of a ketone, ambrettelide, a lactone of ambrettolic acid.
The chemical constituents of the essential oil of the seeds are:
trans-2-trans-6-farnesyl acetate and ambrettolide, cis-2-cis-6- farnesyl
acetate, cis-2-trans-6-farnesyl acetate, ethyl hexadecanate, ethyl
laurate and trans-2-trans-6-farnesol.
Pharmacology:
The
mucilaginous seeds are emollients and demulcents. The mucilage has shown
anticomplementary activity in human serum and hypoglycemic activity in
mice.
Medicinal Value:
The seeds
are valued medicinally for their diuretic, demulcent and stomachic
properties. They are also said to be stimulant, antiseptic, cooling,
tonic, carminative and aphrodisiac.
Herbal Extract packing:
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