Common Name: Malabar nut
Botanical Name: Justicia adhatoda
Hindi Name: Adusa
Marathi Name: Adulsa
Family: Acanthaceae
This evergreen perennial shrub has leathery leaves. The flowers are dense and large having large bracts and whitish pink/purple colored. The herb is often grown as a hedge and its leaves and twigs are utilized as green-manure. The whole plant or its roots, leaves, bark and flowers are used in various herbal preparations.
It is a primary medicinal plant for the respiratory tract ailments in the treatment of cough, bronchitis, asthma and symptoms of common cold. The medicinal uses of Adulsa leaves are attributed to its antitussive, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. Its leaf juice is the most common home remedy for cough, respiratory diseases and bleeding disorders. It is also a highly effective natural medicine for respiratory infections. In ayurveda, Adulsa juice is also called Adusa Swarasa, Adulsa Swarasa and Vasa Svarasa.
Constituents of the plant have been exposed to have anti stress effects, which might be occasioned partly by an endocrine and partly by an immunomodulatory mechanism of action. This plant has medicinal uses, mainly antispasmodic, fever reducer, anti-inflammatory, anti-bleeding, bronchodilator, anti-diabetic, disinfectant, anti-jaundice and oxytocic. It is antiperiodic, astringent, diuretic, purgative and is also used as an expectorant in addition to liquefy sputum. The leaves, flowers and roots of this plant used in herbal drugs against tubercular activities cancer and possessed anti-helminthic properties.