Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr. (= S. aegyptiaca (Poir.) Pers.)

DeFilipps, Robert A. & Krupnick, Gary A., 2018, The medicinal plants of Myanmar, PhytoKeys 102, pp. 1-341 : 92

Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr. (= S. aegyptiaca (Poir.) Pers.)

Names.

Myanmar: ye-tha-gyi. English: common sesban, Egyptian rattlepod.

Range.

Old World tropics; tropical Asia. In Myanmar found in Sagaing.

Uses.

Bark: Used for skin conditions, liquid from the crushed bark is given orally, and the seed paste is applied topically. It is also used to clear infections, promote new tissue formation, and heal chronic sores. Leaf: Used in maturative poultices. Leaf also used to treat poisoning, edema, and eye infections; to purify breast milk, open blocked mammary glands, and increase lactation. New mothers eat the leaves in a variety of forms, including in clear soups, boiled lightly, in salad, fried as fritters, or pickled. Juice from the crushed leaves is used as an eye drop solution to clear infection and to reduce fever. For swollen joints, aches, and pains, the liquid from boiled leaves is taken orally. Powder from the dried leaves is taken with honey or in sweet liqueurs as a tonic for strength and vitality. Seed: Component of remedies for irregular menstrual periods, liver inflammation, and lung infections. Root: Used in medicines to treat stomach bloating, tumors, fevers, sores, diabetes, skin irregularities caused by blood problems, and throat ailments, as well as to protect against colds, leprosy, spleen inflammation, and germs. They are also used in remedies to neutralize venom from scorpion stings.

Notes.

In India the leaf is used in a poultice for suppuration of boils and rheumatic swelling. The seed is employed as a stimulant and astringent emmenagogue; also for diarrhea, spleen enlargement, and in ointments for skin eruptions ( Jain and DeFilipps 1991).

Extracts from the flower of this species show antifertility activity ( Jain and DeFilipps 1991).

References.

Agricultural Corporation (1980), Perry (1980).