N. O. COMPOSITE. 687 



Uses : — In Sanskrit medicine it is principally used as a tonic 

 and deobstruent in hepatic and splenic enlargements, and in 

 various chronic skin diseases. There is a popular opiniou that 

 the herb taken internally and applied externally will turn the 

 hair black. 



The fresh juice of the leaves is rubbed on the shaven scalp 

 for the purpose of promoting the growth of hair (Dutt). 



Mahomedan writers ascribe the same properties to this plant 

 as the Hindus. 



In Bombay, the natives use the juice in combination with 

 aromatics, as a tonic and deobstruent, and give 2 drops of it 

 with eight drops of honey to new-born children, suffering from 

 catarrh. The following prescription is used in the Concan for 

 tetanus : — Maka juice, I tola; Juice of Leucas cephalotes 

 (Tumba) ^ tola; Ginger juice, 2 tolas ; Juice of Vitex trifolia, 1 

 tola ; and leaf-juice of Sesbania grandiflora, 3 tolas : to be boiled 

 with four times the quantity of cocoanut juice and a little 

 rice and treacle to from a khir, to be given twice a day. 

 (Dymock). 



In the Guj rat district of the Punjab, it is used externally for 

 ulcers, and an antiseptic for wounds in cattle (Ibbetson's 

 Gujrat : p. 11.) 



The Indian Pharmacopoeia recommends the expressed juice 

 as the best form of administration in hepatic derangements, as 

 a substitute for taraxacum. 



The fresh plant is applied with sesamum oil in elephantiasis, 

 and the expressed juice in affections of the liver and dropsy. 

 When used in large doses, it acts as an emetic. It is also con- 

 sidered cooling (Watt). 



It is anodyne and absorbent, and relieves headache when 

 applied with a little oil. It is an excellent substitute for taraxa- 

 cum (Kannye Lai De Bahadur). 



In Chutia Nagpur, the root is applied in conjunctivitis and 

 galled necks in cattle (Revd. A. Campbell). 



The juice of the leaves is given in one teaspoonful doses in 

 jaundice and fevers. The root is given to relieve the scalding 



