9. r >2 
INDIAN MEDICINAL PLANTS. 
911 . Sesamum indicum, DeC. h.f.iu., iv. 387 . 
Syn. S. orientale, Linn. Roxb. 491. 
Sans : — Tila. 
Vern. : — Mitha til, krishna-til (Hind.) ; Til (Beng.) ; Simsim 
(Arab.); Kunjad (Pers.) ; Wal lenney, yelloocheddi, (Tam.); 
Manchinune nuvulu (Tel.); Bdrik til (Dec.i; Kasi, Khasa 
(Uriya.) 
Eng Gingelly ; Sesame. 
Habitat : — Cultivated throughout the wanner parts of India. 
Erect annual herbs, l-2ft. high, pubescent or puberulous. 
Leaves 3-5in., variable on the same plant, upper often narrowly 
oblong, sub-entire, middle ovate, ovate-toothed, lower lobed or 
pedatisect. Petiole J-2in. Pedicels £in., solitary, rarely 2-3-nate. 
Flowers with a strong, unpleasant odour. Sepals Jin., lanceolate. 
Corolla ljin., pubescent, whitish or with red, purplish or 
yellow marks. Capsule tetragonous, oblong, 1 by Jin., erect, 
scabrid pilose, the same width, -from top to bottom, usually 
shortly acuminate ; 2-valved half-way down, or sometimes to 
the base or ultimately 4-valved. Seeds brown, smooth. There 
is a black-seeded variety. 
Uses-— In Hindu medical works, three varieties of til seeds 
havwi been described, — black, white and red. The black kind 
is the best suited for medicinal use. “Sesamum seeds are 
considered emollient, nourishing, tonic, diuretic and lactagogue. 
They are said to be especially serviceable in piles, by regulating 
the bowels and removing constipation. Sesamum seeds ground 
to a paste with water are given with butter in bleeding piles. 
Sweetmeats made of the seeds are also beneficial in this disease. 
A poultice made of the seeds is applied to ulcers. Both the 
seeds and the oil are used as demulcents in dysentery and 
urinary diseases in combination with other medicines of their 
class ” [Hindu Mat. Med.) “In decoction the seed is said to 
be emmenagogue; the same preparation, sweetened with sugar, 
is prescribed in cough ; a compound decoction with linseed is 
used as an aphrodisiac ; a plaster made of the ground seeds is 
applied to burns, scalds, &'c.; a lotion made from the leaves is. 
used as a hair-wash, and is supposed to promote the growth of 
