Salacia oblonga, known as oblong leaf salacia in English, ekanayaka in Kannada, ponkorandi in Malayalam, ponkoranti in Tamil, and ekanayake in Tulu, is a climbing shrub that tends to strangle other plants.[2][3] It is native to India and Sri Lanka.

Salacia oblonga
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Celastrales
Family: Celastraceae
Genus: Salacia
Species:
S. oblonga
Binomial name
Salacia oblonga
Wall.
Synonyms[1]
  • Comocladia serrata Blanco

Description

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Oblong leaf salacia is a climbing shrub with densely warty branchlets. Leaves are oblong, green, veined, and borne on stalks up to 1 cm long. The flowers are green-yellow, appearing in March through May, that yield orange-red berries. It grows primarily in evergreen and semi-evergreen forests.

Traditional medicine

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Oblong leaf salacia is described as a treatment for diabetes in the traditional medical systems of India and Sri Lanka.[4]

The closely related species Salacia reticulata and Salacia chinesis are also used for people with diabetes.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Comocladia serrata Blanco — The Plant List". www.theplantlist.org. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
  2. ^ "eFlora of India".
  3. ^ "Flowers of India".
  4. ^ Kushwaha PS, Singh AK, Keshari AK, Saha S (2016). "An updated review on the phytochemistry, pharmacology, and clinical trials of Salacia oblonga". Pharmacogn Rev. 10 (20): 109–114. doi:10.4103/0973-7847.194046. PMC 5214554. PMID 28082793.
  5. ^ Stohs SJ, Ray S (2015). "Anti-diabetic and anti-hyperlipidemic effects and safety of Salacia reticulata and related species". Phytother Res. 29 (7): 986–995. doi:10.1002/ptr.5382. PMC 5033029. PMID 26031882.
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