Nirgundi (Vitex negundo) as medicinal herb in Chhattisgarh, India

Research Note - Pankaj Oudhia
© 2001,2002,2003 Pankaj Oudhia - All Rights Reserved

Since generations, the natives of Chhattisgarh are using Nirgundi herb to prepare the earthen pots to store the grains. They are aware of insecticidal and repellent properties of this herb. According to them, in these earthen pots, one can store the grains for long time. In interior forest regions of Chhattisgarh, the natives are still using Nirgundi herb for this specific purpose. After experiencing and observing long term effects of Nirgundi herb, many Indian Scientists have published research papers and through slight modifications developed new grain storage structures. I have seen many such research papers in international journals but they have not mentioned that the base of their work, is from the traditional knowledge of Chhattisgarh natives. Like Neem leaves, for storage of grains, the natives use dried Nirgundi leaves. They mix the dried leaves with grain in order to repel away the harmful storage pest. The farmers of Chhattisgarh, are also well aware of unique insect repellent properties of Nirgundi. During interactions with the old villagers, I got information that in old days, it was common practice to burn the dried leaves of Nirgundi herb in rice fields, in order to repel away the harmful insects. As insecticides introduced in Chhattisgarh and the era of high yielding varieties came, this use lost its popularity among Farmers. I am proud to say that innovative the herb growers of Chhattisgarh have decided to use this unique and valuable traditional knowledge again to protect their medicinal and aromatic crops. For the herb growers engaged in organic farming this herb has became a boon. The herb growers are planting Nirgundi in surrounding of their valuable crops as plant protection measure. They are getting encouraging results. I have written a lot about natural occurrence and existing uses of this valuable herb in my previous articles. In this article, I am giving details about some unique traditional medicinal knowledge, I have noted during my recent ethnobotanical surveys but at first I am describing its botany and reported medicinal uses. According to reference literatures, Nirgundi is a large, aromatic shrub or a small, slender tree, with quadrangular, densely whitish - tomentose branchlets, upto to 5.0 meters; Bark thin, grey; Leaf 3-5 foliolate; leaflets lanceolate, entire or rarely crenate; flower bluish - Purple, small in peduncled cymes, forming large, terminal often compound, pyramidal panicles, Fruit globose drupe, black when ripe, 5-6 mm diameter with persistent calyx. According to Ayurveda, the Nirgundi plant is acrid, bitter, heating, astringent, stomachic, cephalic, anthelmintic and useful in treatment of leucoderma, consumption, inflammations, eye diseases, spleen enlargement, bronchitis, asthma, biliousness, painful teething of children etc.

The Indian names of Nirgundi (Vitex negundo)
Languages/Regions/Countries	Names
1) Assam	Pasutica, Aaglachita
2) Bengal	Niginda, Samalu, Nirgundi
3) English	Chinese Chaste tree
4) Gujarati	Nagoda, Nagaol
5) Hindi	Nirgandi, Shambhalu, Nisinda
6) Kanarese	Lakkigda, Nakkilu, Nekki
7) Kumaon	Shiwali
8) Malyalam	Vellanocchi
9) Marathi	Nirgundi, Nisind, Nigudi
10) Tamil	Vellanocchi, Venmochi, Nirukkundi
11) Telugu	Tellavaavili, Vaavili
12) Oriya	Begundiya, Nirgundi
13) Punjabi	Banna

The traditional healers and natives have rich traditional medicinal knowledge about Nirgundi. The healers prepare special herbal oil from fresh leaves of Nirgundi and use in treatment of more than 70 common and complicated diseases. The healers of different parts use different base oil for preparation of this special oil. Sesamum (Til) and Mustard (Sarson) oils are used most commonly. The traditional healers of Southern Parts give more emphasis to Til Oil. Like other herbs, before collecting the leaves, the healers perform special worship ceremony and next day visit to same spot for the collection of leaves. The leaves are washed thoroughly with well water and used to prepare this Oil. When all watery contents evaporates from the mixture of base oil and Nirgundi leaves, the oil is collected and stored for future use. The healers use this oil in different ways. Its external uses in treatment of intense pains due to rheumatism, gout and sciatica are most common in Chhattisgarh. The body ache resulted from heavy physical exertion can be treated successfully with the help of this special oil. In tribal belts of Chhattisgarh, the drummers use this oil very frequently to get refreshed. The traditional healers of Mudpar village use Nirgundi oil in treatment of skin troubles. The oil is applied externally on diseased parts for early cure. According to him, this oil is a boon for the patients having the problem of Adhasisi (Migraine). He also add Nirgundi roots in this oil with leaves in order to make it more useful particularly in treatment of migraine. The use of roots in preparation of oil is not reported in reference literatures. He informed me that he add roots in very less proportion but when oil for dental care is prepared, the proportion of roots is increased. He advises his patients to use the oil as mouth wash before sleep to make the teeth healthy and disease free whole life. According to him, it is promising treatment for toothache. The traditional healers of Kanker region, add more herbs like Hing (Asafoetida) and Ajwain in herbal oil. The traditional healers of Ambikapur region, use this oil in treatment of earache. As mentioned earlier, these is no standardise method for preparation of oil and every healers have their own method and they are using it successfully. For young researchers, this is good opportunity to evaluate the efficacies of oils prepared by different healers. This is really sad that not a single pharmaceutical company at Chhattisgarh is engaged in preparing this multipurpose oil. There is a tremendous scope in this field. As Nirgundi occurs as wasteland plant in abundance, any company can utilize this raw material in development of herbal products particularly this useful herbal oil. Through my ethnobotanical surveys, I have identified many Nirgundi rich areas and villages. In collection of Nirgundi herb from these region the natives can play a vital role. For them, this opportunity can provide employment. This is easy to write buthard to start , but I personally feel that the non-governmental organisations active in this field in Chhattisgarh, can take a lead with the help of experts. Nirgundi is a valuable non-wood forest produce of Chhattisgarh, but there is less demand in national and international drug markets. Its availability in other parts of India is one of the reasons. The neighbouring states are fulfilling the requirement of national and international traders. The use of Herbal shoes prepared from Nirgundi wood, effective in treatment of rheumatism is popular in northern parts of Chhattisgarh. For details, I suggest you to read my previous article on Traditional medicinal knowledge about common herbs useful in treatment of rheumatism in Chhattisgarh, India. For the treatment of carbuncle, the traditional healers suggest the patients to take fresh juice of Nirgundi leaves. I have seen the miracle curing effects of the leaf juice. As its nature (Tasir) is hot, in general, the healers take special precaution in its use and give the juice under their strict supervision only. The aqueous paste of leaves is also applied externally on boils. The natives give the leaf juice to woman just after delivery. In many parts, the natives prepare special vegetable using the leaves of Nirgundi and give it to the woman after delivery.

In my allelopathic experiments, I have tried to evaluate the aqueous leachates and extracts of different parts of Nirgundi on common weeds. I have found it effective in suppressing the initial growth of obnoxious weed Lantana camara. The detailed studies are in progress. Like Nirgundi, there are many valuable herbs in Chhattisgarh needing scientific attention and detailed research. Through my articles, I am trying my best to introduce these valuable herbs to the world community. Thank you very much for reading the article.