Scientific Name Bambusa arundinacea (Retz) Willd.
( B. arundinacea (Retz.) Roxb.; syn. B. bambos Druce)
Family Poaceae
Used Part Bamboo manna.
Distribution Area Distributed throughout the moist parts of India, up to an altitude of 1,250 m, also cultivated in the plains of North-West India, and on the hills of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Common Uses . The "Bamboo mana" is the siliceous secretion found in the internodes of the stems of various species of bamboo. It occurs in fragments or masses, and is translucent or transparent and of bluish white color. It is astringent, acrid, sweet, cooling, expectorant, constipating, cardiotonic, haemostatic, aphrodiasic, diuretic , febriguge and tonic. It is useful in vitiated conditions of pitta and kapha, vomiting, diarrhea, hyperdipsia, burning sensation, leprosy, jaundice, cardiac diseases, haemoptysis, haematemesis, hemorrhage, bronchitis, cough, asthma, tuberculosis, strangury, stomatitits, syphilis, fever, ophathalmia and general debility.
The stems and leaves are used in the Ayurvedic system of medicine as blood-purifier, in leucoderma and inflammatory conditions. An infusion of the leaves is used as an eye-wash. It is also given internally for bronchitis, gonorrhoea and fever.
The tender shoots are pickled or steeped in oil for direct consumption or made into curries. They promote the appetite and help in digestion. The leaves are emmennagogue, anthelmintic, astringent and febrifuge. Mixed with black pepper and common salt, they are used to check diarrhoea in cattle. They are also given to horses as a remedy for cough and cold. In the indigenous system of medicine, the burnt roots are applied to ringworm, bleeding gums, and to painful joints.
Pharmacological Effect The dealcoholized extract of leaves has shown anti-bacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis (Ehrenb.) Cohn, Micrococcus pyogenes Lehmann & Newmann var. aureus Hucker syn. Staphylococcus aureus Rosenb., Aerobactor aerogenes (Kruse) Beijer., Salmonella typhi (Schroter) and S. paratyphi (Kayser) Castell. & Chalm.
