Abrus precatorius Linn.

Family- Papilionaceae; Fabaceae.
Habitat- Throughout the country,ascending to an altitude of about 1050 m in the outer Himalayas.
English - Indian Wild Liquorice,Jequirity, Crab’s Eye, Precatory Bean.
Ayurvedic- Gunjaa, Gunjaka,Chirihintikaa, Raktikaa, Chirmiti,Kakanti, Kabjaka, Tiktikaa,
Kaakananti, Kaakchinchi. (Not to be used as a substitute for liquorice.)
Unani- Ghunghchi, Ghamchi.
Siddha/Tamil Kunri.
Folk- Chirmiti, Ratti.
Action Uterine stimulant, abortifacient toxic. Seeds—teratogenic. A paste of seeds is applied on vitiligo
patches. Along with other therapeutic applications,The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India has indicated the use of seeds in baldness.Seeds contain abrin, a toxalbumin,indole derivatives, anthocyanins, sterols,terpenes. Abrin causes agglutination of erythrocytes, haemolysis and enlargement of lymph glands. A nontoxic
dose of abrin (1.5% mcg/kg bodyweight), isolated from the seeds of red var., exhibited a noticeable increase in antibody-forming cells, bone marrow cellularity and alpha-esterase-positive bone marrow cells.Oral administration of agglutinins,isolated from the seeds, is useful in the treatment of hepatitis and AIDS.Theseed extract exhibited antischistosomal activity in male hamsters.The methanolic extract of seeds inhibited themotility of human spermatozoa.The roots contain precol, abrol, glycyrrhizin(.%) and alkaloids—abrasine and precasine. The roots also contain triterpenoids—abruslactone A,methyl abrusgenate and abrus genicacid.Alkaloids/bases present in the roots are also present in leaves and stems.A. fruticulosus Wall. Ex Wight and Arn. synonym A. pulchellus Wall., A.laevigatus E. May. (Shveta Gunjaa) is also used for the same medicinal purposes as A. precatorius.
Dosage Detoxified seed—1–3 g
powder. Root powder—3–6 g.