Latin Name(s): Vitex negundo

English Name(s): Five-Leaved Chaste Tree

Sanskrit / Indian Name (s): Nirgundi, Sephali

Cure for: The whole plant is used for medicinal purposes. The leaves are astringent, febrifuge, sedative, tonic and vermifuge and used in diffusing swellings of the joints from acute rheumatism and of the testes from suppressed gonorrhoea. The juice of the leaves is used for removing foetid discharges and worms from ulcers, while an oil prepared with the leaf juice is applied to sinuses and scrofulous sores. The  extracts of the leaves have also shown bactericidal and antitumor activity. The leaves are used to repel insects in grain stores. Extracts of the leaves have insecticidal activity. The fresh leaves are burnt with grass as a fumigant against mosquitoes. A decoction of the stems is used in the treatment of burns and scalds. The dried fruit is vermifuge and used in the treatment of angina, colds, coughs, rheumatic difficulties etc. The fresh berries are crushed to a pulp and used in the form of a tincture for the relief of paralysis, pains in the limbs, weakness etc. The root is expectorant, febrifuge and tonic and used in the treatment of colds and rheumatic ailments. The whole plant is said to be a malarial preventative and is also used in the treatment of bacterial dysentery.