Digital Garden

Ehretia laevis

Chamror

Scientific name- Ehretia laevis Sieber ex A.DC 

Common name- Chamror 

Family-Ericaceae 

Habit type-Tree 

A moderate-sized, deciduous tree with smooth, grey bark. The bark of the plant is irregular and light grey. Its dropping branches bear dark green colored leaves with varied size 2–7.8 cm in length and 1.2 cm to 3.8 cm in width. E. laevis is mainly cultivated in India, China, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Africa, Bhutan, Nepal, Burma, Vietnam and Australia. The plant is mainly located in hilly forests and on hilly slopes. 

Leaves: 7-14 cm long, elliptic, obtuse or acuminate, entire, membranous when young, hard when mature. 

Flowers: white, small, in terminal or axillary, slender, usually one-sided cymes. Calyx 5-cleft. Corolla-tube 2.5 cm long, petals 5, spreading. Stamens 5. 

Fruit: 0.5 cm across drupe, globose, depressed, red. 

Uses: Ehretia laevis is a rare Indian medicinal plant used from ancient times. The plant is used for a variety of purposes, including ornaments, pot herbs, wood and stone dye, medicines, wines, and cosmetics. The inner bark of Ehretia laevis Roxb. is used in the treatment of ulcers and headaches. 

Quantitative and qualitative phytochemical investigations of E. laevis showed the presence of important phytoconstituents such as pentacyclic triterpenoids, phenolic acids, flavonoids, fatty acids, steroids, alkaloids, aliphatic alcohols, hydrocarbons, amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. 

Fresh plant parts, crude extracts, fractions and isolated compounds have been reported to exhibit broad spectrum of therapeutic activities viz., antioxidant, antiarthritic, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antiulcer, antidiarrheal, antidysenteric, wound healing and anti-infective activities. 

E. laevis is shown to be an excellent potential source of drugs for the mitigation of jaundice, asthma, dysentery, ulcers, diarrhea, ringworm, eczema, diabetes, fissure, syphilis, cuts and wounds, inflammation, liver problems, venereal and infectious disorders.