Aegle marmelos

HABIT: Aegle marmelos is a slow-growing, medium sized tree, up to 12-15 m tall with short trunk. Its bark is thick, soft, flaking and spreading. Branches are spiny in some varieties, the lower ones are drooping. A clear, gummy sap, resembling gum arabic, exudes from wounded branches and hangs down in long strands, becoming gradually solid. Taste of this gum is sweet at first but later irritating to the throat. The leaves are deciduous, alternate, borne singly or in 2's or 3's oval, pointed, shallowly toothed leaflets, 4-10 cm long, 2-5 cm wide and the terminal one with a long petiole. New foliage is glossy and pinkishmaroon. Mature leaves emit a disagreeable odour when bruised. Flowers are fragrant having sweet aroma and blooms in clusters of 4 to 7 along the young branchlets. Each flower has 4 curved fleshy petals which are green outside and yellowish inside, and 50 or more greenish-yellow stamens. Shapes of the fruits can vary with varieties and can have round, pyriform, oval, or oblong shapes having 5-20 cm diameter.

(Sharma, N., & Dubey, W. (2013). History and taxonomy of Aegle marmelos: a review. International Journal of Pure and Applied Bioscience, 1(6), 7-13.)

CONSERVATION STATUS: Evaluated as 'Near Threatened Species' by IUCN.

MEDICINAL USES: The unripe and half-ripe fruit of bael is the most effective remedy for diarrhea and dysentery. Leaf extract has been used in the Ayurvedic system of medicine for diabetes. It enhances the ability to utilize the external glucose load in the body by stimulating glucose uptake similar to insulin. Bael inhibits in vitro proliferation of human tumor cell lines including the lecukenic K562, Tlymphoid. Most of the potent anti-cancer drugs are expensive, mutagenesis, and teratogenic. Use of bael as a cardiac depressant and in palpitation has also been reported. Anti-microbial drugs are used in medicinal practice for treating food borne disease. Use of medicinal plants extract that are rich in the antimicrobial compound could be an alternative way to eliminate these bacteria. Bael extract exhibit antipyretic and analgesic activity, as it has shown a significant inhibition of a carrageenan induced paw edema, cotton pellet granuloma and paw itching in mice and rats. The ripe fruit of Aegle marmelos is a great remedy for the constipation patient, as it is a rich source of fiber, and fiber are essential for the forcing the GIT material towards the excretion. Effect of topical and intrperitonial administration of methanolic extract of Aegle marmelos ointment and injection was studied respectively on two types of wound models in rats, the excision and incision mode.

(Patel, P. K., Sahu, J., Sahu, L., Prajapati, N. K., & Dubey, B. K. (2012). Aegle marmelos: A review on its medicinal properties. International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Phytopharmacological Research, 1(5), 332-341.)

ETHNOBOTANICAL USES: Different ethnic or tribal groups and local people of different Indian states use the plant variously for treatment of various ailments. Santhals use the plant as medicine for abdominal pain, cholera, night fever, stomach disorder and snake bite. They use specially fruits and roots for treating gastric troubles. Bhottada tribe of Orissa utilize the roots of Bael for curing bite of mad dog. Tribals of Ranchi district of Bihar use the leaves of Bael for treatment of heat in abdomen and jaundice. Folklore of Gujarat use the leaves for treating abscess. Tribals of Southern Rajasthan use root bark as fish poison. Tribals of Hadoti plateau of South East Rajasthan use the leaf paste as an antivenom against venom of poisonous insects and animals. The powder of fruit and bark is used for the treatment of stomachache and dysentery in Eastern Rajasthan. Gangwals of Garhwal hills of Uttaranchal use the fruit as an astringent and tonic. Tribals of Eastern U.P. utilize the leaves for the treatment of cuts and wounds of human beings as well as animals. The leaves are used as antidiabetic agent in Terai region of U.P. Folklore of Assam region use the leaves for backache and vomiting. The bark is used for curing of diarrhoea and root for bone fracture in Andhra Pradesh. Local people of Maharashtra use the leaves for cure of diabetes. The roots are used for treating palpitation of heart in Madhya Pradesh. The Gauria snake charmers of M.P. believe that an appeal to the Bilva tree and to Dhanvantari, the physician of Gods, cures snake bite.

(Gupta, R. (2016). Ethnobotanical studies of Bael (Aegle marmelos): A sacred plant of Hindus. Int. J. Herb. Med, 4(4), 114-115.)