Balanites roxburghii

HABIT: Balanites roxburghii is a very small tree .It is found in the drier parts of India from Cawnpore to Sikkim, Bihar, Gujarat, Kandish and the Deccan. It is small tree with glabrous or puescent, branches ending in very strong sharp ascending spines. Leaves of two elliptical or obvate puberulous entire, rounded, coriaceous leaflets. Flowers are white or greenish, fragnant.

CONSERVATION STATUS: Evaluated as 'Data Deficient' by IUCN.

MEDICINAL USES: The seeds are given in cold and coughs. The bark is used in sores, unripe fruit and leaves are pungent, bitter and purgative, and are considered to have anthelmintic properties. Oil extracted from the seeds are used in burns and wounds. The plant acts as antioxidant against adriamycin-induced cardiotoxicity in experimental mice. Balanites roxburghii possess antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, diuretic, hypocholesterolemic, wound-healing, antiviral, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, mosquito larvicidal, anti-inflammatory and analgesic, antivenin, anthelmintic, cardioprotective cum antioxidant activity, and antinociceptive properties. Bark, fruits, seeds, seed oil, and leaves of this plant are widely used in folk medicine. In recent years, emphasis of research has been on utilizing traditional medicines that have long and proven history of treating various ailments. 

(Chothani, D. L., & Vaghasiya, H. U. (2011). A review on Balanites aegyptiaca Del (desert date): phytochemical constituents, traditional uses, and pharmacological activity. Pharmacognosy reviews, 5(9), 55.)

ETHNOBOTANICAL USES: Apart from the traditional uses, Balanites roxburghii is a good source of several valuable products. Similar to its allied species, B. roxburghii possesses a high amount of seed oil i.e. 40–42%, that could be effectively utilized for the production of biodiesel. The different parts of B. roxburghii contain a good amount of diosgenin, a steroidal sapogenin used mainly as a precursor in the synthesis of most of the therapeutically useful steroidal drugs, including sex hormones and corticosteroids. Aqueous extract of fruits showed spermicidal activity without local vaginal irritation in human being, up to 4% sperms becoming sluggish on contact with the plant extract and then immobile within 30 s; the effect was concentration-related. 

(Chothani, D. L., & Vaghasiya, H. U. (2011). A review on Balanites aegyptiaca Del (desert date): phytochemical constituents, traditional uses, and pharmacological activity. Pharmacognosy reviews, 5(9), 55.)

(Yadav, G. G., & Murthy, H. N. (2022). Analysis of phenotypic variation and selection of superior genotypes of Balanites roxburghii Planch. from South India. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 69(5), 1993-2009.)