Bombax ceiba

HABIT: Bombax ceiba is a 10-30m tall, perennial, large-sized, deciduous tree. Stem is  woody, solid, erect, columnar trunk, grey, glabrous bark with hard conical black prickles, delicate branches cylindrical, glabrous, smooth with distinct nodes and internodes. Leaves are compound, digitate, leaflets 2-7, dorsiventral, entire, unicostate reticulate venation, oval or lanceolate, acute at the base, with a sharp point at the apex, petiolate, stipulate (free lateral and caducous), alternate, pentastichous. Inflorescence is a solitary or cluster of several extra-axillary flowers. At the time of flowering, the tree becomes almost leafless.

CONSERVATION STATUS: Evaluated as 'Least Concern' by IUCN. 

MEDICINAL USES: Plant extracts (acetone, methanol, and aqueous) were assayed for their activity against multidrug-resistant Salmonella typhii. Methanolic extract of roots of B. malabaricum was evaluated using DPPH radical scavenging assay and reducing power assay. Flowers of B. ceiba showed antioxidant effects and antiproliferative activity against seven human cancer cell lines (Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 [MCF-7]), HeLa Henrietta Lacks), COR-L23, C32, A375, ACHN, and LNCaP cells). Young roots of B. ceiba also known as Semal-musli are used traditionally in Indian subcontinent as aphrodisiac. Its juice is considered nutritive, restorative, and sexual stimulant. Root powder of this plant i.e., B. ceiba significantly modifies the coronary risk factors such as atherogenic lipids, fibrinogen, and oxidative stress in patients with ischemic heart disease. 

(Meena, V. (2017). Shalmali (Bombax ceiba): Versatility in its therapeutics. International Journal of Green Pharmacy (IJGP), 11(03).)

ETHNOBOTANICAL USES: An ethnobotanical survey of the tribal area of southern Rajasthan was carried out during the year 2001–2002 for ethnosexicological herbal medicines. B. ceiba was used as described: half a cup of ethanol extract of bark and flower was given for 3 days to both men and women with sexual diseases like hydrocele, leucorrhoea, gonorrhea and was also used to check menstrual disorders in women. An ethnobotanical study of traditional anti-inflammatory plants used by the Lohit community of Arunachal Pradesh showed that fresh paste prepared from the bark of B. ceiba mixed with cow dung was applied over back muscle of leg at night to treat hotness and inflammation.An ethnobotanical study examined the folk medicinal uses of certain plants by tribes of the Sonbhadra district in Uttar Pradesh. Root powder of B. ceiba was used as a tonic to treat impotency, 10 g of root powder was advised daily with a glass of milk. An ethnobotanical study on medicinal plants around Mt Yinggeling, Hainan, China showed that B. ceiba barks and roots were used to treat muscular injury. Ethnomedicinal uses of useful plants from Mysore and Coorg districts, Karnataka included using the paste of B. ceiba bark externally for cattle wounds. Tharus of three villages in Nawalparasi district of central Nepal has shown that bark juice of B. ceiba was applied locally for the treatment of wounds. The bark juice was mixed with the bark juice of Magnifera indica and P. guajava and drunk to cure dysentery and intestinal spasm.(Chaudhary, P. H., & Khadabadi, S. S. (2012). Bombax ceiba Linn.: pharmacognosy, ethnobotany and phyto-pharmacology. Pharmacognosy Communications, 2(3), 2-9.)