Botany names

Description - Punica granatum is a deciduous undershrub. Dark- grey bark and spinusant branchlets, Opposite leaves, minutely pellucid-puncate, shining above and bright green beneath. 1-4, Solitary flowers and Scarlet red in colour. Globose fruit with crown of persistent calyx, angular seeds with pink or whitish fleshy testa.

Chemical Constituents- Bark contains ellagitannins punicacorteins A-D, punigluconin, casuariin, casuarainin, punicalin, punicalagin, pullestierine. Bark and stem contains alkaloids pullestierine, isopelletierine, pseudopelletierine, methylpelletierine, methylisopelletierene. Leaves contain ellagitannin punicafolin, 2-propenyl -3,4,5,6-tetrahydropyridine. Flowers contain pigment pelargonidin di-glucoside. Fruit contains vitamin C, sugars. Peels contain tannin - punicalagin and punicalin

Use - All parts are used medicinally, leaf and fruit are used as food. Seed, fruit pulp, pericarp, leaf, root bark, stem bark exhibit bactericidal properties in varying degrees, they are used in digestive preparations and in tonics and fruit is used as a valuable food in pregnancy --- Bark used to expel tapeworms. Rind used as an astringent, in diarrhoea and dysentery. Flower buds used in bronchitis