संस्कृत नाम- शङ्खपुष्पी
Botanical name - Clitoria ternatea
Description - A perennial, twining herb, with terete stems and branches. Leaves are imparipinnately compound and alternate with 5-7 leaflets. Blue or White coloured flowers in in axillary, Solitary, Corolla 5, Polypetalous and papillionaceous. Standard petal is much larger than the rest of the petals, erect, round and notched at the tip, wing petals are oblong, spreading, adnate to the keel petals, keel petals smaller than the wing petals and encurved, 10 stamens, long style, simple stigma. Fruits are the pods, straight, flattened sharpely beaked, sparsely appressedly hairy. Yellowish brown coloured and 6-10 seeds.
Chemical_Constituents- Plant contains kaempferol and its glucoside clitorin. Leaves contain a lactone aparajitin. Flowers contain acylmoieties, ternatins. Seeds contain gamma-sitosterol. Roots contain taraxerol. Defatted seeds contain a phenol glycoside, an alkaloid, ethyl alpha-D-galactopyranoside and p-hydroxycinnamic acid and polypeptide. Seeds contain hexacosanol, Beta-sitosterol and an anthoxanthin.
Uses - The roots are used as purgative and diuretic. Root and entire plant. Used as brain stimulent. It is a ingredient in many market preparations as a brain tonic ,also used in skin disorders.