Description

 

Yellow-fruit nightshade, yellow-berried nightshade, Thai green eggplant, Thai striped eggplant (from the unripe fruit), is also known as Indian night shade or yellow berried night shade plant, the common name is Kantakari, Solanumsurattense Brum. f. and Solanum xanthocarpum Schrad. and Wendl. are synonyms of Solanum virginianum L. (Sharma et al., 2010). It is also a medicinal plant used mostly in India. Some part of the plant is poisonous ex. the fruit which is poisonous.

Characteristics:

Thorny Nightshade is a herb which is erect or creeping, sometimes woody at base, 50-70 cm tall, copiously armed with sturdy, needlelike, broad-based prickles 0.5-2 cm × 0.5-1.5 mm. Leaves are unequal paired; stalk 2-3.5 cm, prickly; leaf blade ovate-oblong, 4-9 × 2-4.5 cm, prickly along veins, margin usually 5-9-lobed or pinnately parted, lobes unequal, sinuate, apex acute. Inflorescences elongate racemes 4-7 cm. Sepal tube is bell-shaped 1 cm in diameter. Flowers blue-purple, 1.4-1.6 × 2.5 cm; petals ovate-deltate, 6-8 mm, densely pubescent with stellate hairs. Filaments 1 mm; anthers 8 mm. Style 1 cm. Fruiting pedicel 2-3.6 cm, with prickles and sparse stellate hairs. Fruiting sepals prickly, sparsely pubescent. Berry pale yellow, 1.3-2.2 cm in diameter. Flowering: November-May.

Medicinal Uses:

Kantakari is also known as “Indian nightshade or “Yellow-berried nightshade”. It is an important medicinal herb and is also a member of Dashmul (ten roots) of the Ayurveda. The herb is pungent and bitter in taste. Kantakari is beneficial for the management of respiratory problems like cough and asthma due to its expectorant property. It helps to release mucus from the respiratory passages and prevent asthmatic attacks. According to Ayurveda, taking Kantakari powder along with water or honey aids in digestion by improving the Agni (digestive fire) due to its Deepan (appetizer) and Pachan (digestive) properties. Applying a paste of Kantakari powder with water on joints helps to reduce joint pain due to its vata balancing property. Massaging your scalp with Kantakari juice mixed with equal quantity of water might prevent hair fall and promote hair growth