Description

Heart-Leaved Moonseed also known as gurjo, guduchi or giloy is a shrub that is native to India. Its root, stems, and leaves are used in Ayurvedic medicine. Tinospora cordifolia contains many different chemicals that might affect the body. Some of these chemicals have antioxidant effects. Others might increase the activity of the body's immune system. Some chemicals might have activity against cancer cells in test animals. Most research has been done in test tubes or in animals. There isn't enough information to know the effects of Tinospora cordifolia in the human body. The scientific name is Tinospora cordifolia  is a herbaceous vine of the family Menispermaceae indigenous to tropical regions of the Indian Subcontinent. It has been in use for centuries in traditional medicine to treat various disorders.

Characteristics:

It is a large, deciduous, extensively-spreading, climbing shrub with several elongated twining branches. Leaves are simple, alternate, and exstipulate with long petioles up to 15 cm (6 in) long which are roundish and pulvinate, both at the base and apex with the basal one longer and twisted partially and half way around. It gets its name heart-leaved moonseed by its heart-shaped leaves and its reddish fruit. Lamina are broadly ovate or ovate cordate, 10–20 cm (4–8 in) long or 8–15 cm (3–6 in)broad, seven nerved and deeply cordate at base, membranous, pubescent above, whitish tomentose with a prominent reticulum beneath. Flowers are unisexual, small on separate plants and appearing when the plant is leafless, greenish-yellow on axillary and terminal racemes. Male flowers are clustered, but female flowers are usually solitary. It has six sepals in two series of three each. The outer ones are smaller than the inner. It has six petals which are smaller than sepals, obovate, and membranous. Fruits aggregate in clusters of one to three. They are ovoid smooth drupelets on thick stalks with sub terminal style scars, scarlet or orange colored.

Medicinal Uses:

Tinospora has been used over centuries to treat various diseases. Due to inadequate design or other weaknesses of clinical research on Tinospora, there is no high-quality scientific evidence that it has any anti-disease effect, and is not used as a prescription drug. It is s used for diabetes, high cholesterol, allergic rhinitis (hay fever), upset stomach, gout, lymphoma and other cancers, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), hepatitis, peptic ulcer disease (PUD), fever, gonorrhea, syphilis, and to boost the immune system.