Marigold or Tagetes also commonly known as Genda phool is used in every religious function for offering to god. Does it also have any medicinal value? I was wondering the same! As i remember :-
अमंत्रमक्षरं नास्ति, नास्ति मूल मनौषधम्।अयोग्य: पुरुषो नास्ति, योजकस्तत्र दुर्लभ:।।
There isn’t any letter that’s not a prayer, there isn’t any plant that doesn’t have medicinal benefits. There isn’t any man who is not capable, the reason they aren’t in use is that we haven’t found their way to use.
I, personally believe that everything written in books is aapt/ आप्त ( 100% true ), so above saying must be true! This is why i was curious to know about Genda phool and got amazing results. I will share the same in this post, hope you like it and if you do plz. Share it among your friends as this will offer us motivation to write more articles.
So let’s begin with Morphology and details about Marigold.
Botanical name:- Tagetes erecta, Family:- Asteraceae
External Morphology:-
- 15-60 cm in height, straight, thick, branched, pleasant smell and living for many years.
- Branches and bark purplish in colour
- Leaves– simple, full of fragrance, torn from edges, 2.5-1.5 cm, 11-17 parts
- Flowers– similar to that of lemon, yellowish to orangish in colour, 5-10 cm in diameter, round.
- Fruit– 5-7cm long, pear shaped
- Seed– below leaves, small, long and black in colour.
Now after knowing External Morphology, we can clearly identify the plant but now we will check for Sanskrit names so that we can find it in the classics.
Names of Marigold:-
- Jhandu
- Shathul pushpa ( big flowers )
- Jhenduk
- Jhanduk
- Ganeruk
- Karnikar ( ear shaped flowers)
- Karn ( ear shaped )
- Gankarika
Now its time for Classical mentions!
Mentions in Ayurveda:-
- Raj Nighantu :- Parpatadi vargha
- Bhavparkash Nighantu :- Parishisht
- Madanpal Nighantu :- Karpuradi vargha
- Shaligram Nighantu :- Pushpa vargha
Now lets see what Ayurveda says about it.
Properties According to Ayurveda:-
- Rasa (taste) = Tikta (Bitter)
- Veerya (nature) = sheeta (Cool)
- Guna (Qualities) = laghu (light in digestion), ruksha (dry)
- Karma (Actions) = Kapha-pitta shamak.
Now lets see Modern perspective regarding it.
Chemical constituents:-
- Flower :- colouring agent
- Seed :- protein, oil
- Leaf :- rutin, calendulin, volatile oil, alpha, beta – pinin, zeranol, linalool, syringic acid, salicylic acid, alpha- trithinil
- Bark :- inulin
Now moving to the last portion of the post i.e. Medicinal uses-
Medicinal Uses :-
- Protects from evil spirits ( Raj. )
- Useful in inflammation ( bha. ) ( Mad.)
- Useful in ear pain ( bha. )
- Cures bloody piles ( bha.)
- Cures skin diseases ( bha. ) ( Mad. )
- Good for eyes. ( Bha.)
- Helpful in fever ( sha.)
- Helps in stopping blood [best in clotting] ( dravyaguna vigyan )
- Helps in curing constipation
- Shows anti oxident properties
- Helps in relief from pain
- Shows nematicidal activity (patanjali)
- Increases sexual activity.
- Helps in breaking stones
- Detoxification of body ( sha.)
Medical uses according to modern:-
- Helps in curing Burns and skin diseases.
- Flavonoids present in marigold flowers have been found to exhibit cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory & inhibitory activities against colon cancer, leukemia & melanoma cells.
- Marigold helps in the body’s detoxification process by removing all toxic materials that have accumulated in the body.
- Flowers help in relieving menstrual pain and cramps.
Dosage and part used:-
- Leaf, flower, seed, bark, complete plant
- Churna= 5-10 gram, Decoction= 15-20 ml