KHITMI
English : Althaea / Marsh or White mallow
Urdu : Khitmi/Khatmi/Khero/Guli kheri
Telugu : __
Description :
It is a perennial plant, having about 15 species, distributed in the temperate regions of which two are native to India. i.e. Athaea officinallis which has medicinal value and Althaea rosea, Cav. Which is an ornamental plant. Althaea officinalis has also ornamental flowers or white, red, black and blue colours. The variety having blue flowers, is called Khairo or Khero or Gul-i-Khairo.
Althaea root is the dried peeled root of Althaea officinalis. It is collected in the antumn from plants, not less than two years old, trimmed and scrapped to remove the cork and finally dried. It is sometimes split longitudinally or cut into transverse slices. The root is sometimes split longitudinally or cut in to trnasverse slices.The root is yellowish- white in colour , straight and tapering from 10-30 cm long and 10-20 mm in diameter. The odour is faint and the taste in micturition.
Action and Uses:
Althaea root is demulcent, resolvent and emollient. It is used internally as a popular remedy for catarrhs and bronchitis, irritable states of the respiratory, digestive and urinary tract e.g irritatative coughs, colitis , billious diarrhoea and burning micurition.
Althaea flowers and seeds are expectorant, emollient and used like root in all phlegmatic and catarrhal diseases e.g rhino-sinusitis , pharyngitis, laryngitis are very good anti-phlogistic and used with other drugs as zimad to be applied on inflammatory lessions e.g arthritis, orchitis etc.
Ibn Sina’s View:
Althaea seeds are resovent, anti-rheumatic and applied externally. Also anti-vitiligo and applied with vinegar on white lessions and then parts are exposed to sun. Seeds are useful in acute cough as emollient and in haemoptysis being astrigent. Decoction of root is Useful drink in burning mictution , intestianl irritation and procititis.