This slide gives brief information about medicinal, plant Cassia fistula (rajbriksha). It consist of information about Macroscopy, Chemical constituents and Medicinal uses of Cassia fistula plant................Hope, This will Help You........Have a Wonderful Day....
4. Introduction
• Cassia fistula is widely grown ornamental
profusely yellow flowering tree in tropical area
which blooms in late spring.
• It is the national flower of Thailand
• It is a popular ornamental plant widely used
in herbal medicine. The fruit and seed pulp
and root have immense medicinal value.
(ref. 2)
5. • It is prescribed as emetics, purgatives and
relievers of thoracic congestion. It is used in
reliving asthma, leprosy, ringworm, fever and
heart related diseases.
6. Nomenclature
Botanical name : Cassia fistula linn
Vernacular names :
Nepali – Rajbriksha , Amaltash
English - Golden Shower
Sanskrit - Aragvadha , Nripadruma
Hindi - Sonhali, Amultus
Arab - Khayarsambhar
(ref. 1)
7. • Taxonomic Classification:
Kingdom - Plantae
Subkingdom - Tracheobinota
Super Division - Spermatophyta
Division - Mangoliophyta ( Angiospermae )
Class - Magnoliopsida
Order - Fabales
Family - Fabacae
Genus - Cassia
Species - fistula
(ref. 1)
8. Habitat and Distribution
• Cassia fistula is a moderate sized deciduous
tree 10 m (30 – 40 feet) tall.
• Cassia fistula grows in Nepal and in many
other Asian countries and is used as a
traditional herbal medicine in India, China,
Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaysia,
Indonesia, and Thailand.
(ref. 1,2,3)
10. Contd.
• Flower : It consist of five bright yellow petals
which are widely spaced , about 2 inches wide
with 10 stamens
11. Contd.
• Seeds : Seeds are oval shaped attached with
sticky brown pulp.
12. Contd.
• Fruits : Fruit of Cassia fistula is Pod like ,
elongated hanging, 12 inch or more in length
13. Chemical Constituents
• The plant is rich in phenolic antioxidants such
as anthraquinones, flavonoids and flavan- 3-ol
derivatives. Cassia fistula the results shows
positive for alkaloids, terpenoids, reducing
sugars, saponins, tannins, carbonyl and
steroids.
(ref. 4,3)
14. Plant part/organ Secondary metabolite
Bark Oxyanthraquinone, Dihydroxyanthraquinone
Leaves Epicatechin, procyanidin, Biflavonoids,
Triflavonoids, Sennoside A, Sennoside B,
Chrysophanol, Physcion, Rhein
Flowers Kaempferol, Rhein
Fistulin, alkaloids, triterpenes
Pods Fistulic acid
Seeds Chrysophanol
Fruit pulp Rhein, Volatile oil
Table 1. Secondary metabolites in C. fistula plant parts
18. Ethnomedicinal uses
In a study which was carried out to document
ethnobotanical informations of some wild plants used by
the Tharu community of Parsa district forest area of
Nepal, it was found that :
• The leaves extract is used as antibacterial and
antifungal agent.
• The sweet blackish pulp of the seed is used as a mild
laxative.
• The root decoction has great curative effects against
common cold.
• Leaf juice is used in curing fungal infections of the skin.
(ref. 5)
19. Pharmacological actions
In Ayurvedic medicine, Golden Shower Tree is
known as "disease killer“, because of its wide
pharmacological effects which are listed below :
1. Antidiabetic Activity: The antidiabetic
activity of the total alcoholic extract & its
ethyl acetate fraction of the bark of Cassia
fistula in diabetic rats was found in a study.
2. Hepatoprotective Activity: Protective effects
of cassia seed ethanol extract against carbon
tetrachloride-induced liver injury in mice.
(ref. 1,3)
20. 3. Hypolipidemic Activity: The effect ethanolic
extract of Cassia fistula Linn. Legume was
assessed on serum lipid metabolism in
cholesterol fed rats.
4. Antipyretic Activity: The methanol extract of
buds of C. fistula for its antipyretic action on
yeast-induced pyrexia (fever) in rats. The
results obtained are comparable to those for
paracetamol, a standard antipyretic agent .
21. 5. Anti-inflammatory Activity: The
antiinflammatory property of aqueous extract of
leaves and fruits of Cassia fistula was reported .
6. Antimicrobial Activity: Antifungal activity of
leaf extract of Cassia fistula was reported.
7. Antitumor activity: Effects of methanolic extract
(ME) of Cassia fistula seed on the life span of
tumour bearing mice were studied. ME
treatment showed an increase of life span, and a
decrease in the tumor volume and viable tumor
cell count tumor hosts.
22. 8. Antiulcer activity: The ethanol leaf extract of
Cassia fistula Linn was evaluated for antiulcer
activity against pylorus ligation- induced
gastric ulcer.
9. Wound healing activity: The methanolic
extract of C. fistula leaves was examined for its
wound healing property in the form of an
ointment in two types of wound models in rats;
result showed wound contraction ability,
epithelization period andregeneration of tissue
at wound area.
26. Toxicology
• The results in a study suggest that, the oral
administration of C. fistula methanolic seeds
extract did not produce any significant toxic effect
in mice.
• No death or signs of toxicity were observed in
mice treated with extract at dose 5000 mg/kg
thus establishing its safety in use.
• Hence, the extract can be utilized for
pharmaceutical formulations.
(ref. 6)
28. References
1. Ali MA: Cassia fistula Linn: A review of phytochemical and pharmacological
studies. Int J Pharm Sci Res 2014; 5(6): 2125-2130
2. Sharma DK. Enumerations on phytochemical, pharmacological and
ethnobotanical properties of Cassia fistula Linn: yellow shower. The Journal
of Phytopharmacology 2017; 6(5):300-306
3. Chauhan N, Bairwa R, Sharma K, Chauhan N. Review on Cassia fistula.
International Journal of Research in Ayurveda and Pharmacy, 2(2), 2011,
426-430
4. Bahorun T, Neergheen VS, Aruoma OI. Phytochemical constituents of Cassia
fistula. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 4 (13), pp. 1530-1540,
December 2005
5. Singh S. Ethnobotanical Study of Indigenous Knowledge
on Some Wild Plants in Parsa District, Nepal. J. Nat. Hist. Mus. Vol. 29, 2015,
103-121
6. Jothy SL, Zakaria Z, Chen Y, Lau YL, Latha LY et al. Acute Oral Toxicity of
Methanolic Seed Extract of Cassia fistula in Mice. Molecules 2011, 16, 5268-
5282
