Prickly chaff plant or Apamarga or Uttareni plant-an intro-part 1

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  Uttareni plant-Rough chaff.

Latin name : Achyranthes aspera

English : Prickly chaff ,Rough chaff,devil's horse whip

Hindi : Latjeera,Chitchita

Sanskrit : Apamarga

Telugu : Uttareni

Tamil: Katalati nayuruvi

• Rough chaff plant has many medicinal properties and used in many different schools of medicine and folklore.
• This is also a 'potherb' (green leafy vegetable) .
• However pregnant ladies must avoid using the leaves juice either internally or for external application.It may induce abortion .
• Different parts of the plant are used to expel the foetus,to clean up the uterus,to induce labor pains in a lady, to treat a lady's menstrual problems, to treat habitual abortions and also to increase fertility in women.
•  The infusion of the whole plant is used to treat coughs,colds.
• The powder comes in useful to treat different kinds of urinary tract infections,digestive disorders and also to treat high BP.The juice of the plant is also used to treat skin infections.  
•   Some studies have shown that this plant when taken internally it  increases the thyroid hormone in rats.
• There is also a claim that' Renal dropsy '- (a condition where there is an accumulation of watery fluid beneath the skin due to a malfunction of kidneys.) can be cured with the help of the plant's infusion.

(the subsequent posts will describe some of the medicinal uses)