Cissus quadrangularis is a perennial plant of the grape family. It is commonly known as veldt grape, winged treebine or adamant creeper. The species is native to tropical Asia, the Arabian Peninsula and much of Africa.

Description

''Cissus quadrangularis'' reaches a height of and has quadrangular-sectioned branches with internodes long and wide. Along each angle is a leathery edge. Toothed trilobe leaves wide appear at the nodes. Each has a tendril emerging from the opposite side of the node.

Raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

s of small white, yellowish, or greenish flowers; globular berries are red when ripe. ''Cissus quadrangularis'' is an evergreen climber growing to by at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone (UK) 10. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid and very alkaline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. Cissus quadrangularis W2 IMG 3196.jpg, Cissus Quadrangularis in

Rangareddy district Ranga Reddy district ( R. R. district) is a district in the Indian state of Telangana. The district headquarters is located at Lakdikapool, Hyderabad. The district was named after the former deputy chief minister of the United Andhra Pradesh, ...

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 35 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. Cissus Quadrangualaris 12.JPG, Cissus Quadrangularis in

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

Traditional medicine

''Cissus quadrangularis'' has been used as a medicinal plant since antiquity. ''Cissus'' has been used in various Ayurvedic classical medicines to heal broken bones and injured ligaments and tendons. In '' siddha medicine'', it is considered a tonic and

analgesic An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic (American English), analgaesic (British English), pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or pain management). It ...

, and is believed to help heal broken bones, thus its name ''asthisamharaka'' (that which prevents the destruction of bones). The Assamese people and the Garo tribe of Meghalaya and Bangladesh have used ''C. quadrangularis'' for bone fracture.

Experimental studies

''C. quadrangularis'' has been studied for its effects in a rat model for osteoporosis. ''C. quadrangularis'' has been studied in animal models of bone fracture. Its bactericidal effects on ''

Helicobacter pylori ''Helicobacter pylori'', previously known as ''Campylobacter pylori'', is a gram-negative, microaerophilic, spiral (helical) bacterium usually found in the stomach. Its helical shape (from which the genus name, helicobacter, derives) is thoug ...

'' indicate a potential use for treating gastric ulcers in conjunction with

NSAID Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are members of a therapeutic drug class which reduces pain, decreases inflammation, decreases fever, and prevents blood clots. Side effects depend on the specific drug, its dose and duration of ...

therapy. The enzymatic and an in vitro cell culture study shows the potential anti-inflammatory and inhibitory properties of "cissus quadrangularis".

References

External links

*Austin, A. Jegadeesan, M. Gowrishankar, R. (2004) "Helicobactericidal Activity of ''Cissus quadrangularis'' L. Variant I"; ''Natural Product Sciences'' 10 (5): 217–219. Korean Society of Pharmacognosy. * * * * * *Analysis of the effect of Asthishrinkhla Kandaswarasa tem juice of ''Cissus quadrangularis''in fracture healing in a rat model 'Dr. Deepanshu K. Mishra, Prof. Sanjeev Sharma, R.G.G.P.G. Ayu. College - Paprola' Prof. V.K. Gupta, Dr. G.C. Negi College of Vet. and Animal sciences - Palampur - Dec. 2010. {{Taxonbar, from=Q2157164 Plants described in 1767 Flora of Africa Flora of the Arabian Peninsula Flora of tropical Asia Plants used in Ayurveda quadrangularis Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus