Solanum Ptycanthum or Indian Nightshade Medicinal Usage

Indian night shade, Asthma, cough, Breathlessness, Tuberculosis and other respiratory problems, Enema in Babies, Constipation, Freckles, Impotency in males, Scorpion bites, worms and parasites in teeth, difficulty in passing urine, Worms in stomach, Indigestion, eye problems, Body strength, Facial radiance.

Solanum Ptycanthum Indian Shade AyurvedaIndian Night Shade (botanical name Solanum nigrum) also known as vakudu chettu in Telugu, brihati in hindi, kantakari in Sanskrit, shiro suzume nasubi in Japanese, and huang shui in Chinese. It is also known as bush tomato, poison berry, African egg plant, and love apple in English.

It is perennial herb native to Eurasia but now grown in dry regions of India.Its fruit is purple in color and 50 to 100 seeds.Flowers are small, white, and star shaped.

Medicinal uses of Solanum Ptycanthum or Indian Night Shade

  • For Asthma, Cough, Breathlessness, Tuberculosis and other respiratory problems.
    Extract a Indian night shade plant from the earth and cut it into pieces. Dry these pieces and put into a pot. Cover the pot with a lid tightly and put it on the stove. Let it cook till it becomes a dry ash. Filter this ash and store it. Take 50 grams of Indian night shade ash along with 50 grams of dry ginger powder (roasted),50 grams of pellitory root. Also obtain 50 grams of siphonanthus indica, and lastly 50 grams of ginger lily root (hedychium coronarium). Mix all of the above ingredients and filter using a cloth. Consume half a teaspoon of this medicine with a teaspoon of honey, twice everyday. This will cure asthma, cough , breathlessness, tuberculosis and all other respiratory problems.
  • For Enema in babies:
    Take the entire plant and put in water and boil. Take this decoction and let it cool. Give a spoonful of it to the baby to cure constipation. It acts like an enema.
  • For Constipation:
    Take a few leaves of the plant and boil them. Take this decoction and let it cool. Drink some of this, it will cause some perspiration and cause free stools the next day.
  • For Freckles:
    Rubbing the seeds of the fruit of the plant on the freckles on the face will cure them.
  • For Impotency in males:
    Impotency in males can wreak havoc in his married and sexual life. It is not only a health problem but also a self esteem destroyer. Indian night shade is an excellent remedy for this. Strip the bark of the plant, wash thoroughly and cut into small pieces. Put these pieces into a muslin cloth and tie it tightly into a bundle. Get a liter of cow milk and put this bundle in it. Now boil the milk containing the bundle till only half the milk remains. Remove from stove, filter using a strainer and add candy sugar to it. Drink this decoction. Drinking this regularly will boost mail virility and cure impotency.
  • For Scorpion bites:
    Many of us have been bitten by scorpion at one time or another in our lives. It is excruciatingly painful and unbearable. Take raw Indian night shade fruit and grind them into a paste. Apply this paste on the scorpion bite area and tie with a cloth. Let it remain till the paste dries. The pain will reduce greatly and swelling will also come done.
  • For worms and parasites in teeth:
    A range of diseases afflict out teeth and make our life miserable. Worms and parasites in teeth are one such problem. Take Indian night shade fruit, squash it and put in a hookah. Light the hookah and breath in the smoke through the mouth. Keep the mouth shut and let the smoke remain in it for some time (don’t inhale). This will remove worms from the teeth.

    Alternatively put the Indian night shade fruit on a hot coals and suck the smoke with mouth (don’t inhale) while covering yourself with a blanket. This will also remove worms from the teeth.

  • For asthma, severe cough, difficulty in passing urine, worms in stomach, indigestion, eye problems, body strength facial radiance :
    Indian night shade can also be made into a curry, which is quite tasty. Take some fruit of the plant and cut into pieces. Boil these in water and keep aside. Add some onion and spices to it along with some ghee and cook into a yummy curry. Consume this curry twice a day to cure asthma, severe cough, difficulty in passing urine, worms in stomach, indigestion and eye problems. Also it strengthens the body and gives radiance to the face.

Caution : Berries of the Indian night shade should never be eaten raw. Also leaves should also be boiled before using. It should only be obtained wild and not grown as it is a weed and inhibits other agricultural plants.