Page:Indian Medicinal Plants (Text Part 2).djvu/202

952

Syn. : — S. orientale, Linn. Roxb. 491.

Sans :— Tila.

Vern. :— Míthá til, krishna-til (Hind.) ; Tíl (Beng.) ; Simsim (Arab.) ; Kunjad (Pers.) ; Wal lenney, yelloocheddi, (Tam.) ; Manchinúne nuvulu (Tel.); Bárik til (Dec) Kasi, Khasa (Uriya.)

Eng : — Gingelly ; Sesame.

Habitat :— Cultivated throughout the warmer parts of India.

Erect annual herbs, l-2ft. high, pubescent or puberulous. Leaves 3-5in., variable on the same plant, upper often narrowly oblong, sub-entire, middle ovate, ovate-toothed, lower lobed or pedatisect. Petiole ½-2in. Pedicels 1/5in., solitary, rarely 2-3-nate. Flowers with a strong, unpleasant odour. Sepals ¼in., lanceolate. Corolla 1¼in., pubescent, whitish or with red, purplish or yellow marks. Capsule tetragonous, oblong, 1 by ¼in., erect, scabrid pilose, the same width, from top to bottom, usually shortly acuminate ; 2-valved half-way down, or sometimes to the base or ultimately 4-valved. Seeds brown, smooth. There is a black-seeded variety.

Uses : —In Hindu medical works, three varieties of til seeds have been described, — black, white and red. The black kind is the best suited for medicinal use. " Sesamum seeds are considered emollient, nourishing, tonic, diuretic and lactagogue. They are said to be especially serviceable in piles, by regulating the bowels and removing constipation. Sesamum seeds ground to a paste with water are given with butter in bleeding piles. Sweetmeats made of the seeds are also beneficial in this disease. A poultice made of the seeds is applied to ulcers. Both the seeds and the oil are used as demulcents in dysentery and urinary diseases in combination with other medicines of their class " (Hindu Mat. Med.) " In decoction the seed is said to be emmenagogue ; the same preparation, sweetened with sugar, is prescribed in cough ; a compound decoction with linseed is used as an aphrodisiac ; a plaster made of the ground seeds is applied to burns, scalds, &c; a lotion made from the leaves is used as a hair-wash, and is supposed to promote the growth of