IndianJadiBooti Netrabala - Netra Bala - Pavonia odorata - Hrivera - Balaka

What is Netrabala (Pavonia odorata):
There are many reasons to love Pavonia odorata, or Sugandhabala. First, it's one of the most aromatic plants in the world. Second, it's great for treating inflammation and rheumatism. And third? It's delicious!

If you've never had P. odoratain your life before, here's what to expect: a taste that is equal parts sweet and sour. It's also got a slightly medicinal undertone—which makes sense given that it comes from a plant that's used for healing purposes in multiple cultures all over the world.

But what about the science? How does this plant work? To find out more about its potential benefits and risks, we spoke with Dr. Harshini Gautam at India's National Botanical Name System (NBN), who has been studying P. odoratain her lab since 2011."The plant is rich in anti-inflammatory phytochemicals like palmitic acid, hexahydrofarnesyl acetone, b-eudesmol, b-caryophyllene oxide," says Dr Harshini Gautam."In addition to being rich in anti-inflammatory phytochemicals such as palmitic acid.

Uses:
The plant is used traditionally in the treatment of various chronic diseases like diabetes. It was referred to as analgesic and antipyretic herb in Siddha system of medicine. The plant extract acts as cooling, carminative, demulcent, diaphoretic, and anti-pyretic agent8. It is used in dysentery, ulcers and bleeding disorder. The roots are generally used in stomachache, as astringent, and demulcent. The aqueous extract of the plant is used in mineralization and demineralization reaction of ayurvedic formulatin. The plant is often adulterated with bala plants. It is one of the ingredients of Vasakadyaristam. Antimicrobial activity: The essential oil of leaf showed antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Diplococcus pneumonia16; however, the rhizomes were not tested against other bacteria using paper disc agar technique.

Benefits:
In a study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, researchers found that the volatile oil from P. odorata was effective in destroying Trichophyton mentagreophytes, Chrysosporium indicum, and Aspergillus sp. The root extracts showed antimicrobial activity against organisms including Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus.

In another study, researchers evaluated the antioxidant properties of the P. odorata volatile oil using oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay. They found that it had antioxidant properties similar to green tea extract and apple extract.

Researchers also used methanol extract of the plant hydroalcoholic and ethyl acetate extracts to examine cytotoxic effects on human breast cancer (MDMB-231), lung cancer (Calu-6), and prostate cancer (PC-3).