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Latin:Curcuma longa Englush:Turmeric Turmeric has been used in Indian systems of medicine for a long time. It??was listed in an Assyrian herbal dating from about 600 BC and?was also mentioned by Dioscorides. Both the East and the West?have held its medicinal properties in high regard through the?ages. In Indian systems of medicine,?turmeric is used to some extent as a stomachic, tonic and blood purifier.?
It is also prescribed as an antiperiodic alterative. Externally, it?is applied to indolent ulcers. A decoction of the rhizome is said?to relieve the pain of purulent ophthalmia. Oil of turmeric, distilled?from the dried rhizomes, has feeble antiseptic properties. It is an? antacid, and, in small doses, acts as a carminative, stomachic, appetiser?? and tonic. In large doses, however, it appears to act as an antispasmodic?
inhibiting excessive peristaltic movements of the intestines. Turmeric?also possesses anti-inflammatory property.
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