Cotton Seeds  

BOTANICAL NAME:

• Gossypium herbaceum

FAMILY:

• Malvaceae

SYNONYM(S):

• Gossypium obtusifolium

URDU NAME:

• Binola

REGIONAL NAME:

• Bengali: Kapas Beeje
• Persian: Panbadana
• Pashto: Paniba
• Sanskrit: Karpas
• Sindhi: Kakra
• Arabic: Hubulka Tan
• Punjabi: Kapah

UNANI/TIBBI NAME:

• Qutar, Pamba, Binola

ENGLISH NAME:

• Cotton seeds

HABITAT:

• Cultivated throughout Punjab, NWFP, Baluchistan

DESCRIPTION:

• A biennial or triennial plant with branching stems, 60-180 cm high.
• The stem is purplish.
• Leaves are prominently chordate and cut half across into 3, 5, 7 broad ovate lobes. Stipules are long and linear.
• Proliferous inflorescence with two or more yellow flowers, having purple spots in the center
• Capsule split open when ripe and contains white tuft surrounding the seeds

PART USED:

• Flowers, Leaves, Roots and Seeds

TASTE:

• Nil

TEMPERAMENT:

• Hot 2°, moist 2°

PERIOD OF OCCURRENCE:

• During summer when cotton pods ripen.

PROCEDURE & TIME OF COLLECTION:

• On ripening the pods are collected by hands and the cotton is separated from the seeds by ginning

CONSTITUENTS:

• Quercetin
• Betain
• Choline
• Carbohydrate
• Protein calcvium
• Phosphorous
• Riboflavin
• Niacin

SUBSTITUTES:

• Tukhm keekar/ acacia seeds ( acacia Arabica)
• Tukhm kurturn/ seeds of wild saffron (cathamus tinctonius )

ACTIONS AND USES IN UNANI SYSTEM OF MEDICINE:

Pharmacological action:

• Demulcent
• Laxative
• Expectorant
• Aphrodisiac
• Glactogogue
• Diuretic
• Resolvent

Therapeutic uses:

• Nerve tonic to fatten the body
• To relieve headache
• To procure abortion
• Tea of seeds is used for bronchitis
• Diarrhea
• Dysentery
• Heamorrhage

DOSES:

• 5-9 g

CORRECTIVES:

• Khamera Banafsha (viola odorata)
• Sharbat banafsha
• Sugar

IMPORTANT UNANI FORMULATIONS:

• Majun khyrma
• Majun murraweh ul-arwah
• Majun pumbadana
• Majun liryan khas
• Majun salab

ASTROLOGY:

• Sun