MARTYNIA ANNUA

Common name: Devil's Claws, Tiger's Claw • Hindi: उलट-कांटा Ulat-kanta, Bichu ,  बाघनख Baghnakh • Malayalam: Puli - Nakham • Tamil: Puli - Nagam • Marathi: Vinchu • Bengali: Baghnoki , Gujarati: Vichchida, Sanskrit: kakanasika

Botanical name: Martynia annua   

Family: Martyniaceae (devil's claw family)

Introduction: These interesting plants are called devil's claws. They produce strange seed pods that attach to the feet and legs of large animals, and include some of the largest hitchhiker fruits in the world. Bushy annual herb to 2 m high. Leaves kidney-shaped to circular, mostly 6–15 cm wide, both surfaces equally hairy, margins with shallow lobes; leaf stalk 9–14 cm long. Pod green and fleshy at first, drying to a black woody capsule. Seeds brown to black, 2 to each pod. Distinguished by leaves and stems covered with sticky glandular hairs; leaves pumpkin-like; flowers tubular, 4–6 cm long, predominantly white to pink with 5 spreading lobes at the apex, each lobe with a prominent purple spot, throat with red and yellow spots, fertile stamens 2; pod to 4 cm long and to 1.5 cm wide, with recurved claws about 1 cm long. Flowers in several flowered racemes. Flowers are bell shaped, purplish white, with dark purple markings. The yellow lines in the corolla throat are nectar guide lines to direct pollinator bees to the nectar source.

Chemical Constituents: glycosides, tannins, carbohydrates, phenols, flavonoids and anthocyanins. GC-MS studies on both aqueous and alcohol extract shows the presence of twenty eight compounds, out of which oleic acid, constitutes the major part. Other major biological compounds include pelargonidin-3-5-diglucoside, cyanidin-3- galactoside, p-hydroxy benzoic acid, gentisic acid, arachidic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, apigenin, apigenin-7-oglucuronide.

Traditional uses:

 Epilepsy, inflammation and tuberculosis

Medicinal Uses: This weed has been known to possess anthelmintic, analgesic, antipyretic, antibacterial, anti-convulsant, antifertility, antinociceptive, antioxidant, CNS depressant and wound healing activity.