Acorus calamus
Acorus calamus
Author : L.
Family :Araceae
Habit: Herb
Sanskrit: Vacha, Ugragandha
English:Sweet flag, Calamus, Sweet root
Description
A semi-aquatic, perennial, aromatic herb with creeping, jointed, somewhat vertically compressed, light brown or pinkish brown rhizomes, white and spongy within, grass-like or sword shaped leaves arranged alternately in two vertical rows on the rhizome, small yellow-green flowers, in a cylindrical spadix and green, angular, oblong berries containing 1-3 oblong seeds.
Useful part
Rhizome, oil
Medicinal Uses

cough, bronchitis, asthma, inflammation, epilepsy, constipation, depression, other mental disorders, memory weakness, tumours, chronic diarrhoea, dysentery, snake bite, glandular and abdominal tumours, kidney and liver troubles, eczema, intermittent fevers, skin diseases, numbness, gastro-enteritis, general debility
Major chemical constituents

α-Asarone, β-asarone, γ-asarone, calamenol, calamene, calamenone, eugenol, methyl eugenol, α-pinene, camphene, isoeugenol, camphor, calamol, calamone, acoradin, azulene, acorenone, calarene, calacone, calacorene, acorenone, acolamone, isoacolamone, epishyobunone, shyobunone, isoshyobunone, acoragermacrone, acorin, calameone, calamusenone, isocalamendiol, preisocalamendiol, acoramone, asarylaldehyde, epoxyisoacoragermacrone p-cymene, 1,8-cineol, dipentene, methylglucol, isoeugenol, methylisoeugenol, asaronaldehyde, linalool, terpinolene, a-terpineol, acoradin, sitosterol, galangin