Madar

Sodom Apple is a Perennial flowering plant that carries white or lavender flowers. It has many names. It is also called Giant Swallow Wort, Milkweed, Swallow-wort, Sodom Apple, dead sea apple, akund fibre, French cotton, marsh milkweed, rubber bush, desert apple, king's crown, rooster tree, Dead Sea fruit, desert wick, Madar Tree. The botanical name is Calotropis procera.It is called arka and alarka or rajarka in Sanskrit, Aak, Akavana, Madar in Hindi, Aakado in Gujrati, Akan, Akand in Assamese, Akanda, Akone in Bengali, Acka in Kashmiri, Erikku in Malayalam, Rui in Marathi, Ak in Punjabi, Ekka, Ekkadagida, Ekkegida in Kannada , Erukku, Vellerukku in Tamil, Jilledu in Telugu, Aak, Madar in Urdu. In Oriya we call it Arakha.

It grows throughout India, in dry waste places. It is a shrub or small tree reaching up to 2.5-6 m in height, stem usually simple, rarely branched, woody at base and covered with a fissured, corky bark.  Like milk, a white latex  oozes out when u cut any part of this plant . The fruits are short, stout peduncles. The green globes are hollow but the flesh contains a toxic milky sap that is extremely bitter.

The plant has ash colored bark covered with white fuzz and silver-green large leaves that grow opposite on the stems. The flowers grow at the tops of apical stems and produce fruits.

 Two varieties of arka are found, one with white flowers (Calotropis procera) and the other with lilac, rosy or purple tinted flowers (Calotropis gigantean).Its root-bark is very largely used in India as a treatment for elephantiasis, leprosy, and in chronic eczema. Leaves are often used to treat paralysis, swellings and intermittent fevers. Flowers are useful in asthma, catarrh, anorexia, inflammations and tumours. The poultice of its leaves effectively reduces the pain and swelling in rheumatic joints and filariasis. The medicated oil is beneficial in otitis and deafness; the topical sprinkle of dried leaves powder hastens the wound healing. Slightly warmed with thin coat of castor oil, is beneficial to relieve the abdominal pain. It also, is useful in piles. The latex also mitigates the dental aches; is also used in treating vertigo, baldness, hair fall, tooth aches, intermittent fevers, rheumatism and paralysis. The flowers and root bark decoction taken for treating blood impurity, filariasis, syphilis, asthma, cough.

When Calotropis procera is dried, it can be used internally as a tonic, it is also an expectorant. The dried and powdered root is chiefly administered for bronchitis, asthma, leprosy, eczema and elephantiasis, diarrhoea and dysentery. The whole plant’s extract induces spermicidal and anti-microbial activities, simulates estrogens in the reproductive tract, and acts as anti-infertility.

White Araka or Crown flower (Calotropis gigantean) is known as akund in Sanskrit, is favourite of Lord Shiva. It possesses great medicinal properties.

But it should never be used by self medication because it possesses poisonous substances and is toxic. It can only be used as directed by an ayurvedic doctor.

Sweta arak or white arka also known as Akund (Calotropis gigantea)

N.B. 👉 All the above is solely for informational purpose and NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE ANY KIND OF MEDICAL ADVICE. A REGD. AYURVEDIC/MEDICAL PRACTITIONER SHOULD ALWAYS BE CONSULTED FOR IT.