{UAH} Health benefits of Enku (Luganda), Laaka (Runyoro)

Scientific name: Cyperus rotundus
English name: Nut grass
Local names: Enku (Luganda), Laaka (Runyoro)
Cultivation:
Cyperus rotundus is found in cultivated fields, farmlands, neglected areas, wastelands, grasslands, at the edges of forests, and on roadsides, sandy or gravelly shores, riverbanks and irrigation canal banks, agricultural areas, coastland, water course. Purple nut sedge grows
well in almost every soil type, over a wide range of soil moisture, pH and elevation. It is encouraged by frequent cultivation and grows best in moist fertile soils.

Medicinal uses:
Internal Uses
1. Chest pain: Boil to decoction 4 to 9 gms of dried drug preparation together with 4 gms of Citrus and drink.
2. Irregular menstruation, Painful menstruation: It is also one of the most effective menstrual regulators. It helps to promote and regulate the menstruation. 2 to 6 gms of dried material in a standard cup of water, boil to concentration and drink.
3. Dysentry: 1. Tubers powdered and mixed with ginger and honey is used. 2. Grind nut grass tuber and ginger with honey into pill form taken orally in the dosage of solanum
torvum size.
4. Diarrhoea: 1. Tubers boiled in milk with three folds of water cures diarrhea. 2. Tubers
are useful in infusion or as soup in fever, diarrhea, dysentery, dyspepsia, vomiting,
cholera, etc20. 3. About 5g of tubercles are crushed and boiled in about 300ml of water
obtained from rice wash and the decoction is given with 2 teaspoon full of honey thrice a day for 3 or more days to relieve diarrohea.
5. Asthma : 25 gms of powdered tuber of Cyperus rotundus,21 numbers of piper nigrum, 10
gms of ginger, 5 gms of clove and 5 gms of cumin seeds were boiled with ghee for few
minutes, then cool it to become a paste. Take 10 ml of this paste thrice a day for 5 days
with a little honey.
6. Worm infection: 1.Grind together the leaves of Cyperus rotundus with the entire plant of Cyperus rotundus in to a paste. Make tablets with this paste. Take one
tablet orally thrice a day for one or two days. 2. The rhizome is made into a paste and 10-20g of it is eaten 3 times a day for 2-3 days for its reputed anthelmintic action. In case of
children, the dose is usually halved.
7. Rheumatoid arthritis: Cyperus rotundus root powder and Withania somnifera root powder each 1 gm is given orall twice a day for Rheumatoid arthritis. Anti-rheumatic activity was found to be eight times that of Hydrocortisone34.
8. Dental diarrhea in Children:It is highly praised as the best panacea for dental diarrhea in children.
9. Mental debility and Epilepsy: It is given along with cow's milk.
10. Burning micturition: It can be used with Asparagus racemosus in proportions of 1:4 in burning micturition,urinary calculi, haematuria etc.,
11. Polydipsia in diabetes: Tuber is sliced and dried in sun and powdered, to the 5 gm of powder add 2 black pepper and is prescribed for polydipsia in diabetes21.
12. Lactation: The decoction of its roots is the best remedy for purifying the breast milk in lactating mothers.
13. Malaria: The whole plant extract is given in malaria.
14. Obesity: Oral administration of 1 gm of nut grass root powder twice a day shows significant reduction of body weight and also decreases blood pressure in hypertensive obese patients.
15. Bronchitis: A decoction prepared from 10g of the crushed tubercles in 100ml of water with a little salt is given twice a day for 2-5 days to treat bronchitis. Its prolonged use is also said to relieve bronchial asthma.

External uses:

1. Wounds, bruises, carbuncles: Roast tubers, while
they are still hot, or hot ashes from burned tubers, to treat wounds, bruises, carbuncles.
2. Galactagogue: Fresh tubers are applied to the breast in the form of paste or warm plaster as a galactogogue.
3. Spreading ulcer: Dry powder of tuber is used as dusting in Spreading ulcer.
4. Skin diseases and itching in vagina: Grind 25 g of Cyperus rotundus into paste. Apply this paste on itching area, vagina once daily for 3 to 4 days. Wash the diseased portion with the hot decoction.
5. Head ache: Grind the tuber of Cyperus rotundus into paste. Apply this paste on fore head only once to relief from headache.
6. Sores on head: Grind the tubers of Cyperus rotundus (25 g), leaves and the tender leaves of Terminalia bellerica into paste. Apply this paste on head before taking bath once daily
for 3 days.
7. Scabies, eczema: The external application of its paste reduces the foul odour due to excessive sweating, and is salutary in skin diseases like scabies, eczema etc.
8. Obesity: The massage with its dry powder is extremely beneficial for reducing the subcutaneous fat deposition.
9. Sprains, bruises, furuncle infections: Use pounded fresh material as poultice or cook the pulverized drug material in vinegar and apply as hit poultice.
10. Conjunctivitis: The root extract oil instilled into eyes in conjunctivitis reduces the pain, redness and ocular discharges.

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