Scientific names of Banaba

1. Lagerstroemia speciosa (L.) Pers.

2. Lagerstroemia reginae Roxb.
3. Lagerstroemia flos-reginae Retz.
4. Munchausia speciosa (L.)
5. Da hua zi wei (Chin.)
Common names:
1. Agaro (Sbl.)
2. Bugarom (S. L. Bis.)
3. Banaba (Tag.)
4. Duguam (S. KL. Bis.)
5. Kauilan (P. Bis.)
6. Makablos (Pang.)
7. Mitla (Pamp.)
8. Nabulong (Neg.)
9. Pamalauagon (S. L. Bis.)
10.
Pamarauagon (S. L. Bis.)
11.
Parasabukung (Sub.)
12.
Tabangau (Ibn., Neg.)
13.
Tauagnau (Ibn.)
14.
Pride of India (Engl.)
15.
Queen's flower (Engl.)
16.
Queen of flowers (Engl.)
17.
Da hua zi wei (Chin.)
18.
Giant Crape Myrtle
19.
Crepe Myrtle
20.
Queens Crape Myrtle
Taxonomic Classification
Kingdom-Plantae
Subkingdom-Viridiplantae
Infrakingdom- Streptophyta land plants
Superdivision- Embryophyta
Division- Tracheophyta vascular plants, tracheophytes
Subdivision- Spermatophytina spermatophytes, seed plants,
phanrogames
Class- Magnoliopsida
Superorder- Rosanae
Order- Myrtales
Family- Lythraceae loosestrife
Genus- Lagerstroemia L.
Species-Lagerstroemia speciosa (L.) Pers. pride
of India

Traditional Use
Traditionally, banaba is a popular medicinal plant. Its dried bark and dried leaves
are used for the preparation of medicinal tea against kidney trouble. Extracts
obtained from boiling its bark is used as a drink to induce alertness, reduce fever
and to cure abdominal pains. Bark soak in water can be taken to stop diarrhea.
The bark leaves and flowers are used to induce bowel movements or loosen the
stool. Old leaves and ripe/dried fruit, taken like tea, reduce blood sugar. Leaves
boiled in water are taken to clear obstructions from the natural ducts of the body
and induce urination. Extracts from boiling the roots are used against small ulcers
of the mouth. A leaf poultice is used to relieve malarial fever and applied on
cracked feet.(8)
Folkloric Uses- treatment for diarrhea, constipation, inflammation of kidneys,
dysuria and other urinary dysfunctions
- Decoction of leaves of all ages used for diabetes mellitus. Some physicians
believe the dried fruit decoction to be better.
- Roots have been used for a variety of stomach ailments. Leaf decoction for
diabetes; also use as a diuretic and purgative.
- Decoction of old leaves and dried fruit (dried from one to two weeks), 50 g to a
pint of boiling water, 4 to 6 cups daily has been used for diabetes. Old leaves and
ripe fruit are preferred, believed to have greater glucose lowering effect. Young
leaves and flowers have a similar effect, though only 70% that of matures leaves
and fruits. The wood has no known glucose lowering effect; the bark, a very small
amount. A decoction of 20 g of old leaves or dried fruit in 100 mL of water was
found to have the equivalent effect to that of 6 to 7.7 units of insulin.
- In Pahang decoction of bark has been used for the treatment of diarrhea.
- Infusion of bark used for diarrhea.
- The bark, flowers and leaves used to facilitate bowel movements.
- Decoction of fruits or roots gargled for aphthous stomatitis.
- Decoction of leaves and flowers used for fevers and as diuretic.
- Leaf decoction or infusion used for bladder and kidney inflammation,
dysuria, and other urinary dysfunctions.
- Seeds considered to have narcotic properties; also employed against
aphthae.
Pharmacologic activity
Hypoglycemic effect of extracts from Lagerstroemia speciosa L. leaves in
genetically diabetic KK-AY mice
Kakuda T, Sakane I, Takihara T, Ozaki Y, Takeuchi H, Kuroyanagi M. / Biosci
Biotechnol Biochem. 1996 Feb;60(2):204-8.
(2)
Antiobesity activity of extracts from Lagerstroemia speciosa L. leaves on female
KK-Ay mice

Suzuki Y, Unno T, Ushitani M, Hayashi K, Kakuda T. / J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo).

1999 Dec;45(6):791-5.
PMID: 10737232 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
(3)
Hypoglycemic Activity of Irradiated Banaba Leaves / Custer C. Deocaris, Ranelle
R. Aguinaldo, et al / Journal of Applied Sciencse Research 1(1): 95-98, 2005
(4) Xanthine oxidase inhibitors from the leaves of Lagerstroemia speciosa (L.)
Pers. / Tomonori Unno, Akio Sugimoto and Takami Kakuda / Journal of
Ethnopharmacology, Volume 93, Issues 23, August 2004, Pages 391395
(5)
Active Compounds from Lagerstroemia speciosa, Insulin-like Glucose UptakeStimulatory/Inhibitory and Adipocyte Differentiation-Inhibitory Activities in 3T3-L1
Cells / Naisheng Bai et al / J. Agric. Food Chem., 2008, 56 (24), pp 1166811674 /
DOI: 10.1021/jf802152z
(6)
Antidiabetic activity of a standardized extract (Glucosol) from Lagerstroemia
speciosa leavesin Type II diabetics a dose-dependence study / JUDY William V;
HARI Siva P; STOGSDILL W. W; JUDY Janet S; NAGUIB Yousry M. A; PASSWATER
Richard
(7)Antidiabetes and Anti-obesity Activity of Lagerstroemia speciosa / Guy Klein et
al / Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2007 December; 4(4): 401407 / doi:
10.1093/ecam/nem013.
(8)Lagerstroemia speciosa extract inhibit TNF-induced activation of nuclear
factor-kappaB in rat cardiomyocyte H9c2 cells. / Ichikaw H et al / J
Ethnopharmacol. 2010 Mar 2;128(1):254-256. Epub 2010 Jan 4.(9)Free radical
scavenging and anti-inflammatory properties of Lagerstroemia speciosa (L) / T T
Priya et al / Inflammopharmacology Volume 16, Number 4 / August, 2008 / DOI
10.1007/s10787-008-7002-6(10)In Vitro Antioxidant Studies of Lagerstroemia
speciosa Leaves / Anil P, Manish S, Garvendra RS et al / Pharmacology Journal, Vol
2, No 10, June 2010, Pp 357-360.(11)Hypoglycemic activity of Lagerstroemia
speciosa L. extract on streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat: Underlying mechanism
of action / Barun Kanti Saha, Nurull Huda Bhuiyan et al / Bangladesh J Pharmacol
2009; 4: 79-83(12)EVALUATION OF HEPATOPROTECTIVE AND ANTIOXIDANT
ACTIVITY OF ROOTS OF LAGERSTROEMIA SPECIOSA PERS. / Pritikumari N Lad et al
/ IJPRD, 2011; Vol 3(6): August 2011, pp 110 117.(13)Pharmacognostic
evaluations of Lagerstroemia speciosa leaves / Woratouch Thitikornpong, Thatree
Phadungcharoen and Suchada Sukrong / Journal of Medicinal Plants Research Vol.
5(8), pp. 1330-1337, 18 April, 2011(14)Lagerstroemia speciosa (L.) Pers. /
Chinese names / Catalogue of Life, China(15)Lagerstroemia speciosa fruit extract
modulates quorum sensing-controlled virulence factor production and biofilm
formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Brahma Singh, Harikesh Bahadur Singh,
Akanksha Singh, Braj Singh, Aradhana Mishra and Chandra Nautiyal /
Microbiology
(16)
Lagerstroemia speciosa / Vernacular names / GLOBINMED

(17)
Structural Features and Biological Properties of Ellagitannins in Some Plant
Families of the Order Myrtales / Takashi Yoshida , Yoshiaki Amakura and Morio
Yoshimura / International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2010, 11(1), 79-106;
doi:10.3390/ijms11010079
(18)
Possible anti-obesity therapeutics from nature A review / Jong Won Yun /
Phytochemistry 71 (2010) 16251641
(19)Effect of Polyherbal Formulation in Obesity Associated Diabetes / Patil Monoj
N et al / International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Vol 2,
Suppl 3, 2010, pp 180-186.
(20)
A review of the efficacy and safety of banaba (Lagerstroemia speciosa L.) and
corosolic acid. / Stohs SJ, Miller H, Kaats GR. / Phytother Res. 2012 Mar;26(3):31724. doi: 10.1002/ptr.3664. Epub 2011 Nov 17.
(21)
Phytochemical and antibacteria study of Lagerstroemia speciosa (L.) Pers. and its
ethnomedicinal importance to indigenous communities of Benguet Province,
Philippines / LMV Laruan et al / Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, Vol 12(3),
July 2013, pp 379-383.
(22)
Ellagitannins from Lagerstroemia speciosa as Activators of Glucose Transport in
Fat Cells / Takeo Hayashi, Haruko Maruyama, Royji Kasai, Katsuji Hattori,
Shunsuke Takasuga, Osamu Hazeki, Kazuo Yamasaki, Takashi Tanaka / Planta Med
2002; 68: 173-175
(23)
DETECTION OF METALS PRESENT IN LEAVES OF LAGERSTROEMIA SPECIOSA /
VIJAYARAGHAVALU SAI SARASWATHI*, DHAKSHANAMURTHY THIRUMALAI, HIMAJA
MALIPEDDI, MUNISWAMY SARANYA AND POTHULA KUSAL YADAV / International
Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Vol 3, Issue 4, 2011
(24)
Hypoglycaemic effect of Lagerstroemia speciosa in type 2 diabetic rats / L.
Samananda Singh*, N. Shashikanta Singh, M. Anita Devi / J. Med. Plants Res.,
Vol.8(25), pp. 899-902 , July 2014 / DOI: 10.5897/JMPR2013.5250
(25)
An Extract of Lagerstroemia speciosa L. Has Insulin-Like Glucose Uptake
Stimulatory and Adipocyte DifferentiationInhibitory Activities in 3T3-L1 Cells /
Fang Liu, Jae-kyung Kim, Yunsheng Li*, Xue-qing Liu, Jing Li, and Xiaozhuo Chen /
J. Nutr. September 1, 2001 vol. 131 no. 9
(26)
ANTINOCICEPTIVE, ANTIDIARRHEAL, AND CYTOTOXIC ACTIVITIES OF
LAGERSTROEMIA SPECIOSA (L.) PERS./ Md. Atiqur Rahman*, Nazim Uddin, Md.
Hasanuzzaman, A. A. Rahman /
Pharmacologyonline 1: 604-612 (2011)
(27)

Ellagic acid & gallic acid from Lagerstroemia speciosa L. inhibit HIV-1 infection
through inhibition of HIV-1 protease & reverse transcriptase activity / Nutan,
Manoj Modi, Tanvi Goel, Tiyasa Das, Shweta Malik, Samiksha Suri, Ajay Kumar
Singh Rawat, Sharad Kumar Srivastava, Rakesh Tuli, Swadesh Malhotra* & Satish
Kumar Gupta* / Indian J Med Res 137, March 2013, pp 540-548
(28)
Protective effects of Lagerstroemia speciosa on 3-morpholinosydnonimine (SIN1)-induced oxidative stress in HIT-T15 pancreatic cells / Jia-Le Song Xin Zhao
Qiang Wang Ting Zhang / Molecular Medicine Reports /
DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2013.1396