5 Top Medicinal Uses Of Kedrostis Foetidissima | Appakovai Plant

This creeper is called Appakovai in Tamil and you will find it growing wildly in fences all over Tamil Nadu. You can also find this plant in Africa and Srilanka. The botanical name of this creeper is Kedrostis Foetidissima. The leaves have a very very strong unpleasant smell and the plant can be identified with the red fruits and the smell. Appakovay leaves have strong antibacterial and anti fungal properties which has been proven through research, you can read the research paper here and here.

Kedrostis Foetidissima Medicinal Uses:

Here are some of the medicinal uses of this wonderful creeper:

1. Kedrostis Foetidissima For Cold:

The leaf juice is used for treating common cold in children. The leaf juice is extracted by pounding the leaves and 5 to 6 drops of the juice is given to children to treat cold.

2. Kedrostis Foetidissima For Eczema:

The paste of the leaves is a good remedy for eczema, to make the paste just pound the leaves in a mortar and pestle to a paste and apply as a poultice.

3. Kedrostis Foetidissima For Diarrhea:

The leaf juice is a good remedy for diarrhea. Usually a tsp of the fresh leaf juice is given both morning and evening for diarrhea.

4. Kedrostis Foetidissima For Measles:

In Africa, the leaf decoction of this plant made by boiling the leaves in water is used as a home remedy for treating measles.

5. Kedrostis Foetidissima For Boils:

We use these leaves to cure boils (abscess) that form during the hot seasons. During the hot summer months, our sweat glands are very active making it ideal for the bacteria to grow. The appakovay leaves are very cooling and they are crushed together with small onions (shallots) and then applied over the boils.

This paste gives good relief from the boils. The only thing to note is that the leaves and onions shouldn’t be crushed too fine as all the juice will flow down when you apply it over the boils.

I have given step by step instruction for the remedy below. We also make a chutney out the leaves and have it for lunch along with rice, when the leaves are sauteed and ground it tastes good and does not have the smell….