Distribution:
Found throughout India up to an altitude of 1,500 m.

Habit:
C. occidentalis is an erect, annual herb or undershrub. The leaves are lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, the leaflets, 3-paired, membranous, glaucous, ovate or lanceolate; the flowers, yellow, in short racemes; the pods, recurved, glabrous and compressed; the seeds, dark olive green, ovoid, compressed, hard, smooth and shining.

Principle constituents:
The seeds yield an essential oil. The seeds also contain 1, 8-dihydroxy-2-methylanthraquinone, 1, 4, 5-trihydroxy-7-methoxy-3-methyl anthraquinone, physcion, its glucoside, rhein, aloe-emodin, chrysophanol, its glycoside, N-methylmorpholine,- glucosides of campesterol and ß-sitosterol, and a galactomannan.

Indications:
The seed is bitter and has tonic, febrifugal and purgative properties. It is considered to be a blood tonic and excellent diuretic. The seeds are useful in cough and whooping cough, convulsions and in heart diseases.

Product range:
Bonnisan, Geriforte, Herbolax, Liv.52.