Botanical Name - Eclipta alba/Eclipta prostrata Category - Medicinal Form - Dry Part Used - Whole Plant General Information - Eclipta alba (L.) is an annual herbaceous plant, commonly known as false daisy. It is an erect or prostrate, much branched, roughly hairy, annual, rooting at the nodes; the leaves are opposite, sessile and lanceolate. Belonging to family Asteraceae. it is also known as Bhringaraj and Karisilakanni, which is found a common weed throughout India ascending up to 6000 ft. The genus name comes from the Greek word meaning "Deficient," with reference to the absence of the bristles and awns on the fruits. The specific Eclipta alba means white which refers to the color of the flowers. Main active principles consist of coumestans like wedelolactone, desmethylwedelolactone43, furanocoumarins, oleanane & taraxastane glycosides Phytochemicals - Eclipta alba (L.) contains wide range of active principles which includes coumestans, alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, polyacetylenes, triterpenoids. The leaves contain stigmasterol, a-terthienylmethanol, wedelolactone, demethylwedelolactone and demethylwedelolactone-7-glucoside. The roots give hentriacontanol and heptacosanol. The roots contain polyacetylene substituted thiophenes.The aerial part is reported to contain a phytosterol, P-amyrin in the n-hexane extract and luteolin-7-glucoside, P-glucoside of phytosterol, a glucoside of a triterpenic acid and wedelolactone in polar solvent extract. The polypeptides isolated from the plant yield cystine, glutamic acid, phenyl alanine, tyrosine and methionine on hydrolysis.