About Clitoria ternatea L.
Clitoria ternatea L. is a perennial herbaceous plant that grows as a vine or creeper. It has elliptic, obtuse leaves, and grows best in moist, neutral soil. Its most notable feature is its vivid deep blue flowers, which grow solitarily and bear light yellow markings. These flowers measure around 4 cm long and 3 cm wide. Some varieties produce white or pink flowers instead. The plant’s fruits are flat pods 5 to 7 cm long, each containing six to ten seeds. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant, and also used as a revegetation species, for example in coal mines in Australia, and requires very little care when grown. As a legume, its roots form a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria called rhizobia. These bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen gas (N₂) into a form that plants can use, a process known as nitrogen fixation. Because decomposition of this plant’s nitrogen-rich tissue adds nitrogen to soil, it is also used to improve soil quality. In India, it is sometimes confused with Convolvulus prostratus. This species is native to equatorial Asia, including areas of South Asia and Southeast Asia, but has been introduced to Africa, Australia, and the Americas. When cultivated, C. ternatea does not have any major pest or disease problems. The flowers of C. ternatea can be used to dye natural fibers, and this practice is used by traditional societies in Asia. In traditional Ayurvedic medicine, Clitoria ternatea is attributed a range of properties, including memory enhancing, nootropic, antistress, anxiolytic, antidepressant, anticonvulsant, tranquilizing, and sedative properties. Other traditional medicine practitioners who follow the Doctrine of Signatures believe that the plant may improve female libido or fertility, because of its resemblance to the female reproductive organ. Extracts of the plant have a wide range of documented pharmacological activities, including antimicrobial, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, diuretic, local anesthetic, antidiabetic, insecticidal, blood platelet aggregation-inhibiting, and vascular smooth muscle relaxing properties. This plant has a long history of use for the properties listed above in traditional Ayurvedic medicine. No clinical trials testing its effects on humans have been conducted.
