MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC CROPS (2+1)

Importance and chemical composition

• Vetiver or khus (Vetiveria zizanioides) (syn. Chrysopogon zizanioides) belonging to family Poaceae, is a grass found growing on various types of soils.
  
• The underground part of the plant consists of numerous fine rootlets of light- yellow or grey to reddish in colour, which contains a viscous essential oil with a pleasant and persistent odour.
  
• The commercial oil of vetiver is obtained by the distillation of the root. In India, the plant is known as ‘khus khus’. Khus meaning ‘aromatic root’.
  
• The major constituents are vetivone, vetiverols, vetiverenyl, vetivernate, benzoic acid and palmitic acid.
• The economic part of the plant is the root, which possesses a most agreeable aroma and is employed to scent clothes, either by itself or in the form of sachets.
  
• From time immemorial, vetiver roots have been employed to make baskets, hand fans and mats which when sprinkled with water and hung like curtains in houses, cool the air and emanate a pleasant odour.
  
• The oil of vetiver is one of the most valuable and most important perfumer’s raw materials, widely used in perfumeries, cosmetics and for the scenting of soaps. It also acts as a natural fixative.
  
• The oil of vetiver blends well with other oils particularly with those of sandalwood, patchouli and rose.
• Medicinally it is reported to be used as a carminative in flatulence and as anthelminthic and possesses stimulant and refrigerant properties.
• It is locally applied to relive pains on the body.


Photo courtesy: L.Hegde



• Young leaves are used as fodder and bedding for horses and cattle, the leaves are also used for thatching purposes; while the stem and inflorescence peduncles are used for making brooms and ornamental baskets.
  
• The plant has also gained recognition as one of the best soil-binders and is being used extensively in arid zones to check soil erosion.