Nyctanthes arbor-tristis is a shrub or a small tree growing to 10 m (33 ft) tall, with flaky grey bark. The leaves are opposite, simple, 6–12 cm (2.4–4.7 in) long and 2–6.5 cm (0.79–2.56 in) broad, with an entire margin. The flowers are fragrant, with a five- to eight-lobed white corolla with an orange-red centre; they are produced in clusters of two to seven together, with individual flowers opening at dusk and finishing at dawn. The fruit is a bilobed, flat brown heart-shaped to round capsule 2 cm (0.79 in) diameter, each lobe containing a single seed.
Chemicl Composition
Different parts of the plant Parijata contains following phyto-chemicals:
Flowers: – Essential oil, nyctanthin, d-mannitol, tannin, glucose, caratenoid and glycosides are present in flowers.
Seeds: – Arbortristoside A and B, glycerides of linolelic, oleic, stearic, palmitic and myristic acids, nyctantic acid and a water soluble polysaccharide composed of D – glucose and D – mannose are present in seeds. It also contains 15% of a pale yellow-brown oil, nyctanthic acid and beta-sitosterol.
Leaves:- B-Sitosterol, nyctanthic acid, tannic acid, methyl salicylate, mannitol, ascorbic acid, carotene, linoleic acid, glycosides, 6-beta- hydroxyloganin, benzoic acid, glucose, fructose, flavonol, triterpernoids, and some trace of volatile oils are present in leaves,
Flower oil: – α–Pinene, P-Cymene, L-hexanon, phenylacetaldehyde, and I-decanol are present in flower oil of the plant.
Stem: – glycosides, B-glucopyranosyl, α-Xylo-phranoside and B – Sitosterols are present in stem.
Bark: – Methyl-D-glucose, methyl-D-Mannose, arbortristoside A,B,C and iridoid glycoside-nyctanthaside, glycoside and alkaloids