Bauhinia variegata Linn. (Fabaceae), commonly known as ‘Kachnar’, is widely distributed in
most tropical countries. Different parts of this plant are used in folk medicine to treat
different kinds of pathologies like diabetes, jaundice, infections, as well as pain and
inflammation. The flowers are edible and find their place in various cuisines and are widely
used as pickle in north India. The dried buds are used in the treatment of piles and worms.
The juice of the flowers is used to treat diarrhoea, dysentery and other stomach disorders.[13]
Keeping in view the ethnobotanical importance of B. variegata flowers, and the medicinal
implications of essential oils, an attempt has been made to extract and analyse the essential
oil composition of the flowers of B. variegata.