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Cardiospermum helicacabum
Cardiospermum helicacabum L., Sapindaceae, is a common perennial tendril climber occurring almost throughout India, up to 4,000 ft., in the north western Himalaya.
The species is easy to distinguish for its ornate compound leaves, tendrils and ballooned fruits (see photographs).
The plant is used in rheumatism, stiffness of the limbs and snake-bite.
The roots are diaphoretic, emetic, aperient, laxative, rubifacient, emmenagogue and used in nervous disorders.
The leaves are a rubifacient and used as a poultice in rheumatism. The leaf juice is a cure for earache.
The leaves are used for hair wash.
In Nigeria, the leaves are rubbed on the skin to treat skin infections and applied as a poultice on swellings. The juice of the stem and the seed oil are used in ophthalmia. The roots and leaves are a remedy for nervous disorders even in Australia and south Africa.
The plant contains saponin, stigmasterol and quebrachitol. Roots also contain proanthocyanidin and apigenin.