The expressed juice of the leaves of this shrub is used for diarrhoea, dysentery, phthisis, cough, asthma and other bronchial diseases. The leaves are dried and made into cigarettes which are smoked for asthma.

A paste of the root is applied to boils, sores and framboesia, with beneficial results. In Sri Lanka, it is used as an important ingredient in decoctions given in typhoid fever, convulsions in children, rheumatism, skin eruptions due to impurities in the blood, bronchial diseases, sexual debility and also leucoderma.

The mature fruit is used with pepper and rock salt as a throat swab on inflamed tonsils to draw out phlegm. The juice mixed with sugar of Barossa's flabellifer and sugar cane juice is given for chronic cough and asthma.

The powdered root is taken as an aphrodisiac for consumption. A special preparation is made along with other drugs for treating insanity, apoplexy and nervous diseases. The plant has milk coagulating properties and can be used for cheese - making. It is also an insecticide.

The fruits are credited with laxative, stomachic, tonic and alterative properties. The fruit pulp is used as a dentifrice to cure bleeding and ulceration of gums. The dried powdered fruit is given for diabetes, sore throat and for blood purification.

Rue is an acro-narcotic poison. It is ingested to treat hysteria, amenorrrhoea epilepsy and flatulent colic while it is used externally as a rubefacient. This herb and its oil stimulate the uterine and nervous systems and is considered injurious to pregnant women. It is a strong antispasmodic. A medicinal oil prepared with its juice is prescribed for convulsions in children and acute bronchitis and pneumonia.

The crystalline ketonic substance (C13H12O3; m.p., 117-18°) exhibited powerful antispasmodic activity; the action was particularly marked on the smooth muscle

The bark of this tree is used for uterine affections especially menorrhagia, bleeding piles and dropsical swellings, The flowers are used for haemorrhagic dysentery. The bark is applied externally for the treatment of fractures of bones.

The roots are used in Bihar for treating leprosy and urinary troubles. Their decoction is prescribed for cough. The boiled leaves are used as a purgative. Ether and ethanol extracts of the leaves showed anti-cancer activity against Ehrlich ascites tumour cells. The seed extracts gave a non-specific agglutinating reaction with different human blood groups. The herb is credited with anti-pyretic, anti- periodic and expectorant properties

The root is used as a cure for diarrhoea, dysentery, bilous complaints and vomiting in children.

An infusion of the bark or the expressed juice of the unripe fruits is given for menorrhagia, haemoptysis and urinary diseases.