10 Top Benefits Of Blue Butterfly Pea Flower (Aparajita | Sangu Poo) - Wildturmeric (2024)

Blue butterfly pea flower also popularly called aparajita and sangu poo in India is a must know flower for it’s wonderful health benefits and medicinal uses. Butterfly pea flower tea made from the flowers is quite famous all over the world, it has a beautiful blue color and is full of antioxidants. From reducing inflammation and ulcer to preventing fatigue, blue butterfly pea flower does have wide benefits.

What Is Blue Butterfly Pea Flower?

It is a beautiful blue coloured flower that grows in a creeper. You will find this plant in many Indian homes as it is used in poojas and prayers. It also grows wildly and needs little maintenance, the butterfly pea plant in the above picture was growing wildly in our farm.

This beautiful creeper has wonderful medicinal uses and especially it’s use in enhancing the memory and reducing stress is very popular. Scientific studies have been done extensively on this amazing plant and many of it’s traditional uses have been proven.All parts of the plant including theleaves, seeds, roots and flowers have medicinalproperties.

The root extract acts as a mild sedative and calms down the central nervous system so it can be used as an anti depressant and anti stress medicine. Many confuse Clitoria ternatea with shankhpushpi even I did at first but the true shankhpushpi is Convolvulus pluricaulis.

Blue Butterfly Pea Botanical & Common Names:

The botanical name of blue butterfly pea plant is Clitoria ternatea. The plant is a climber and it belongs to the familyFabacea and genus Clitoria.Butterfly pea flower iscalled Sangu Pushpam or Sangu Poo in Tamil, Aparajita in Hindi and Bengali, Anchan inThai, Blue Pea Flower in English andBunga Telang in Malay. In Malaysia, Thailand and Burma, the flowers are used to color the rice while cooking.

10 Top Blue Butterfly Pea Flower Benefits & Medicinal Uses:

1. AntioxidantProperties:

One of themajor benefits of consuming butterfly pea tea is it’s antioxidant properties. Consuming antioxidant rich foods is vital for health,theyfightoff free radicals which are the primary reason for prematureageing of the body. You can find the link tothe studyhere.

2. Anti Glycation Properties:

Butterfly pea tea has been proven to have anti glycation properties. Glycation is damage caused to protein because of sugar molecules and itis one of the main causes of skin aging. Butterfly pea tea prevents thisdamage and helps prevent premature aging of our skin. You can find thelink to the study here.

3. Anti Inflammatory Properties:

Butterflypea tea has been shown to have anti inflammatory properties. If you aresuffering from any inflammations, try consuming a cup of warm butterflypea tea, it will bring down both the pain and inflammation.

4. Prevents Fatigue:

Butterflypea tea is very good for people suffering from chronicfatigue as it improves vitality. Since it is rich in vitamins and minerals, it improves immunity and treats chronic fatigue greatly.

5. Analgesic Properties:

This tea has been proven to haveanalgesic properties (pain relieving properties). You can find the linkto the study proving it’s analgesic and anti inflammatory properties here.

6. Anti Diabetic Properties:

This tea is amazing for diabeticpatientsas it helps regulate bloodsugar levels. A cup of blue butterfly tea taken in between meals willhelp regulate blood sugar levels and will keep your blood sugar levelssteady till the next meal.

7. For Reducing Stress & Anxiety:

Butterfly pea has been used for reducing stress and anxiety from ancient times. If you are stressed or anxious and finding it difficult tosleep, try consuming blue butterfly tea regularly for a few days.Itwill help you relax and get a good night’s rest. It also helps improvebrain function and memory. You can find the study that supports thisclaim here.

8. Anti Asthmatic Properties:

Butterflypea tea has anti asthmatic properties. The whole plant decoction isusually given for treating all respiratory problems like cold, cough,fever and phlegm. It has amazing bronchodilating properties so if youare suffering from asthma consider taking this tea.

9. For Hair & Skin:

Anyingredient that is rich in antioxidants is amazing for hair and skin.Since this tea is also rich in many vitamins and minerals it even moreeffective for preventing premature ageing of the skin and hair. You canalso use the tea for external application too. Mix it while makinghomemade face packs to get a glowing skin.

10. Anti Ulcer Properties:

This tea has a soothing effect on our stomach and helps treat stomach ulcers. The whole plant extract has been used for treating ulcerstraditionally but the tea made with the flowers also has anti ulcerproperties.

This is due to presence of flavonoids in the flowers. If youare suffering from stomach ulcer, I would suggest taking this teawithout adding any lemon juice.

How To Grow Blue Pea Flower At Home?

If you plan on having butterfly pea tea regularly, I would suggest growing your own butterfly pea plant at home. You can easily buy young butterfly pea plants in most nurseries cheaply in India and plant them in your garden.

It can survive in almost all types of soil but needs good drainage. You can also grow them from the seeds too.To plant butterfly pea seeds, soak butterfly pea seeds overnight in water and plant them in small pots next day and water regularly. The seeds will germinate in 2 to 3 weeks time.

Blue Butterfly Pea Flower Side Effects:

Butterfly pea flower has blood sugar lowering properties so diabetic patients should be cautious when using this herb as it might lower the blood sugar levels drastically when combined together with diabetic medication. Toxicity: This herb has been proven as a safe herb and there was no any major side effects or mortality even at doses of up to 3000 mg per kg of body weight when tested on rats for a period of 4 days.

3 Top Ways To Use Blue Butterfly Pea Flowers

1. Butterfly Pea Antioxidant Tea For Healthy Hair & Skin:

Boil water and pour over either fresh or dried flowers and sweeten with honey if you prefer. This butterfly pea tea contains significant amount of antioxidants and is great for healthy hair and skin. You can consume a cup of this tea even every day for long durations of time.

2. Butterfly Pea Flower Benefits For Memory & Stress:

Boil a cup of water with 2 inch piece root of blue butter fly pea plant till it reduces in half and strain. This decoction is great for reducing stress and also acts as a mild sedative. The root extract also acts as a laxative.

3.Butterfly Pea Flower Benefits For Wound Healing:

The wound healing effects of the leaf extract also has been proven through scientific research. The leaf can be ground into fine paste and applied over any kinds of inflammation or infection. You can also boil the leaves in water and use it as wound wash too. The leaves have also anti fungal and anti bacterial properties and when applied externally can greatly reduce the infection.