Plantago ispaghula

Plantago ispaghula, or Light Indian Psyllium, is cultivated in India. Seeds are boatshaped, with one end sharper than the other, and grey-brown in colour, A small brown spot is a feature of the convex side. Transparent mucilage surrounds the seeds when kept in water. 

Plantago seeds are widely used as bulk laxatives under the names of psyllium (from P. psyllium or P. indica) and ispaghula (from P. ovata). The possibility that the intestinal absorption of lithium and other drugs may be inhibited should also be considered (658). 

Mucofalk consists of granules containing epidermal particles and the collapsed adjacent layers removed from the dried ripe seeds of Plantago ovata Forssk (Ispaghula husk)... 

Common/vernacular names Black psyllium (P. indica), blond psyllium, ispaghula, ispa-gol, spogel, Indian plantago (P. ovata), brown psyllium, French psyllium, Spanish psylhum (P. psyllium, P. indica), plantago plantain. P. arenaria is accepted in the taxonomic literature as the correct name for P. psyllium (ambiguous name) and P. indica (illegitimate name) however, both names are still used in commercial trade over P. arenaria. 

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