Painful swellings of the lymphatic glands found in cases of the bubonic plague or other highly infectious diseases as syphilis. See: BUBONIC PLAGUE.
Green’s Herbal: Butter-bur.
Green’s Herbal: Butter-bur.
– is caused by the bacterium Yersinis pestis. Plague remains a major infection in many tropical countries.
The reservoir for the bacillus in urban infection lies in the black rat (Rattus rattus), and less importantly the brown (sewer) rat (Rattus norvegicus). It is conveyed to humans by the rat ?ea, usually Xenopsylla cheopis: Y. pestis multiplies in the gastrointestinal tract of the ?ea, which may remain infectious for up to six weeks. In the pneumonic form (see below), human-to-human transmission can occur by droplet infection. Many lower mammals (apart from the rat) can also act as a reservoir in sylvatic transmission which remains a major problem in the US (mostly in the south-western States); ground-squirrels, rock-squirrels, prairie dogs, bobcats, chipmunks, etc. can be affected.
Clinically, symptoms usually begin 2–8 days after infection; disease begins with fever, headache, lassitude, and aching limbs. In over two-thirds of patients, enlarged glands (buboes) appear – usually in the groin, but also in the axillae and cervical neck; this constitutes bubonic plague. Haemorrhages may be present beneath the skin causing gangrenous patches and occasionally ulcers; these lesions led to the epithet ‘Black Death’. In a favourable case, fever abates after about a week, and the buboes discharge foul-smelling pus. In a rapidly fatal form (septicaemic plague), haematogenous transmission produces mortality in a high percentage of cases. Pneumonic plague is associated with pneumonic consolidation (person-to-person transmission) and death often ensues on the fourth or ?fth day. (The nursery rhyme ‘Ringo-ring o’ roses, a pocketful o’ posies, atishoo! atishoo!, we all fall down’ is considered to have originated in the 17th century and refers to this form of the disease.) In addition, meningitic and pharyngeal forms of the disease can occur; these are unusual. Diagnosis consists of demonstration of the causative organism.
Treatment is with tetracycline or doxycycline; a range of other antibiotics is also e?ective. Plague remains (together with CHOLERA and YELLOW FEVER) a quarantinable disease. Contacts should be disinfected with insecticide powder; clothes, skins, soft merchandise, etc. which have been in contact with the infection can remain infectious for several months; suspect items should be destroyed or disinfected with an insecticide. Ships must be carefully checked for presence of rats; the rationale of anchoring a distance from the quay prevents access of vermin. (See also EPIDEMIC; PANDEMIC; NOTIFIABLE DISEASES.)... plague
Habitat: Grown as an ornamental.
English: Indian Coral tree.Ayurvedic: Paaribhadra, Paarib- hadraka, Paarijaataka, Mandaara, Dadap. Kantaki-palaasha, Kant- kimshuka, Raktapushpa; Nimba- taru. (Erythrina suberosa Roxb. is also equated with Paaribhadra.)Siddha/Tamil: Kaliyanamurukkan.Folk: Farhad.Action: Leaf—cathartic, diuretic, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory. Applied externally for dispersing venereal buboes. Bark—antibilious, anthelmintic, febrifuge, astringent, expectorant. (E. variegata is an adulterant to the Ayurvedic drug Rohitaka.) Different parts of the plant are used as nervine sedative, antiepileptic, astringent, antiasthmatic and antiseptic. Bark is used in liver ailments, fever and rheumatism.
A number of tetracyclic alkaloids have been isolated from the plant.The alkaloids showed a muscle relaxant activity and increased the sedative effects of hexabarbital. The alkaloids extracted from the leaves are reported to have anti-inflammatory activity. Bark alkaloids are neuromus- cular blocking, smooth muscle relaxant, CNS depressant, hydrocholeretic and anticonvulsant. The bark contains 0.05% alkaloids.The root extracts exhibited antimicrobial activity in vitro against Staphy- lococcus aureus and Mycobacterium smegmatis.The seeds of many of the species of Erythrina contain alkaloids with curare-like activity. Clinical trials on biologically standardized beta-ery- throidine hydrochloride and dihydro- beta-erythroidine hydrochloride have shown promising results in the treatment of conditions involving certain types of muscular rigidity.Dosage: Stem bark—6-12 g powder; 12-24 g for decoction. (API Vol. II.)... erythrina indicaHabitat: Gardens of Kerala and West Bengal.
Action: Leaves, flowers—cytotoxic, antitumour.
The ethanolic, extract of leaves showed cytotoxic activity against Dal- ton's lymphoma, Ehrlich ascites carcinoma and Sarcoma 180 tumour cells in vitro. The flowers have been found to contain antitumour principles, active against experimentally induced tumour models.Jacaranda acutifolia auct. non-Humb. & Bonpl.Synonym: J. mimosifolia D. Don J. ovalifolia R. Br.Family: Bignoniaceae.Habitat: Cultivated in Indian gardens.
Folk: Nili-gulmohar.Action: Leaves' volatile oil—applied to buboes. Leaves and bark of the plant—used for syphilis and blennorrhagia. An infusion of the bark is employed as a lotion for ulcers.
The leaves contain jacaranone, ver- bascoside and phenylacetic-beta-glu- coside along with a glucose ester, jaca- ranose. Flavonoid scutellarein and its 7-glucuronide, and hydroquinones were also isolated. Fruits contain beta- sitosterol, ursolic acid and hentriacon- tane; stem bark gave lupenone and beta-sitosterol.The flowers contain an anthocyanin. In Pakistan, the flowers are sold as a substitute for the Unani herb Gul-e- Gaozabaan.The lyophylized aqueous extract of the stem showed a high and broad antimicrobial activity against human urinary tract bacteria, especially Pseudomonas sp.The fatty acid, jacarandic acid, isolated from the seed oil, was found to be a strong inhibitor of prostaglandin biosynthesis in sheep.J. rhombifolia G. F. W. May., syn. J. filicifolia D. Don is grown in Indian gardens. Extracts of the plant show insecticidal properties.Several species of Jacaranda are used for syphilis in Brazil and other parts of South America under the names carobin, carabinha etc. A crystalline substance, carobin, besides resins, acids and caroba balsam, has been isolated from them.... ixora javanica
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