(Linn.) Nutt.
Family: Ranunculaceae.
Habitat: Temperate Himalayas from Kashmir to Bhutan up to at 3,000-4,000 m.
English: Black Cohosh Root, Black Snake Root.
Folk: Cohosh, Jiuenti (Punjab).
Action: Sedative, anti-inflammatory, antitussive, diuretic, emmenagogue. Used in homoeopathy for rheumatic diseases of nervous, hysterical women, suffering from uterine affections; also for locomotor ataxia.
Key application: In climacteric (menopausal), neurovegetative ailments, premenstrual discomfort and dysmenorrhoea. (German Commission E, ESCOP.)The rhizome contains triterpene gly- cosides (including actein, cimigoside, cimifugine and racemoside; isofla- ones (including formononetin; isofer- ulic acid; volatile oil, tannin.Pharmacological studies have shown that the menthol extract binds to oestrogen receptors in vitro and in rat uteri; this activity is thought to be due to the presence of formononetin. Racemoside exhibited antiulcer activity in mice. Isoferulic acid lowered body temperature in rats.The rhizome is hypotensive in animals; a central nervous system depressant and antispasmodic in mice; causes peripheral vasodilation in human. Also exhibits anti-inflammatory (The British Herbal Pharmacopoeia) and hy- poglycaemic activity.Actein has been studied for use in treating peripheral arterial disease. (Expanded Commission E Monographs.)Clinically, the rhizome and root constituents of Black Cohosh does not seem to affect hormonal levels, such as estradiol, LH, FSH and pro- lactin. (Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, 2007.)Cimicifuga foetida L. root is used in bronchial and rheumatic diseases. Aqueous EtOH extract is used in cosmetic preparations for protecting skin; also used for preventing oral diseases and bad breath.White Cohosh, used for urinogen- ital disorders, is equated with Actea pachypoda, synonym A. alba, A. rubra. Blue Cohosh has been identified as Caulophyllum thalictroides. It is toxic and abortifacient.
Linn.
Synonym: F. glomerata Roxb.
Family: Moraceae.
Habitat: Throughout India. Grows wild in forests and hills. Often found around subterranean water streams.
English: Cluster Fig, Country Fig.
Ayurvedic: Udumbara, Sadaaphala, Hema-daudhaka, Jantuphala, Yagyaanga.
Unani: Anjir-e-Aadam, Anjir-e- Ahmak, Gular.
Siddha/Tamil: Atthi.
Action: Astringent and antiseptic; used in threatened abortions, menorrhagia, leucorrhoea, urinary disorders, skin diseases, swellings, boils, haemorrhages. Unripe fruits—astringent, carminative, digestive, stomachic; used in diarrhoea, dyspepsia, dysentery, menorrhagia and haemorrhages. Ripe fruits—antiemetic, also
used in haemoptysis. Root and fruit—hypoglycaemic. Bark— decoction is used in skin diseases, inflammations, boils and ulcers.The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India recommends the use of the bark in lipid disorders and obesity.Leaves and fruit contain gluacol. The fruit also contains beta-sitosterol, lupeol acetate, friedelin, higher hydrocarbons and other phytosterols.Petroleum ether extract of the stem bark significantly reduced blood sugar level of rats with streptozotocin- induced diabetes. It completely inhibited glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase from rat liver. Extracts of fruit and latex did not show any significant effect on blood sugar level of diabetic rats, they inhibited only glucose-6- phosphate but not arginase from rat liver.An alcoholic extract of the bark has been found to be very effective in reducing blood sugar in alloxan-induced diabetic albino rats. It helped in improving the damaged beta cells of islets of Langerhans, thus exerting permanent blood sugar lowering effect.The ethanolic extract of seeds also showed hypoglycaemic activity.Lignin, the main fiber constituent of the fruit, prevented the rise in serum cholesterol levels of some extent. Fresh whole fruits, used as a source of dietary fibre, exhibited more hypoc- holesterolemic activity than pure cellulose.
Dosage: Bark—20-30 g for decoction. (API Vol. I.)... ficus racemosa
Roxb.
Synonym: S. beddomei C. B. Clarke S. candolleana Brand.
Family: Symplocaceae.
Habitat: Throughout North and eastern India, extending southwards to Peninsular India.
English: Lodh tree, Sapphire Berry
Ayurvedic: Lodhra, Rodhra, Shaavara., Sthulavalkal, Trita, Pattikaa Lodhra, Shaabara Lodhra.
Unani: Lodh Pathaani.
Siddha/Tamil: Vellilethi, Velli- lothram.
Action: Bark—used as specific remedy for uterine complaints, vaginal diseases and menstrual disorders; menorrhagia, leucorrhoea (The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India); also used in diarrhoea, dysentery, vaginal ulcers, inflammatory affections and liver disorders.
The bark gave colloturine, harman (loturine) and loturidine. Stem bark gave proanthocyanidin-3-monogluco- furanosides of 7-O-methyl-and 4'-O- methyl-leucopelargonidin. Betulinic, oleanolic, acetyl oleanolic and ellagic acids are reported from the plant.Glycosides, isolated from the ethanolic extract of the stem bark, are highly astringent and are reported to be responsible for the medicinal properties of the bark.The bark extracts have been reported to reduce the frequency and intensity of the contractions in vitro of both pregnant and non-pregnant uteri of animals. A fraction from the bark, besides showing action on uteri, was spasmogenic on various parts of the gastrointestinal tract and could be antagonized by atropine.The bark extracts were found to inhibit the growth of E. coli, Micrococcus pyogenes var. aureus, and enteric and dysenteric groups of organisms.
Dosage: Stem bark—3-5 g powder; 20-30 g for decoction. (API, Vol. I.)S. laurina Wall., synonym S. spica- ta Roxb. (North and East Idia, Western and Eastern Ghats); S. ramosis- sima Wall. (the temperate Himalayas from Garhwal to Bhutan); S. sumuntia Buch.-Ham. (Nepal to Bhutan) are also equated with Lodhra.The powdered bark is used in folk medicine for biliousness, haemorrhages, diarrhoea, dysentery and genitourinary diseases.Symplocos theaefolia Buch-Ham. ex D. Don (the Eastern Himalayas from Nepal to Bhutan and in the Khasi Hills at altitudes between 1,200 and 2,500 m) is known as Kharanl in Nepal and Dieng-pei or Dieng-twe-pe in khasi.The ethanolic extract of leaves showed hypoglycaemic activity in rats and anticancer activity against Friend- virus-leukaemia (solid) in mice. The extract of the leaves and of stems showed activity against human epider- moid carcinoma of the nasopharynx in tissue-culture.The Wealth of India equated S. laurina with Lodh Bholica (Bengal) and S. sumuntia with Pathaani Lodh.The wood of Symplocos phyllocalyx C. B. Clarke is known as Chandan and Laal-chandan. It should not be confused with Santalum album or Ptero- carpus santalinus.... symplocos racemosa
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