Reserpine Health Dictionary

Alstonia venenata

Apocynaceae

San: Visaghni, Anadana;

Mal: Analivegam;

Tam: Sinnappalai;

Kan: Addasarpa

Importance: Alstonia is a large shrub with straight bole and growing upto about 6m height. The roots are useful in skin diseases, erysipelas, leprosy, cobra bite and other venomous bites, epilepsy, fatigue, fever and otalgia. The fruits are useful in syphilis, insanity and epilepsy. The plant is believed to repel snakes.

Distribution: The plant is distributed throughout India in deciduous forests in areas up to 1800m elevation.

Botany: Alstonia venenata R.Br., belonging to the family Apocynaceae, is a large shrub to small tree up to 6m in height with greyish brown bark and bright yellow hard and woody root. Leaves are simple, arranged in whorls of 3-6, membranous, lanceolate, margins wavy, finely acuminate, main nerves numerous, close, parallel and united by inter marginal nerve. Flowers are white, arranged in terminal sub umbellate cymes or in racemes. Fruits are fusiform with stalked and beaked follicles, tapering at both ends. Seeds are many flattened with a tuft of hair at each end (Warrier et al, 1993). Other important species belonging to the genus Alstonia are the following.

1. A. scholaris R. Br.

This tree is common throughout India. The bark is valuable in debility and after effects of fever, chronic diarrhoea, dysentery and catarrhal fever. The milky juice is applied to ulcers and rheumatic pains, mixed with oil and dropped into ear to relieve earache. Ditanin is the active principle of the bark, possessing powerful febrifuge properties. The bark is astringent, tonic and febrifuge (Nadkarni, 1998).

2. A. spectabilis R. Br.

It is a large evergreen tree seen in tropical forests of Andamans. The bark contains alkaloids such as alstonamine, ditamine, echitamine and echitenine (Chopra et al,1980)

Agrotechnology: The plant is propagated mainly by seeds. Seeds are to be sown on seedbeds and germinated ones are to be transferred to polybags. About three months old seedlings are used for transplanting. If seeds are not available, thin stem cuttings can be planted in polybags and rooted cuttings used. Pits of size 60cm cube are to be taken at 3m spacing, filled with dried cowdung, sand and topsoil and made into a mound. To this mounds seedlings from polybags are to be transplanted. Irrigation is essential during early stages of growth. Application of organic manure every year is beneficial. Regular weeding is to be done. The plant is not attacked by any serious pests or diseases. Flowers are formed in the first year itself. It can be used for medicinal purposes after seven years of growth. Fruits and roots are the economical parts (Prasad et al,1997).

Properties and activity: The plant is a rich source of indole alkaloids. Alkaloids are present in various parts. Stem bark and root contain venenatine, alstovenine, 3-dehydroalstovenine and reserpine. Stem bark contains venoxidine (venenatine Nb -oxide), anhydroalstonatine, kopsinine, venalstonine, venalstonidine(venalstonine-6,7-epoxide), echitovenine and veneserpine. Fruits contain echitovenidine, (+)minovincinine, echitoserpidine, echitoserpine, echitoveniline, 11-methoxy echitovonidine, 11-methoxy (-) minovinicinine, echitoserpiline, (-)vincadifformine, 11-methoxy(-)vincadifformine and venoterpine. Leaves contain echitovenaldine, echitoveniline, alstolenine, deacetylakuammiline, polynuridine, dihydropolynuridine and raucaffrininoline. The yellow tint in bark is because of the presence of 3-alstovenine. A number of indole alkaloids have been further isolated from the plant. In addition to alkaloids fruits contain -amyrin acetate and lupeol ester of -hydroxy acid (Husain et al,1992).

The root is bitter, astringent, thermogenic, depurative, antitoxic, febrifuge and anodyne. The alkaloid alstovenine in lower doses exhibited monoamine oxidase inhibitor activity, while in higher doses it showed marked central stimulant effect. Veninatine exhibited reserpine like activity. Alcoholic extract of the fruits showed initial activation effect on acetylcholine esterase, followed alternately by inhibition and activation of the enzyme.... alstonia

R. Br.

Family: Apocynaceae.

Habitat: Throughout moist regions of India, especially in West Bengal and west-coast forests of southern India.

English: Devil's tree, Dita Bark tree.

Ayurvedic: Saptaparna, Sapta- chhada, Saptaparni, Saptaahvaa, Vishaaltvak, Shaarada, Visham- chhada.

Unani: Chhaatim, Kaasim (Kaasim Roomi, Anjudaan Roomi is equated with Myrrhis odorata Scope.)

Siddha/Tamil: Ezhilamippalai, Mukkampalai.

Folk: Chhitavan, Sataunaa.

Action: Bark—febrifuge, antiperi- odic, spasmolytic, antidysenteric, uterine stimulant, hypotensive; used for internal fevers.

Along with other therapeutic applications, The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India indicates the use of stembark in phosphaturia and recommends it as a blood purifier.

Alstonia sp. is known as Fever Bark. A. constricta is native to Australia; A. scholaris to Australia and Southeast Asia. The bark of both the species contains indole alkaloids. A. constric- ta contains reserpine (a hyptotensive agent). A. scholaris contains echita- mine, which has also demonstrated hypotensive effects. Though A. schol- aris produces fall in the temperature of human patients with fever, there are conflicting reports about the activity of echitamine against Plasmodium berghei.

Dosage: Stembark—20-30 g for decoction. (API Vol. I.)... alstonia scholaris

n. the dried root of the shrub Rauwolfia serpentina, which contains several alkaloids, including reserpine. Rauwolfia and its alkaloids lower blood pressure and depress activity of the central nervous system. They were formerly used as tranquillizers and to treat hypertension, but have been replaced by more effective and reliable drugs.... rauwolfia

R. Br.

Family: Apocynaceae.

Habitat: Peninsular India.

Folk: Pazh-munipala (Tamil), Addasarpa (Kannada), Palamunpala (Malyalam).

Action: Stembark and fruit— antiepileptic.

The plant is a rich source of indole alkaloids. Major alkaloids in the stem- bark are alstovenine, venenatine, 3- dehydroalstovenine, reserpine (0.0030.3%), venoxidine and kopsinine.

Alstovenine, in lower doses, exhibits monoamine oxidase inhibitor activity; in higher doses, shows marked central stimulant effect (reversal of reserpine effects). Venenatine exhibits reserpine- like profile of activity (sedation, ptosis, reduction in motor activity).

The fruit contains vincadifformine type of alkaloids. Echitovenidine, the major alkaloid, shows monoamine oxidase-inhibitory activity both in vitro and in vivo.... alstonia venenata

If you like herbal teas, there are lots of types you can try - one of them is periwinkle tea. Like most herbal teas, it has a slightly bitter taste, but it also has important health benefits. Read to find out more about periwinkle tea! About Periwinkle Tea Periwinkle tea is made from the vinca plant, an herbaceous plant which can be found in Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia. Vinca plant has long, trailing stems that grow near the ground, touching it. The branches can reach about half a meter in height. The leaves are evergreen and, opposite, the flowers are salverform, with 5 vilet (and sometimes white) petals connected together at the base. Two species of the plant are often cultivated as ornamental plants. However, in some parts of Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, it has spread too much, becoming an invasive plant. Interestingly, it is said that the plant protects you from voodoo magic. Periwinkle Tea constituents Vinca plants have lots of constituents which are transferred to periwinkle tea, as well. Periwinkle tea is rich in alkaloids that come from the vinca plant. It has at least 86 different alkaloids. Some of them are: vincamine, vinpocetine, vinblastine, vincristine, alstonine, ajmalicine, leurocristine, and reserpine. How to prepare Periwinkle Tea For a cup of periwinkle tea, you need a teaspoon of dried herbs. Pour boiling water into the cup and let it steep for 10-15 minutes. Once the steeping time is done, strain to remove the herbs and your cup of periwinkle tea is done. If the taste is too bitter for you, you can sweeten the tea by adding honey or fruit juice to your cup. Periwinkle Tea Benefits Thanks to the many constituents derived from the vinca plant, periwinkle tea has lots of important health benefits. Periwinkle tea plays an important role in the fight against cancer. It is often recommended in the treatment for leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease, malignant lymphomas, neuroblastoma, Wilm’s tumor and Kaposi’s sarcoma. Drinking periwinkle tea will help lower blood sugar levels and blood pressure, as well as improve blood circulation. You can drink periwinkle tea during menstruation if you’ve got an excessive blood flow. It should help in such situations. This tea is also useful in treating diarrhea, colitis and diabetes. You can use periwinkle tea to treat mouth sores and bleeding gums; it acts as a good mouth rinse. It can help you with headaches and memory loss problems and it enhances your memory. It also has calming effects, helping you with anxiety and nervousness. Periwinkle tea can be used topically, as well. You can wet a cloth with tea and use it to stop wounds from bleeding. You can also put it on the skin to treat wasp stings or on the eye if you’ve got an eye infection. Periwinkle Tea Side Effects With so many health benefits, periwinkle tea has to have a few side effects too. Here are some which you have to be careful with. If you’ve got kidney, liver or lung diseases, you should avoid drinking periwinkle tea. Also you should not drink it if you’ve got low blood pressure, or if you’re constipated. Pregnant women shouldn’t drinkperiwinkle tea, as it may lead to birth defects or even miscarriages. Also, it is best to stay away from this tea if you’re breast feeding; even in this case, it might affect the baby. It is best to stop drinking periwinkle tea before a surgery. It can lower blood pressure and it might lead to problems during and after the surgery. Check with your doctor and make sure you’re safe to drink periwinkle tea after a surgery. It is also recommended that you not drink more than 4 cups of periwinkle tea. Besides the usual symptoms (low blood pressure and constipation) you might also get other symptoms: headaches, loss of appetite, insomnia, dizziness, and irregular heartbeats. Drinking periwinkle tea can help you a lot, with its many health benefits. Don’t forget about the side effects, though. As long as you make sure it’s safe to drink periwinkle tea, you can happily drink it!... enjoy periwinkle tea

DC.

Synonym: N. grandiflora DC.

Family: Valerianaceae.

Habitat: Alpine Himalayas, Kumaon, Sikkim and Bhutan.

English: Spikenard, Musk-root.

Ayurvedic: Maansi, Jataamaansi, Bhuutajataa, Tapaswini, Sulo- mashaa, Jatilaa, Naladaa.

Unani: Sumbul-e-Hindi, Sambul-ut- Teeb, Naardeen-e-Hindi, Baalchhar.

Siddha/Tamil: Sadamanchil.

Action: Used as a substitute for Valerian. Tranquilizer, sedative, hypotensive. Used for the treatment of epilepsy, hysteria, convulsive affections, palpitation of heart and in intestinal colic. A decoction of powdered roots is prescribed as a home remedy for high blood pressure. It is used in dysmenorrhoea for pain relief and smooth menstrual flow. It is used in hair oil for arresting hair loss and greying of hair.

The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India recommends dry rhizomes in obstinate skin diseases, erysipelas, disturbed mental state and insomnia.

The rhizome is rich in sesquiter- penoids. The crude drug gave an oil (yield 2.5% v/w), which contains d- nardostachone, valeranone and jata- mansone as the major ketonic sesqui- terpenes. The oil potentiated phenobarbital narcosis in rats, reduced brain serotonin content and decreased the conditioned avoidance performance in cats.

Jatamansone was shown to exert tranquilizing effect in mice and monkeys. In rabbits, jatamansone was found to impair biosynthesis of serotonin in the brain leading to a reduction in brain level of 5-hydroxytrypta- mine. The degradation of serotonin was unaffected. The mode of action of jatamansone was thus in variance with that of reserpine which has direct action on the cell to liberate serotonin.

On the other hand, the alcoholic extract of the roots of Indian Nard caused an overall increase in the levels of central monamines, 5-hydroxy indole acetic acid and the inhibitory amino acids, gamma-aminobutyric acid, norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin in rat brain.

In a clinical trial on hyperkinetic children, jatamansone showed significant reduction in hyperactivity and improvement in restlessness and aggressiveness, almost at par with D- amphetamine.

The volatile oil was found to be less active than quinidine in several tests. It did not counteract digitalis induced ventricular arrhythmias.

Jatamansone semicarbazone, a sesquiterpene ketone, was found to possess antiestrogenic activity.

N. jatamansi is also used in place of Muraa (Selinum tenuifolium Wall. ex DC.)

Dosage: Root—2-3 g powder; 5-10 g for infusion; 50-100 ml infusion. (API, Vol. I; CCRAS.)... nardostachys jatamansi

Prolactin is the pituitary hormone (see PITUITARY GLAND) which initiates lactation. The development of the breasts during pregnancy is ascribed to the action of OESTROGENS; prolactin starts them secreting. If lactation does not occur or fails, it may be started by injection of prolactin.

The secretion of prolactin is normally kept under tonic inhibition by the secretion of DOPAMINE which inhibits prolactin. This is formed in the HYPOTHALAMUS and secreted into the portal capillaries of the pituitary stalk to reach the anterior pituitary cells. Drugs that deplete the brain stores of dopamine or antagonise dopamine at receptor level will cause HYPERPROLACTINAEMIA and hence the secretion of milk from the breast and AMENORRHOEA. METHYLDOPA and RESERPINE deplete brain stores of dopamine and the PHENOTHIAZINES act as dopamine antagonists at receptor level. Other causes of excess secretion of prolactin are pituitary tumours, which may be minute and are then called microadenomas, or may actually enlarge the pituitary fossa and are then called macroadenomas. The most common cause of hyperprolactinaemia is a pituitary tumour. The patient may present with infertility – because patients with hyperprolactinaemia do not ovulate – or with amenorrhea and even GALACTORRHOEA.

BROMOCRIPTINE is a dopamine agonist. Treatment with bromocriptine will therefore control hyperprolactinaemia, restoring normal menstruation and ovulation and suppressing galactorrhoea. If the cause of hyperprolactinaemia is an adenomatous growth in the pituitary gland, surgical treatment should be considered.... prolactin

Linn.

Synonym: R. canescens L.

Family: Apocynaceae.

Habitat: Abundant in moist and warm regions of West Bengal, particularly in 24 Parganas and Howrah, and Kerala (as a weed).

Folk: Badaa Chaand.

Action: Root—sedative, hypotensive. Plant juice, mixed with castor oil, is applied to skin diseases and to destroy parasites.

The plant contains a number of alkaloids, including rauvolscine, aj- malicine, canescine, reserpine, pseu- doyohimbine; yohimbine, corynan- thene, raunescine, iso-raunescine and recanescine.

The major alkaloid is rauwolscine (alpha-yohimbine), present in the root bark (0.1%), stem bark (0.2%) and leaves (0.5%).

The roots are often used as a substitute or adulterant of those of R. serpentina, though the reserpine content of the dried root was found to be comparatively low (0.03-0.05%).

Family: Linaceae.

Habitat: The Himalayas from Kashmir to Sikkim; commonly grown in gardens.

English: Winter-Flax, Yellow Flax.

Ayurvedic: Baasanti.

Folk: Abai (Maharashtra).

Action: Plant—used for the treatment of paralysis in Bihar. The crushed leaves and stems are applied to wounds infested with maggots.... rauvolfia tetraphylla

Catharanthus roseus

Apocynaceae

San: Nityakalyani;

Hin: Sadabahar, Baramassi;

Mal: Ushamalari, Nityakalyani

Tel: Billaganeru;

Tam: Sudukattu mallikai; Pun: Rattanjot;

Kan: Kasikanigale, Nitya Mallige

Importance: Periwinkle or Vinca is an erect handsome herbaceous perennial plant which is a chief source of patented cancer and hypotensive drugs. It is one of the very few medicinal plants which has a long history of uses as diuretic, antidysenteric, haemorrhagic and antiseptic. It is known for use in the treatment of diabetes in Jamaica and India. The alkaloids vinblastine and vincristine present in the leaves are recognized as anticancerous drugs. Vinblastine in the form of vinblastin sulphate is available in market under the trade name “VELBE” and Vincristine sulphate as “ONCOVIN” (Eli Lilly). Vinblastine is used in combination with other anticancer agents for the treatment of lymphocytic lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, testicular carcinoma and choriocarcinoma. Vincristine is used in acute leukemia, lymphosarcoma and Wilm’s tumour. Its roots are a major source of the alkaloids, raubasine (ajmalicine), reserpine and serpentine used in the preparation of antifibrillic and hypertension-relieving drugs. It is useful in the treatment of choriocarcinoma and Hodgkin’s disease-a cancer affecting lymph glands, spleen and liver. Its leaves are used for curing diabetes, menorrhagia and wasp stings. Root is tonic, stomachic, hypotensive, sedative and tranquilliser (Narayana and Dimri,1990).

Distribution: The plant is a native of Madagascar and hence the name Madagascar Periwinkle. It is distributed in West Indies, Mozambique, South Vi etnam, Sri Lanka , Philippines and Australia. It is well adapted to diverse agroclimatic situations prevalent in India and is commercially cultivated in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Assam. USA, Hungary, West Germany, Italy, Netherlands and UK are the major consumers.

Botany: Catharanthus roseus (Linn.) G.Don.

syn. Vinca rosea Linn. belongs to the family Apocynaceae. It is an erect highly branched lactiferous perennial herb growing up to a height of one metre. Leaves are oblong or ovate, opposite, short-petioled, smooth with entire margin. Flowers are borne on axils in pairs. There are three flower colour types , pink, pink-eyed and white. Calyx with 5 sepal, green, linear, subulate. Corolla tube is cylindrical with 5 petals, rose-purple or white with rose-purple spot in the centre; throat of corolla tube hairy, forming a corona-like structure. The anthers are epipetalous borne on short filaments inside the bulging distal end of corolla tube converging conically above the stigma. Two characteristic secretary systems, namely a column like nectarium on both sides of pistil and a secretory cringulam circling the papillate stigma with a presumed role in pollination - fecundation process are present. Ovary bicarpellary, basally distinct with fused common style and stigma. The dehiscent fruit consists of a pair of follicles each measuring about 25 mm in length and 2.3 mm in diameter, containing up to thirty linearly arranged seeds with a thin black tegumen. On maturity, the follicles split along the length dehiscing the seeds.

Agrotechnology: Periwinkle grows well under tropical and subtropical climate. A well distributed rainfall of 1000 mm or more is ideal. In north India the low winter temperatures adversely affect the crop growth. It can grow on any type of soil ,except those which are highly saline, alkaline or waterlogged. Light soils, rich in humus are preferable for large scale cultivation since harvesting of the roots become easy.

Catharanthus is propagated by seeds. Fresh seeds should be used since they are short-viable. Seeds can be either sown directly in the field or in a nursery and then transplanted. Seed rate is 2.5 kg/ha for direct sowing and the seeds are drilled in rows 45 cm apart or broadcasted. For transplanted crop the seed rate is 500gm/ha. Seeds are sown in nursery and transplanted at 45x 30cm spacing after 60 days when the seedlings attain a height of 15-20cm Nursery is prepared two months in advance so that transplanting coincides with the on set of monsoons. Application of FYM at the rate of 15 t/ha is recommended. An alternate approach is to grow leguminous green manure crops and incorporate the same into the soil at flowering stage. Fertilisers are recommended at 80:40:40 kg N:P2O5:K2O/ha for irrigated crop and 60:30:30 kg/ha for rainfed crop. N is applied in three equal splits at planting and at 45 and 90 days after planting. 4 or 5 irrigations will be needed to optimise yield when rainfall is restricted. Fortnightly irrigations support good crop growth when the crop is grown exclusively as an irrigated crop. Weeding is carried out before each topdressing. Alternatively, use of fluchloraline at 0.75 kg a.i. /ha pre-plant or alachlor at 1.0 kg a.i. per ha as pre-emergence to weeds provides effective control of a wide range of weeds in periwinkle crop. Detopping of plants by 2cm at 50% flowering stage improves root yield and alkaloid contents. No major pests, other than Oleander hawk moth, have been reported in this crop. Fungal diseases like twig blight (top rot or dieback) caused by Phytophthora nicotianae., Pythium debaryanum, P. butleri and P. aphanidermatum; leaf spot due to Alternaria tenuissima, A. alternata, Rhizoctonia solani and Ophiobolus catharanthicola and foot-rot and wilt by Sclerotium rolfsii and Fusarium solani have been reported. However, the damage to the crop is not very serious. Three virus diseases causing different types of mosaic symptoms and a phyllody or little leaf disease due to mycoplasma -like organisms have also been reported; the spread of which could be checked by uprooting and destroying the affected plants.

The crop allows 3-4 clippings of foliage beginning from 6 months. The flowering stage is ideal for collection of roots with high alkaloid content. The crop is cut about 7 cm above the ground and dried for stem, leaf and seed. The field is irrigated, ploughed and roots are collected. The average yields of leaf, stem and root are 3.6, 1.5and 1.5 t/ha, respectively under irrigated conditions and 2.0, 1.0 and 0.75t/ha, respectively under rainfed conditions on air dry basis. The harvested stem and roots loose 80% and 70% of their weight, respectively. The crop comes up well as an undercrop in eucalyptus plantation in north India. In north western India a two year crop sequence of periwinkle-senna-mustard or periwinkle-senna- coriander are recommended for higher net returns and productivity (Krishnan,1995).

Properties and activity: More than 100 alkaloids and related compounds have so far been isolated and characterised from the plant. The alkaloid contents in different parts show large variations as roots 0.14-1.34%, stem 0.074-0.48%, leaves 0.32-1.16%, flowers 0.005-0.84%, fruits 0.40%, seeds 0.18% and pericarp 1.14% (Krishnan et al, 1983). These alkaloids includes monomeric indole alkaloids, 2-acyl indoles, oxindole, -methylene indolines, dihydroindoles, bisindole and others. Dry leaves contain vinblastine (vincaleucoblastine or VLB) 0.00013-0.00063%, and vincristine (leurocristine or LC) 0.0000003-0.0000153% which have anticancerous activity (Virmani et al, 1978). Other alkaloids reported are vincoside, isovincoside (strictosidine), catharanthine, vindolinine, lochrovicine, vincolidine, ajmalicine (raubasine), reserpine, serpentine, leurosine, lochnerine, tetrahydroalstonine, vindoline, pericalline, perivine, periformyline, perividine, carosine, leurosivine, leurosidine and rovidine. The different alkaloids possessed anticancerous, antidiabetic, diuretic, antihypertensive, antimicrobial, antidysenteric, haemorrhagic, antifibrillic, tonic, stomachic, sedative and tranquillising activities.... periwinkle

Benth. ex Kurz.

Family: Apocynaceae.

Habitat: The sub-Himalayas tract from Punjab to Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam, Western Ghats and the Andamans.

English: Rauvolfia root, Serpentina Root, Indian Snakeroot.

Ayurvedic: Sarpagandhaa of Ayurvedic texts was not the Sarpagandhaa of modern medicine. (Sarpagandhaa was equated with Naakuli, Sarpach- hatrikaa and Varshaasu Chha- trikaaraa. Sarpagandhaa and Sarpasugandhaa were synonyms of Naakuli.)

Folk: Chhotaa Chaand.

Action: Root—decoction is employed to increase uterine contractions and for expulsion of foetus in difficult cases. The total alkaloidal extract of the root induces bradycardia, hypotension, sedation. It finds application in hypochondria, neuropsychi- atric disorders, psychosis and schizophrenia.

Key application: In mild, essential hypertension (borderline hypertension, especially with elevated tension of the sympathetic nervous system, for example, sinus tachycardia, anxiety, tension and psychomotor irritation, when dietetic measures alone are not sufficient. (German Commission E.)

(Average daily dose: 600 mg drug corresponding to 6 mg total alkaloid.) Treatment is usually administered with a diuretic to prevent fluid retention which may develop if Rauvolfia root is given alone. (WHO.) Contraindicated in depression, bleeding disorders, gastric and duodenal ulcers. (Sharon M. Herr.) Also contraindicated in pregnancy, since it has both teratogenic and abortifacient potential. (Francis Brinker.)

The root and root bark are rich in alkaloids, the most important being reserpine, others, around 30, which include ajmaline, ajmalicine (raubasine), ajmalicine, yohimbine, coryanthine, iso-ajmaline, neo-ajmaline, papaver- ine, raubasine, rauwolscine, rescin- namine, reserpine, sarpagine, serpentine, serpentinine, serpinine and de- serpidine.

Reserpine is hypotensive and tranquilizer, used for certain forms of mental disorders. Ajmalicine (raubasine) and rescinnamine are also hypoten- sive and tranquilizer. Deserpidine is sedative, as well as hypotensive. Aj- maline exhibits antiarrhythmic activity.

A number of Rauvolfia species are found in India: R. beddomei Hook. f.; R. densiflora Benth ex Hook. f. (Himalayas, Khasi and Aka Hills; Western and Eastern Ghats); R. micrantha Hook. f; known as Malabar Rauvolfia, (Kerala, up to an altitude of 300 m)

The roots of R. beddomei contain ajmalicine, sarpagine and serpentine, but no reserpine. R. densiflora yielded 0.51% of total alkaloids (reserpine 0.01%). R. micrantha gave ajmalicine, raunamine, reserpiline, sarpagine, neosarpagine, in addition to reserpine.

(In classical Ayurvedic texts, Nakuli and Gandha-naakuli were included in compound formulations for mental diseases.)... rauvolfia serpentina

(Linn.) Pich.

Synonym: V pubescens Urv.

Family: Apocynaceae.

Habitat: Native to Europe. Found in the Himalayas, West Bengal and Palni Hills.

English: Green Periwinkle, Greater Periwinkle.

Action: Astringent, antihaemor- rhagic, hypotensive. Used to treat menorrhagia and leucorrhoea.

The herb contains indole alkaloids; majdine, isomajdine, majoridine, aku- ammine, akuammigine, carpanaubine, irvine, reserpine, serpentine, sarpagi- ne, tetrahydroalstonine, vincamajine and vincamajoreine; and tannins.

The cytotoxic dimeric alkaloids present in Vinca rosea L., used in the treatment of certain types of cancer, have not been found in Vinca major.... vinca major

Slow heart rate; less than 55 beats per minute. Cause may be disease of the heart muscle or may lie in the CNS (central nervous system). May also be caused by disorder of the thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) with dropsy-like swelling of face and hands. Of recent years bradycardia has been associated with beta-blocker drugs, reserpine and digitalis alkaloids given in excess. Wrist pulse is slow. In the aged it is present as weakness and worsened by hypothermia.

In total heart block a rate of 36 or less is due to failure of conduction from atria to ventricles: requires artificial pace maker.

Modern herbalism (phytotherapy) employs: Hawthorn berries, Prickly Ash bark (berries preferred for circulatory disorders), Lily of the Valley leaves, Bugleweed (Lycopus virginicus), Broom, Heart’s Ease, Holy Thistle, Cactus (Night blooming cereus), Nutmeg, Saffron, Lemon Balm, Thuja, Figwort, Ginseng.

Lily of the Valley has a specific action in the heart muscle.

One of the purest and positive stimulants known for increasing the pulse rate is Cayenne Pepper. A few grains sprinkled on a meal or added to a beverage coaxes the heart to increase its output. To give the heart just that little extra support it may need, gentle cardiac stimulants can be found in the kitchen: Cloves, Ginger, Horseradish, Peppermint, Red Sage, Garden Sage.

Where a slow beat arises from a serious heart condition the underlying disorder should receive priority. In the event of an emergency the restorative, Camphor, may be given until the doctor comes:– 1-5 drops oil of Camphor in a teaspoon of honey. Even inhalation of the oil is known to increase pulse rate.

A slow pulse can be increased in pace by vagal relaxation. The pulse may be slow because of an excess of bile salts in the blood when a liver remedy (say Dandelion) would be indicated. Slow pulse of convalescence (Gentian), diabetes (Goat’s Rue), glandular fever (Poke root), jaundice (Dandelion), low thyroid (Kelp), congestion in the brain (Cypripedium), nervous exhaustion (Ginseng).

Practitioner. Broom (Spartiol Drops), 20 drops thrice daily. (Klein) Diet and supplements. See: DIET – HEART AND CIRCULATION. ... bradycardia

Rauvolfia serpentina

Apocynaceae

San: Sarpagandha

Hin: Chandrabhaga

Mal: Sarpagandhi, Amalpori

Tam: Chivan amelpodi

Kan: Sutranbhi

Tel: Patalagandhi

Introduction: Serpentwood is an erect, evergreen , perennial undershrub whose medicinal use has been known since 3000 years. Its dried root is the economical part which contains a number of alkaloids of which reserpine, rescinnamine, deserpidine, ajamalacine, ajmaline, neoajmalin, serpentine, -yohimbine are pharmacologically important. The root is a sedative and is used to control high blood pressure and certain forms of insanity. In Ayurveda it is also used for the treatment of insomnia, epilepsy, asthma, acute stomach ache and painful delivery. It is used in snake-bite, insect stings, and mental disorders. It is popular as “Madman’s medicine” among tribals. ‘Serpumsil’ tablet for high blood pressure is prepared from Rauvolfia roots. Reserpine is a potent hypotensive and tranquillizer but its prolonged usage stimulates prolactine release and causes breast cancer. The juice of the leaves is used as a remedy for the removal of opacities of the cornea.

Distribution: Rauvolfia serpentina is native to India. Several species of Rauvolfia are observed growing under varying edaphoclimatic conditions in the humid tropics of India, Nepal, Burma, Thailand, Bangladesh, Indonesia , Cambodia, Philippines and Sri Lanka. In India, it is cultivated in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Kerala, Assam, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh (Dutta and Virmani, 1964). Thailand is the chief exporter of Rauvolfia alkaloids followed by Zaire, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Nepal. In India, it has become an endangered species and hence the Government has prohibited the exploitation of wild growing plants in forest and its export since 1969.

Botany: Plumier in 1703 assigned the name Rauvolfia to the genus in honour of a German physcian -Leonhart Rauvolf of Augsburg. The genus Rauvolfia of Apocynaceae family comprises over 170 species distributed in the tropical and subtropical parts of the world including 5 species native to India. The common species of the genus Rauvolfia and their habitat as reported by Trivedi (1995) are given below.

R. serpentina Benth. ex Kurz.(Indian serpentwood) - India ,Bangladesh, Burma, Sri Lanka, Malaya, Indonesia

R. vomitoria Afz. (African serpentwood) - West Africa, Zaire, Rwanda, Tanzania R. canescens Linn. syn. R. tetraphylla (American serpentwood) - America, India R. mombasina - East Africa , Kenya, Mozambique

R. beddomei - Western ghats and hilly tracts of Kerala

R. densiflora - Maymyo, India

R. microcarpa - Thandaung

R. verticillata syn. R. chinensis - Hemsl

R. peguana - Rangoon-Burma hills

R. caffra - Nigeria, Zaire, South Africa

R. riularis - Nmai valley

R. obscura - Nigeria, Zaire

R. serpentina is an erect perennial shrub generally 15-45 cm high, but growing upto 90cm under cultivation. Roots nearly verticle, tapering up to 15 cm thick at the crown and long giving a serpent-like appearance, occasionally branched or tortuous developing small fibrous roots. Roots greenish-yellow externally and pale yellow inside, extremely bitter in taste. Leaves born in whorls of 3-4 elliptic-lanceolate or obovate, pointed. Flowers numerous borne on terminal or axillary cymose inflorscence. Corolla tubular, 5-lobed, 1-3 cm long, whitish-pink in colour. Stamens 5, epipetalous. Carpels 2, connate, style filiform with large bifid stigma. Fruit is a drupe, obliquely ovoid and purplish black in colour at maturity with stone containing 1-2 ovoid wrinkled seeds. The plant is cross-pollinated, mainly due to the protogynous flowers (Sulochana ,1959).

Agrotechnology: Among the different species of Rauvolfia, R. serpentina is preferred for cultivation because of higher reserpine content in the root. Though it grows in tropical and subtropical areas which are free from frost, tropical humid climate is most ideal. Its common habitats receive an annual rain fall of 1500-3500 mm and the annual mean temperature is 10-38 C. It grows up to an elevation of 1300-1400m from msl. It can be grown in open as well as under partial shade conditions. It grows on a wide range of soils. Medium to deep well drained fertile soils and clay-loam to silt-loam soils rich in organic matter are suitable for its cultivation. It requires slightly acidic to neutral soils for good growth.

The plant can be propagated vegetatively by root cuttings, stem cuttings or root stumps and by seeds. Seed propagation is the best method for raising commercial plantation. Seed germination is very poor and variable from 10-74%. Seeds collected during September to November give good results. It is desirable to use fresh seeds and to sock in 10% sodium chloride solution. Those seeds which sink to the bottom should only be used. Seeds are treated with ceresan or captan before planting in nursery to avoid damping off. Seed rate is 5-6 kg/ha. Nursery beds are prepared in shade, well rotten FYM is applied at 1kg/m2 and seeds are dibbled 6-7cm apart in May-June and irrigated.

Two months old seedlings with 4-6 leaves are transplanted at 45-60 x 30 cm spacing in July -August in the main field. Alternatively, rooted cuttings of 2.5-5cm long roots or 12-20cm long woody stems can also be used for transplanting. Hormone (Seradix) treatment increases rooting. In the main field 10-15 t/ha of FYM is applied basally. Fertilisers are applied at 40:30:30kg N: P2O5 :K2O/ha every year. N is applied in 2-3 splits. Monthly irrigation increases the yield. The nursery and the main field should be kept weed free by frequent weeding and hoeing. In certain regions intercroping of soybean, brinjal, cabbage, okra or chilly is followed in Rauvolfia crop.

Pests like root grubs (Anomala polita), moth (Deilephila nerii), caterpillar (Glyophodes vertumnalis), black bugs and weevils are observed on the crop, but the crop damage is not serious. The common diseases reported are leaf spot (Cercospora rauvolfiae, Corynespora cassiicola), leaf blotch (Cercospora serpentina), leaf blight (Alternaria tenuis), anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides), die back (Colletotrichum dematrium), powdery mildew (Leviellula taurica), wilt (Fusarium oxysporum), root-knot (Meloidogyne sp.), mosaic and bunchy top virus diseases. Field sanitation, pruning and burning of diseased parts and repeated spraying of 0.2% Dithane Z-78 or Dithane M-45 are recommended for controlling various fungal diseases. Rauvolfia is harvested after 2-3 years of growth. The optimum time of harvest is in November -December when the plants shed leaves, become dormant and the roots contain maximum alkaloid content. Harvesting is done by digging up the roots by deeply penetrating implements (Guniyal et al, 1988).

Postharvest technology: The roots are cleaned washed cut into 12-15cm pieces and dried to 8-10% moisture.

The dried roots are stored in polythene lined gunny bags in cool dry place to protect it from mould. The yield is 1.5-2.5 t/ha of dry roots. The root bark constitutes 40-45% of the total weight of root and contributes 90% of the total alkaloids yield.

Properties and activity: Rauvolfia root is bitter, acrid, laxative, anthelmintic, thermogenic, diuretic and sedative. Over 200 alkaloids have been isolated from the plant. Rauvolfia serpentina root contains 1.4-3% alkaloids. The alkaloids are classsified into 3 groups, viz, reserpine, ajmaline and serpentine groups. Reserpine group comprising reserpine, rescinnamine, deserpine etc act as hypotensive, sedative and tranquillising agent. Overdose may cause diarrhoea, bradycardia and drowsiness. Ajmaline, ajmalicine, ajmalinine, iso-ajmaline etc of the ajmaline group stimulate central nervous system, respiration and intestinal movement with slight hypotensive activity. Serpentine group comprising serpentine, sepentinine, alstonine etc is mostly antihypertensive. (Husain,1993; Trivedi, 1995; Iyengar, 1985).... serpentwood