MEDICINAL PLANTS OF SIKKIM

 

 

Basic Information

 

                

Species                                   : Rauwalfia serpentina (Linn.) Benth

Local Name                              : Sarpa gandha (Nep)

Synonym                                 :

Family                                      : Apocynaceae

Habitat                                   : It is an erect, perennial evergreen undershrub 15-45 cm. High, wild in plains

                                              and hills, in deep, fertile rich in organic matter soils in subtropical areas.

Distribution                 : Distributed in waste places and in subtropical areas. It is usually found in moist decidous forests at altitudes ranging

                                     from sea level to 1,200 m.

Sikkim                        : Rangpo, Ranipool.

Outside                      : Jammu & Kashmir (Jammu, Gjansu); Himachal Pradesh (Naurangabad forest division, Sismour); Uttar Pradesh (Sabaranpur,

                                    Halduani, Dehradun, bijnour, Najibabad, Gorakhpur, bahraich, Pilibhit, Kheri, Siualik range, Rohelkhand, Lucknow, Allahabad,

                                    Lalitpur, Hamirpur, banda); Assam (Goalpara, Nowgang, Lakhimpur, sibsagar); Meghalaya (Garro, Khasia, Jyantia hills);

                                    West Bengal (Calcutta, Burea division, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Siliguri); Orrisa (Jeypore Karaput, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal,

                                   Sambalpur, Kalihandi, Puri); Bihar (Singhbhum, Patna, Bhagalpur, Purnea); Madhya Pradesh (Baster, Bilaspur, Raipur); Maharastra

                                   (Khandala, Poona, Satera, Kolaba, Mahabaleshwar, Sauantuadi); Andhra Pradesh (Chittor, Vishakapatnam); Karnataka

                                    Shimoga, Belgam, Sambrani range); Andaman and Nicobar (Allmost all islands); Kerala (Palghat). Also distributed in Nepal,

                                    Bangladesh, Pakistan, Srilanka, Myanmar, Thailand and China.

Morphological information

Erect herbaceous undershrubs upto 1m tall. Root- tap root tuberous, soft, sometimes irregularly nodular; bark pale brown, corky with irregular longitudinal fissure leaves in whorls of three large 7.5- 17.5 cm x 4.3- 6.8 cm, obovate, tapering at the base to the short petiole; smooth shining green above, pale beneath. Flowers pink or rosy, shortly pedicelled, in terminal or axillary corymbose cyrnes. Drupes didymous or solitary, shining, purplish black when ripe. Seeds I or 2 ovoid. Flowers during April to October.

Flowering                       :

Fruiting                          :

History                          :

Parts                             : Leaves and root.

Status                           : Endangered.

Phytochemistry

The alkaloid rescinnamine is used for the treatment of hypertension in initial doses of 0.25 to I mg daily for upto 14 days and maintenance doses of 250 to 500 g daily.Other alkaloid aimatine and ajmalicine are being also used therapeutically for the treatment of cardiac asshythmias and circulatory disease respectively.

 

Ayurvedic

" Sarpagandhadi Bati". which is prepared with Rouvolfla serpentina Bardostachys grandiflora, Cannabis sativa and Trachyspennum ammi which proved to be a good hypotensive and sedative, prescribed in insomnia, schizophrenia, epilepsy, stress, anxiety, depression etc.

Unani                         :  Hala Fishar used for blood pressure.

Traditional

5-10 gm fine powder of sarpagandha (roots of R. serpentina) along with 15ml honey or 10-30 ml water decoction is taken twice daily for the treatment of Schizophrenia, instantly, epilepsy and blood pressure.

Other

Rauvolfla in various forms- powders, dry or liquid extract and tablet is used mainly as a hypotensive agent in different doses. It is used as major tranquiliser.

 

 


Reference

1. Anonymous. The Wealth of India Reprinted 1998. National Institute of Science Communication, CSIR. New Delhi Pg 376-378.

2. Chopra R.N.; S.L. Nayar; I.C. Chopra 1999. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. National Institute

3. Pakrashi Satyesh chandra, Asima chatterjee 1995. The treatise of Indian Medicinal Plants Vol 4 Publications and information Directorate New Delhi Pg 116-123.

4. Sushil Kumar, Janardhan Singh, N.C. Shah, Vinay Ranjan (1997). Indian Medicinal and Aromatic plants facing Genetic Erosion CIMAP Lucknow. Pg 178-181.

5. Thakur R.S.; H.S. Puri; Akhtar Hussain 1989. Major medicinal Plants of India CIMAP Lucknow Pg 439-440.