# Indian Medicinal Plants/Natural Order Asclepiadeæ

​Uses : — The root is considered to possess alterative tonic properties, and has been employed as a substitute for Sarsaparilla (Ph. Ind.) The stalks and leaves are used in the form of decoction in fevers (Watt).
The roots are somewhat similar in appearance to those of Hemidesmus, but have not the same coumarin odour. The bark is of a dark brown colour, and adheres closely to the wood, which is much harder, and differs in structure from that of Hemidesmus in having a large central pith. The roots are seldom branched but here and there a few fine fibres are given off; they are almost tasteless. For the properties and use of this plant, the reader is referred to Hemidesmus.
Chemical composition. -The roots contain a caoutchouclike substance soluble in benzol, and a soft, brown tenacious resin soluble in ether. Treated with alcohol the powdered root affords about 10 per cent, of dry extract, containing red colouring matter, tannic acid and a small quantity of coumarin. The tannic acid strikes a green colour with ferric chloride and if to this green mixture a drop of soda solution is added, a bright, blue zone is seen to surround the red coloured spot formed by the alkali. This reaction is peculiar to cinchotannic acid. No alkaloidal body could be detected in this drug, (Pharmacographia Indica, Vol. II. p. 424).
N. 0. ASCLEPIADEÆ.
768. Hemidesmus indicus, Br. h.f.b.i., iv. 5.
Syn. : — Asclepias pseudo-sarsa, Roxb. 254.
Sans. : — Ananta ; Sugandhi ; Gopi-mûlam ; Sáriva.
Vern : — Magrabu, jangli-chanbelli, hindi-sálsá (H.) ; Ananta-mûl (B.); Sugandi-pálá, nannári, nát-ká-aushbah (Dec); Upalsára (Bomb.); Anantamûl, upalasari (Mar.); Nannári, (Tam.) ; Gadisugandhi, pála-chukkani-déru, sugandhipála, tella sugandhipála, pálasugandhi, muttapulgam (Tel.) ; Sogadaheru, sugandha-pálada-gida (Kan.).
Habitat: — Northern India, from Banda to Oudh and Sikkim, and southwards to Travancore.
Twining shrubs. Leaves opposite, hairy, or pubescent beneath . Leaves most variable in form, length, and breadth ; from broadly obovate to oblong, elliptic, linear or linear-lanceolate, obtuse, or apiculate; the shorter and broader 1-1½ by 1-1½in., the longer 4 by ¼in., the broadest semetimes retuse at the tip, the narrowest finely acuminate, those on the young shoots often white along ​ the stout midrib ; veins reticulate. Petiole 1/6in. Pedicels short, clothed with ovate acute imbricating bracts. Calyx 1/10in., long, glabrous outside ; lobes ovate, acute, margins ciliate. Corolla 1/6in. diam., rotate, green without, purple within, tube very short, lobes fleshy, ovate-oblong, acuminate, valvate. Follicles 4-5in. Seeds 1/5in., ovate-oblong, flattened, black ; coma lin., pure white.
Parts used : — The root ; juice.
Uses : — In the more southern parts of the Concan, the milky juice is dropped into inflamed eyes ; it causes copious lachrymation, and afterwards a sensation of coolness in the part. The root is tied up in plantain leaves and roasted in hot ashes ; it is then beaten into a mass with cumin and sugar and administered with ghi as a remedy in heat or inflammation of the urinary passages. As a lêp, the root is applied to swellings ( Dymock).
The root is prescribed usually in the form of syrup. Sometimes the whole plant is pounded and a congee made with rice, or an infusion prepared of the dried leaves (Watt).
Roots are officinal in the Indian Pharmacopœia, and are used as a substitute for sarsaparillla. " They are said to be sweet, demulcent, alterative, diaphoretic, diuretic and tonic. Useful in loss of appetite, disinclination for food, fever, skin diseases, syphilis and leucorrrhæa" (Dutt's Materia Medica).
" In chronic cough and diarrhœa, the hot infusion with milk and sugar acts as an alterative and tonic, specially in children " (Dr. R. L. Dutt in Watt's Dictionary).
The aroma and taste of the drug is due to the presence of coumarin which can be obtained in part by boiling the root with water. Crystals of coumarin can be prepared from the residue after distillatian by drying and extracting with alcohol. This is no doubt the substance obtained by Garden in 1837 and called smilasperic acid, and subsequently by Scott in 1843, who described it as a crystalline stearopten.
(Pharmacographic Indica, Vol. II. p. 448).
769. Periploca aphylla, Dcne, h.f.b.i., iv. 12.
Vern. : — Báta, barri, barrara (Pb.) ; Shabbi, barrarra (Pushtu); Hum, huma (Afg.) ; Um, nuna (Bel.) ; Buraye (Sind.). ​ Habitat: — Baluchistan, Trans-Indus, Salt Range, Outer Himalaya to the Chenab ; Merwara.
An erect branching shrub with milky juice, leafless or nearly so. Stems many, as thick as a goose-quill or less, smooth or with pubescent tips. Leaves (when present) ¼ in long, thick, ovate or oblong, acute, nerves inconspicuous. Cymes many-flowered, often opposite, ½-l in. long and broad, on short thick peduncles or branching from the base ; bracts ovate-oblong, caducous from above the base. Flowers fragrant. Calyx glabrous, ⅛ in. long ; lobes ovate-oblong, obtuse. Coralla greenish and glabrous outside, purple within ; lobes reflexed, ¼ in. long, oblong, obtuse, densely bearded inside towards the apex. Corona-lobes ¼ in. long, transversely oblong at the base, each terminating in a long filiform process with a recurved apex. Stamens with glabrous filaments. Follicles on short thick peduncles, widely divaricate, 3-7 in. long, woody, terete tapering to a point. Seeds in. long, coma 1 in. long. (Duthie).
Use : — The milky juice is used in Sind as an external application to tumors and swellings (Murray).
770. Secamone emetica, Br. h.f.b.i., iv. 13.
Vern. : — Shada-búri (B.).
Habitat : — Mountains of the South Deccan Peninsula.
A diffuse, semi-shrubby, perennial herb. Stems numerous, slightly twining, slender, wiry, glabrous, cylindric, much thickened at nodes.' Leaves 2-2½in., linear-lanceolate or linear, acute at base, tapering and very acute at apex, glabrous. Petioles short, slender, 1½-3 by ⅛-½in., rather glaucous beneath, nerves faint (J. D. Hooker). Flowers yellow, on slender, pubescent pedicels. Cymes stalked, lax, dichotomous, bracts small, woolly pubescent. Calyx pubescent, segments ciliolate. Corolla under ¼in. diam., lobes oblong-oval, obtuse. Follicles 2-3in., much acuminate, smooth.
Use : — Regarded by natives as possessing powerfully emetic properties (Ph. Ind.).
771. Oxystelma esculentum, Br. h.f.b.i., iv. 17
Syn. : — Asclepias rosea, Roxb. 254. ​ Sans. : — Doogdhiká.
Vern. : — Gharote (Pb.) ; Guray kheeree, dhoodhee (Sind.) ; Doodhlutta (Beng. and Hind.); Khirai (B.) ; Doodee-palla (Tel.) ; Dudhiká (Bomb.) ; Dudhani (Mar.).
Habitat: — Throughout the plains and lower hills of India, from the Punjab to Assam, and Ceylon.
A very slender, climbing, perennial, deciduous herb ; roots fibrous, form the lower nodes. Stems numerous, long, much-branched, slender, quite glabrous. Leaves deciduous, 4-6 by ½-1in., membranous, lanceolate, linear, rounded at base, tapering to very acute apex, glabrous, thin, pale green, venation pellucid. Petiole ⅜in., slender. Flowers pale, cream-colour, veined and stained with purplish streak, large, drooping, lin. or more in diam., on long slender pedicels, which are thickened upwards, cyme from between the petioles, 3 or 5-fid, lax, racemose, long stalked, much exceeding leaves. Bracts minute. Calyx- segments lanceolate, acute, glabrous, thin. Corolla ¾-1in. diam. Lobes rather shallow, ovate, triangular ; column prominent ; filaments very broad. Follicles rather membranous, 2½in., somewhat falcate, a little inflated, smooth (and often abortive) ; seeds very numerous, broadly ovate, flat, ⅛in., carnose ; coma ¾in. long.
Uses : — A decoction of the plant is used as a gargle in aphthous ulcerations of the mouth and in sore-throat- The milky sap forms a wash for ulcers in Sind. In combination with turpentine it is prescribed for itch (Murray).
Probably on account of the milky juice which it exudes, native practitioners ascribe galactagogue properties to this plant. It has a very bitter taste, and is said to possess marked antiperiodic properties (S. Arjun).
The fresh roots are, in Orissa, held to be a specific for jaundice. (W. W. Hunter).
772. Calotropis gigantea, R. Br. h.f.b.l, iv. 17.
Syn. : — Asclepias gigantea, Roxb. 25. Sans: — Arka. ​ Vern. : — Madár, ák, ág, árk, ákond, ákan (H.): Âkanda, guartâkand, swet-ákond (B.) ; Ahauna (Santal.) ; Auk (Nepal); Akra, rúi, akandá mândárá (Bomb.) ; Akanda, rui, akda cha jhada (Mar.) ; Akado, ákdámu jhadá, dhola akdo (Guz.) ; Bijelosha (Sind.) ; Yercum, erukkam, erukku (Tam.); Jilledu, jilleru, nella-jilledu, mandaramu, jilleduchettu, yekka (Tel.) ; Yekka, ekke-mále, yokada (Kan."); Erukku, yerica, belerica (Mal.) ; Kádrati (Gond.).
Habitat : — Throughout India, chiefly in waste land.
A middle-sized shrub ; young parts covered with appressed white tomentum ; bark pale. Leaves subsessile, 4-8 by l-4in., obovate or oblong, acute or acuminate, coriaceous, cottony beneath ; base cordate, often amplexicaul. Brand is says the flowers are inodorous. They have a faint odour, not at all unpleasant. Flowers downy outside, on pedicels, arranged in axillary or sub-terminal pedunculate, simple or compound, umbels or corymbs ; bud ovoid. Corolla ½-lin. across, dull-purple or purplish lilac, or white ; lobes ovate-lanceolate, spreading. Corona-scales elongated, but truncate at the apex, hairy. Follicle 3-4in. long, recurved. Seeds ovate, ¼in. long, with a bright, silk-white coma.
Parts used : — The root ; bark ; leaves and juice.
Uses : — " The root-bark is said to promote the secretions and to be useful in skin diseases, enlargements of the abdominal viscera, intestinal worms, cough, ascites, anasarca, &c. The milky juice is regarded as a drastic purgative and caustic, and is generally used as such in combination with milky juice of Euphorbia neriifolia. The flowers are considered digestive, stomachic, tonic and useful in cough, asthma, catarrh and loss of appetite. The leaves, mixed with rock salt, are roasted within closed vessels, so that the fumes may not escape. The ashes thus produced are given with whey in ascites and enlargements of the abdominal viscera. The root-bark, reduced to a paste with sour conjee, is applied to elephantiasis of the legs and scrotum. The milky juice of C. gigantea and Euphorbia nerii-folia, are made into tents with the powdered wood of Berberis asiatica, for introduction into sinuses and fistula in ano. The milky juice is applied to carious teeth for relief of pain" (Dutt). ​ By the Mahomedan writers the juice is described as caustic, a purge for phlegm, depilatory, and the most acrid of all milky juices. Medicinally, it is useful in ringworm of the scalp and to destroy piles ; mixed with honey, it may be applied to aphthæ of the mouth ; a piece of cotton dipped in it may be inserted into a hollow tooth to relieve the pain. Hakim Mir Abdul Hamid strongly recommends it in leprosy, hepatic and splenic enlargements, dropsy and worms. The milk is a favorite application to painful joints, swellings, &c, the fresh leaves also, slightly roasted, are used for the same purpose. Oil, in which the leaves have been boiled, is applied to paralysed parts, a powder of the dried leaves is dusted upon wounds to destroy excessive granulation and promote healthy action.
In want of virility the following prescription is in vogue. Take 125 of the flowers, dry and powder, then mix with one tola each of cloves nutmegs, mace and pellitory root, and make into pills of six massas each. One pill may be taken daily dissolved in milk (Dymock).
The root, bark, and juice of this plant are used in medicine for their emetic, diaphoretic, alterative, and purgative properties. In the treatment of dysentery, the dried bark of the root is stated to be an excellent substitute for Ipecacuanha. The bark, root, and dried milky sap may be used in small doses in certain cutaneous affections, such as leprosy and secondary syphilis ; the root-bark, in large doses, is an emetic It is administered to promote secretions, and is stated to be useful in enlargements of the abdominal viscera, intestinal worms, cough, ascites, anasarca, &c. The flowers are considered digestive, stomachic, tonic, useful in asthma, catarrh, and loss of appetite. The powder of the root in 3 to 5 grains promotes gastric secretion and acts as a mild stimulant and may be given with carminatives in dyspepsia. It is also given as a febrifuge.
773. C. procera, Br., h.f.b.i., iv. 18.
Sans. : — Alarka.
Vern. : — Spulmei ; Spalmak ; Pashkand (Trans. Ind.) Ak ​ (Sind); Mándára (Mar.) ; Safed-ak, ak, madàr (Hind.) ; Vellerku (Tam.); Spalwakka (Afg.).
Habitat: — Western and Central India, from Sindh and the Punjab to Behar and Bombay.
Habit, leaves, and inflorescence as of C. gigantea, excepting that the leaves, 8-9 by 4in., are more gradually narrowed and somewhat less cottony beneath when mature, and the peduncles rather longer. Flowers purplish red, silvery outside, odorous ; buds hemispherical. Corolla campanulate, lobes erect. Corona-scales acute, nearly as broad as long, glabrous or pubescent. Follicles as of C. gigantea. Both the plants have a white, milky, acid juice and substantial roots.
Rev. A. K. Nairne, in the Flowering Plants of Western India writes : — * T never could make out the difference between the two species, as the distinctions given seemed to me to be not only trifling, but also not constant ; and Roxburgh knew of only one species. There are also various differences of opinion among the authorities as to the distribution of the two species. One or both of these shrubs has the property of maintaining a very low temperature, Hooker having found the fresh milky juice to be 70°, when the soil surrounding the roots was from 90° to 104° and the exposed leaves 80°, when the surrounding earth was about 105.
Uses : — The medicinal properties of this plant are similar to those of C. gigantea. The milky juice is, moreover, used as a blistering agent. The fresh root is used as a tooth-brush, and is considered by Pathans to cure toothache (Watt).
The flowers believed to have detergent properties. (S. Arjun).
The fresh milk is employed in the Punjab for the purposes of infanticide. Tn a drachm dose the fresh juice will kill a large drop in 15 minutes ; its action, though slower, resembles that of hydrocyanic acid, but commences with foaming at the mouth. (Dr. Aitchison, in Watt's Dictionary).
The flowers are used in cases of cholera (Dr. Thompson, in Watt's Dictionary).
In the Second Report of the Indigenous Drugs Committee, (p. Ill), it is stated : —
Calotropis procera and Calotropis gigantea (tincture used) : —Conflicting reports of the action of this drug were received from those who experimented with it. Major Sutherland, Principal of the Lahore Medical College, tried it at the Mayo Hospital and reports that it has not proved of much value ​ in dysentery. Captain 0. Dykes, M. B., Civil Surgeon of Bareilly, reports that with the tincture of the drug in dysentery, his results were " as good but not I think better than those ordinarily obtained in mild eases by the use of sodium and magnesium sulphate." He states that he had no opportunities of comparative trials in unusually severe cases. He is of opinion that in the absence of special advantages over salines owing to the expense of making " Galenical " preparations of madar that the use of this is not indicated. It is not understood what special expense is referred to, as there cannot be much expense in making a tincture of this any more than of any other drug, Captain Dykes promises a further report after renewed experiments with crude preparations of the drug which is readily obtainable at Bareilly. The President of this Committee (Colonel G.F.A. Haris, M.D., F.R.C.P.) used this drug extensively at Ali Masjid 1880 where there were very numerous cases of all degrees of severity of dysentery amongst sepoys of the 16th Lucknow Regiment with which Regiment he then was and when all the store of ipecacuanha had become exhausted. Many notes were kept of cases so treated, and the conclusion arrived at was that in mild cases of dysentery the crude powder of the dried root of the madar (which grew abundantly in the Khyber Pass) certainly appeared to do good, and cases got well on it, but that it was certainly not a specific in all cases and had much the same tendency as Ipecacuanha, to produce vomiting and depression. The evacuations became bilious after madar much the same as they do after ipecacuanha.
Captain W. M. Anderson in Kurram reports that he found it " useful in mild subacute cases of dysentery, but recovery was slow, and it had little or no effect in severe cases." Dr. F. X. de Attaides, Superintendent of Jail, Katha, was very suceessful in one case of acute dysentery with madar and used 15 m. of the tincture four times daily. He also considered it a " good cholagogue, " but it would seem that he is hardly justified in drawing any conclusion either as to its effects in dysentery or as a cholagogue from the results produced in a solitary case.
Again, at page 41 of the Same Report, the following appears : —
Purpose. — To determine the value of Calotropis in dysentery in the place of ipecacuanha. For the purpose two preparations have been made from it, viz., a tincture and a powder. The tincture has been made up according to the recipe of the British Pharmacopoeia.
Dose :— of the tincture ½—1 fluid drachm ; of the powder 5—10 grains.*
Remarks.— The active principle of Calotropis has not been accurately determined, but it is believed to be a yellow bitter substance which makes but a very minute percentage of the plant's tissue.
In native Indian medicine the powdered root-bark of Calotropis inisconsiderable use. There can be no doubt that it is efficient as a drug, but the question before us is, is it as efficient as ipecacuanha for dysentery.
The following is a resume of the trials reported to the Indigenous Drugs Committee : —
Captain Childe, who used the minimum doses of the tincture, reported that the drug was found useful in acute and subacute dysentery, but that in cases of chronic diarrhoea no good effect was observed. Lieutenant-Colonel Nailer reported that in 30 grains dose the drug acted as an efficient emetic in one case. Captain Waters reported that it was tried in two cases of mild dysentery and appeared to have a slight effect. Captain K. Prasad reported that the powder is a good substitute for ipecacuanha in dysentery and that the tincture is not so efficacious as the powder. Civil Surgeon Maddox reported that an initial dose of 5 grains of the powder first given produced violent vomiting and purging. The pulvis should be given at first in small doses gradually increased. The tincture given in 30 m. doses produced vomiting and purging. In 20 m. doses it however had not that effect, the dose should be gradually increased. Lieutenant-Colonel Bartholomeusz reported that he tried pulvis C. procerie in two cases, of dysentery, but with no satisfactory results. Major Crawford reported that the drug was tried in several cases where ipecacuanha would otherwise have been administered and the results have not been very satisfactory. Major Macnamara reported that it was tried in a few cases, but no good effects were noticeable. Assistant Surgeon Ganga Singh reported that the tincture and powder of C procera have been used in bronchitis and dysentery and have been found efficacious. Major Powell reported that the tincture has been prescribed as a tonic and stomachic for debility and impaired appetite in five cases in doses of 20 m. with satisfactory results.
{{smaller|Chemical composition.— The authors of the Pharmacographia state, that by following the process of Duncan, 200 grammes of the powdered bark of C. gigantea yielded nothing like his mudarine, but 2'4 grammes of an acrid resin soluble in ether and alcohol. The latter solution reddens litmus ; the former on evaporation yields the resin as an almost colourless mass. When the aqueous liquid is separated from the crude resin, and much absolute alcohol added, an abundant precipitate of mucilage is obtained, and the liquid now contains a bitter principle, which after due concentration may be separated by means of tannic acid. Similar results were obtained by exhausting the bark of G. pvocera with dilute alcohol. The tannic compound of the bitter principle was mixed with carbonate of lead, dried, and boiled with spirit of wine. This after evaporation furnished an amorphous, very bitter mass, not soluble in water, but readily so in absolute alcohol. The solution is not precipitated by an alcoholic solution of acetate of lead. By purifying the bitter principle with chloroform or ether, it is at last obtained colourless. This bitter matter is probably the active principle of Calotropis ; we ascertained by means of the usual tests that no alkaloid occurs in the drug. The large juicy stem, especially that of C. gigantea, ought to be submitted to an accurate chemical and therapeutical examination, List's asclepione (Gmelin's Chemistry XVII., 368,) might then be sought for. (Op. cit„ 2nd Ed., p. 426.) Drs. Warden and Waddell (1881) commenced an examination of Madar root bark in Calcutta, and obtained a substance crystallizing in nodular masses, ​ which they thought would prove to be the Asclepione of List (Gmelin's Handb. XVII., 368), but subsequently (1885), upon Warden continuing the investigation of the drug in the Chemical Laboratory of the Gesundheits Amt, Berlin, he found the substance supposed to be asclepione to have a composition corresponding with the formula C$^{17}$H$^{28}$0, whereas List's asclepione is represented by the formula C$^{20}$H$^{34}$O$^3$.
The white cauliflower masses of crystals obtained in Berlin were found to agree closely, as regards their melting point and behaviour with solvents, with a substance called Alban obtained by Payen from gutta-percha (Jahresbericht uber die Fortsehder Chimie, 1852, p. 643), they were accordingly named Madar-alban. A yellow resin associated with maclar-alban in the drug was found to agree, in behaviour with reagents, with the Fluavil found by Payen in gutta-percha, but as regards chemical composition the madar-alban and madar- fluavil differed from the alban and fluavil of gutta-percha. Dr. Warden also separated from the drug a yellow bitter resin, which is probably the active principle, and Caoutchouc.
He found the percentage of the various principles (the results being calculated on the bark containing 8.079 per cent, of water) to be—
    Madar-alban 0.610
    Madar-fluavil 2.471
    Black acid resin. 0.997
    Caoutchouc free from M.-alban and M.-fluavil 0.855
    Yellow bitter resin (active principle) 0.093
The fact that the sap of the Madar plant contains in addition to Caoutchouc two principles analogous to the alban and fluavil of gutta-percha is a point of some interest, as madar guttapercha has been recommended as a substitute for the commercial article. For full particulars of the chemical examination, see Pharm Journ., Aug. 22nd, 1885.
Drs. E. G. Hill and A. P. Sarkar of Muir College, Allahabad, have analysed the root-bark and have published the results in the Journal Chemical Society {T. 1915 pp. 1437-1442), of which the following is a summary :—
FOUR kilos, of the root bark broken up and extd. with boiling 98% alc. for 3 hrs., gave 78 g, oil, 90 g. white solid (A) which sepd. partly on cooling and partly on concn,, and a residue which, when extd. with Et$_2$O and digested with H$_2$0, gave 330.5 g. gutta-percha-like residue and a small amt. of a yellow bitter principle. A long series of fractional crystns. from alc. of (A), identical with Warden and Waddel's " madaralban" Pharm J. 1885, 165), gave, as the less sol. portion, akundarol isovalerate (B), C$_{38}$H$_{61}$OC0$_2$C$_4$H$_9$ , needles, m. 210°, [a]$_D$$^{23}$ 119° in Et$_2$0, and as the more sol., mudarol isovalerate (C), C$_{30}$H$_{97}$OCO$_2$C$_4$H$_9$ , nodules, m. 140°, [a]$_D$$^{23}$ 128° in Et$_2$0. Sapon. of (B) gave akundarol (D), C$_{38}$H$_{62}$O$_2$ , needles, m. 215° ​ (acetate, needles, m, 222°), oxidized by Cr0$_3$ in HOAc to akundaric acid, isolated as the stiver salt, C$_{38}$H$_{59}$O$_3$ Ag, faintly green, amorphous. Sapon. of (C) gave mudarol (E), C$_{80}$H$_{43}$0$_2$ , hexagonal plates, m. 176° (acetate, needles, m. 195—6°), oxidized to mudaric acid, amorphous, m. 225°, purified through the silver salt C$_{30}$H$_{45}$O$_3$ Ag, faintly green, amorphous. (B), (C), and their alcs, gave color reactions very similar to those of cholesterol and phytosterol. A little (D) in 2 cc. CHC1$_3$, treated with 20 drops Ac$_2$O and 1 drop H$_2$S0$_4$ , gave the usual violet-pink color, while (E) gave an intense blue. The resinous material evolved NH$_3$ and amines when boiled with concd, aq. KOH, and was finally purified to a hard, brittle mass of the comp. C$_{34}$H$_{47}$O$_{12}$N. (Chemical Abstracts, Jan. 10, 1916 p. 41.)
No crystalline derivative could be isolated from the guttapercha-like substance and no alkaloid could be isolated, although the yellow bitter principle gave the usual alkaloidal reactions.
The following results were obtained from quantitative experiments on the powdered barks : —
| | From Young Plants. | From Old Plants. |
| Moisture | 12.1 | 10.2 |
| Spirit extract | 15 | 16.2 |
| Soluble in Water | 7.2 | 7.5 |
| Resins | 7.8 | 8.7 |
| Total Ash | 7.0 | 12.2 |
| Sand | 2.8 | 7.2 |
| Pure Ash | 4.2 | 5.0 |
It will be seen that the root-bark from the older plants has a higher percentage of acrid and bitter resinous matters than that from the younger plants. In this connection attention should be drawn to a remark made some years ago by Moodeen Sheriff of Madras. In the Supplement to the Pharmacopœia of India, page 364, he reports that he found that the older the plant, the more active is the bark in its effects. (Hooper).
The latex of C. procera contains a rennet ferment, which, like those present in the fig, papaw, etc., coagulates boiled milk more rapidly than raw milk and is very resistent to heat. Its action is inhibited by mercuric chloride, but not by salts of the alkali metals. (J. Ch. S. A. II. p. 977.)
{{{1}}} ​ ppt. becomes hard in the air. After washing with alc. H$_2$O and Me$_2$Co, there remains an ash free substance C$_{16}$H$_{27}$O. The resin-free serum reacts alk; upon heating, the protein is coagulated. "With HC1. HN0$_3$, picric acid and salts of heavy metals, it gives a turbidity, with NaOH a gelatinous ppt., and with alc. (N. H$_4$)$_2$S0$_4$ or Na Cl a pptn. of albumose-like protein compounds. The active substance is found in the serum after freeing from resin, protein and sulphates. Upon cone, it appears as a black, resin-like mass, with a smell like coniine which causes headache. It is sol. in H$_2$O and dil alc, with green fluorescene Et$_2$O ppts. from alc, a yellow N-free mass, hygroscopic, reacts neutral, color of H$_2$S0$_4$ solution is red. The same product is obtained by centrifuging and conc, of the serum and extraction with alc. or CH Cl$_3$. The pharmacological action of the juice upon warm or cold-blooded animals is like that of digitalis. O. 02-O. 04. G of the purified principle, injected subcutaneously, kills a rabbit in 30 minutes, a guinea pig in 15 minutes. With pigeons, there results vomiting ; in frogs 1-3 mg, causes systolic arrest of heart action in 6 minutes.--Ch. Abs., August 10, 1913, page 2663.
774. Asclepias curassavica, Linn, h.f.b.i., iv.18.
Vern. : — Kuraki ; Kákatuncli (Bomb.).
Habitat : — Bengal and various parts of India, a weed introduced from the West Indies throughout the Tropics.
Parts used :— The leaves, root and flowers.
Perennial, erect herbs. Leaves opposite, lanceolate, or oblong-lanceolate, acute, narrowed into a short petiole, glabrous. Cymes umbelliform. Umbels many-fid, shortly peduncled. Sepals glandular within. Corolla rotate, lobes reflexed, orange-red. Stamens unite and form a tube round the pistil. Filaments have horn-like appendage, the cucullus which performs functions as a nectary. Follicles turgid, smooth. Seeds comose, numerous.
Uses : — In Jamaica, it is called ' blood-flower, ' owing to its efficacy in dysentery. The root is regarded as purgative, and subsequently astringent. It is also a remedy in piles and gonorrhea (Ainslie ; Baden-powell, Panjab Products).
According to the U. S. Dispensatory, the root and expressed juice are emetic and also cathartic. The juice of the leaves has been strongly recommended as anthelmintic ; and, according to Dr. W. Hamilton, it is useful in arresting hemorrhages and in obstinate gonorrhœa. The medicine is, however, somewhat ​ uncertain in its operation (U. S. Dispensatory, 15th Edi., p. 1579). Ph. Indies, p. 142.
Dr. Guimaræ found it to act directly upon the organic muscular system, and specially upon the heart and blood-vessels, causing great constriction of the latter and distension of the larger arteries. Secondarily, it occasioned great dyspnœa, vomiting and diarrhœa (Dymock).
Dr. Gram (Arckice f. exp. path U. Pharm. xix ; 384) has found the plant to contain an active principle of a glucosidal character, which he has named asclepiadin, and appears to consider a purer form of the aselepiadin of Harnack and the asclepin of Feneulle This substance was yellowish, amorphous, and when freshly prepared very soluble in water, but either in solution or in a dry state it quickly decomposed, sugar being separated, and the residual compound becoming in proportion insoluble in water and inert. From an ethereal solution crystals gradually separated out, apparently identical with List's asclepione and quite inactive physiologically.
The physiological action of the unaltered aselepiadin was found to closely resemble that of emetin, but in view of the instability of the compound Dr. Gram doubts whether it can be advantageously introduced into medicine.
Asclepione C$^{40}$H$^{34}$O$^6$ was discovered by C. List in the milk Sap of Asclepias syriaca (Gmelin Handle 17, 368.) Fineulle separated a resinous substance and a bitter principle (asclepin) from Asclepias Vincet- xicum. (J. Pharm. 11,305,) (Pharmacographia Indica, Vol. II. p. 428).
775. Pentatropis spiralis, Dcne, h.f.b.i., iv. 19.
Vern. : — Ambarvel, van veri, arkapushpi (Ph.); Singarota (Bomb.); Shigaroti (Guz.).
Habitat: — The Punjab, Sindh, and eastwards to the Jumna river.
A small twining shrub with tuberous roots, almost glabrous. Leaves ¾-1½ in. long, variable in width, ovate oblong or linear, acute or obtuse ; usually mucronate, more or less fleshy, base rounded or cordate, petioles slender, 1/10-⅓in. long puberulous when young. Cymes 3-6-fld. Flowers greenish ; peduncles short or none, pedicels ¼-½ in. long, filiform. Calyx minute, deeply divided, puberulous ; lobes ovate, acuminate. Corolla ½in. in diam., divided nearly to the base ; segments ⅓-½ in. long, narrowly acuminate, glabrous outside, puberulous within. Corona-scales deltoid-ovate acute or acuminate. ​ in. Seeds 1/6 in. long, ovate, flat, minutely crenate at the lower end. (Duthie).
Use. : — The flowers are officinal in the Punjab (Stewart),
In Bombay, the dry roots given in decoction are considered astringent (S. Arjun),
776. Dœmia extensa, Br. h.f.b.l, iv. 20.
Syn. :— Asclepias echinata, Roxb. 256.
Sans : — Phala Kantaka, in allusion to its echinate follicles.
Vern. :— Utran, jutuk, sagovânee (H.); Trottoo, seealee, kureal (Punj.); Kharyal (Sind.) ; Chhágul-báti (B.) ; Velipparutti, uttámani (Tam.) ; Jittupáku, gurti-chettu(Tel.) ; Hálakoratige, Kuntiga; Juttiwe, Talaváranaballi. (Kan.); Utarni (Bomb); Nâgala dudheli (Guz) ; Utarani ; Utarandi (Mar).
Habitat: — Throughout India, from the Salt Range and the N.-W. Himalaya to Lower Bengal and Ceylon.
A perennial fœtid herb. Stems twining, more or less hispid, with short spreading hair and minute prickles. Leaves 2-4in., and nearly as broad, deeply cordate at base, with rounded lobes, acute, slightly hairy on both sides, ciliate, thin. Flowers pale-green, in long slender, pubescent pedicels. Cymes at first corymbose, afterwards racemose, peduncles coming off from between the bases of petioles, much longer than leaves. Bracts linear, acute. Sepals lanceolate, acute, slightly ciliate. Corolla nearly ¾in. diam., lobes acute, hairy above, ciliate, concave, spreading. Follicles 2-2½in., reflexed, long-beaked ; spines long, soft (Trimen). Seeds ¼in. long, broadly ovate, pubescent, margin quite entire (J. D. Hooker).
Uses : — In Southern India, a decoction of the leaves is given to children as an anthelmintic ; and their juice in asthma, and, combined with lime, in rheumatism (Ainslie).
In Western India, the plant has a general reputation as an expectorant and emetic. In Goa, the juice of the leaves is applied to rheumatic swellings (Dymock).
Dr. Oswald states that it is used as an expectorant in the ​ treatment of catarrhal affections, in ten grain doses, at the Pettah Hospital, Mysore (Ph. Inch).
The fresh leaves made into a pulp are used as a stimulating poultice in carbuncle, with good effect (S. Arjun).
Certainly valuable as an emetic with infants : the leaves are washed, and the juice expressed by rubbing between the palms of the hands ; the leaves of the dark Toolsi are similarly treated, and then a mixture of the juice is given : this preparation is a stimulating emetic. (Dr. Evers).
Used in infantile diarrhœa (Dr. Thompson, in Watt's Dictionary).
Dr. P. S. Mootooswamy notices the use of the juice in rheumatism in combination with ginger. It is used in the preparation of a purgative medicinal oil used in rheumatism, amenorrhœa and dysmenorrhœa, and that the root bark is used as a purgative in rheumatic cases in doses of 1 to 2 drachms mixed with cow's milk. (Ind. Med. Gaz., Feb. 1890).
The leaves like those of tobacco and Adhatoda, evolve alkaline fumes when ignited, and like them contain an alkaloid. The alkaloid, which we have provisionally named Dæmine, is soluble in ether, alcohol and water and shows no disposition to crystallize from these and other solvents. In contact with strong sulphuric acid it dissolves with a reddish violet colour, gradually fading ; with Fronde's reagent it gives a yellowish brown coloration. It forms crystalline deliquescent salts very soluble in water with a bitter taste. An alkaloid having similar properties was separated from a sample of the root. The ash from a sample of the dried and powdered leaves amounted to 15.33 per cent. (Pharinacographia Indica, Vol. II. p. 444.)
777. Holostemma Rheedii, Wall, h.f.b.i., iv. 21.
Syn. : — Asclepias annularis, Roxb. 253.
Vern. :- Tultuli, sidori, dudurli (Bomb.); Apung (Kol.); Apung, morou-rak (Santal.) ; Palay kirai (Tam.); Pala kura, pála gurugu, istarakula (Tel.).
Habitat :— Tropical Himalaya, from Sirmore to Sikkim ; Deccan Peninsula, from the Circars and Canara southwards.
A rather large perennial, woody at base. Stems twining, much branched, glabrous, shining. Leaves rather large, 3-5in., ​ oblongovate, cordate at base, with rounded lobes, suddenly acute at apex, glabrous above, pubescent on veins beneath, rather thick ; venation reticulate, glabrous ; bracts minute. Sepals oval, obtuse, glabrous. Follicles (one generally suppressed ?) (K. R. K.), 5-6in., fusiform, oblong, blunt, cylindric, with a deep furrow along each side, fleshy (Trimen).
" Flowers red-purple and white, subglobose. " Corolla l-l½in. diam., lobes subacute, incurved, white on back and margin.
Uses : — In the Concan, the roots are used as a remedy for scalding in gonorrhœa, and, beaten into a paste, are applied to the eyes in ophthalmia. In diabetes, the root rubbed to a paste is given in cold milk. In spermatorrhœa, the dried root, with an equal quantity of the root of Eriodendron anfractuosum, powdered, is given in 6 massa doses, with milk and sugar, twice daily (Dymock).
Rheede first drew attention to the medicinal virtues of the root, mentioning its value as an application for ophthalmia.
It is employed in decoction by the Santals, as a remedy for cough, and also for orchitis (Revd. A. Campbell).
778. Sarcostemma brevistigma, W. & A. h.f.b.i., iv. 26.
Syn. : — Asclepias acida, Roxb. 251.
Vern. :— Somalatá (H. and B.) ; Soma (Bomb.); Tigatshu-moodoo (Tel.) ; Thorinjal (Sind.) ; Ran slier (Mar.).
Habitat : — Deccan Peninsula ; not uncommon in dry rocky places.
A trailing, leafless, jointed shrub. Stem as thick as a goose- quill, green, joints 4-6in. long. Umbels sessile, terminal, 1-1½ in. diam., many-fid. Pedicels ½in., puberulous. Flowers pale-greenish white or whitish. Sepals small, ovate. Corolla ⅓in. diam., lobes ovate or oblong. Column very short ; corona and column together rounded or obtuse ; inner processes of the corona almost concealing the anthers. Stigma very shortly ​ conical. Follicles 4-5 by ⅓in., thinly coriaceous, slightly diverging, narrowed to the base, tip fine, straight. Seeds flattened, 1/6-¼in. long, ovate.
Use : — Water passed through a bundle of Somalatâ and a bag of salt, will extirpate white ants from a field watered by it. The ancient Hindus used to prepare an intoxicating liquor from the juice of the plant mixed with barley and ghee (Bird-wood).
This does not seem to be the soma plant of the Vedas. (B.D. B.).
779. Gymnema sylvestre, Br. h.f.b.i., iv. 29.
Syn. : — Asclepias geminata, Roxb. 256.
Sans. : — Mesha-sringi.
Vern. : — Mera-singi (H. and B.) ; Gurmar (H.) Kávali, wákándi (Bomb.); Shiru-kurunja (Tam.) ; Poda-patra, putla-podra (Tel.); Parpatrah (Dec); Chhota-dudhi-latâ (B.).
Habitat : — Banda, Dekkan Peninsula, from the Konkan to Travancore ; Ceylon, low country.
A stout, woody climber, covering high trees. Branches slender, very numerous, cylindric, softly and shortly hairy. Leaves l-2½in. or 1¼-2in., rather small, ovate, obovate or elliptic, rounded at base, rarely cordate, acute, shortly acuminate, hairy on the veins, especially beneath. Petiole ¼in., hairy, slender or stout. Cymes ½in. diam., subglobose, 2-nate, peduncled, nearly flat ; pedicels slender. Bracts obsolete, says J. D. Hooker, but says Trimen, probably after examining the plant in the fresh and not dried condition, that the bracts are numerous, minute, hairy. Calyx segments ovoid, rounded or obtuse, hairy. Corolla about 1/6in. diam., pale-yellow ; lobes about as long as the tube, acute, recurved, coronal scales in the throat of Corolla, fleshy, blunt, produced downwards as double ridges on the tube ; Column small ; stigma ovoid, prominent. Follicles small (one usually suppressed) l½-2in ; slender tapering (Trimen) ; 2-3 by ⅓in., glabrous, terete, rigid (J. D. Hooker). Seeds narrow, ½in. long, narrowly ovoid-oblong, flat, with a broad thin wing, ​ pale-brown. The leaves, in Wight's figure, unsually large, says J. D. Hooker.
Uses :— The root is in esteem amongst the Hindus as a local and internal remedy in snake-bites (Ainslie). The root is also said to possess emetic and expectorant properties.
In the Concan, the dried and powdered leaf is used as an errhine (Dymock).
A curious circumstance connected with this plant was first noticed by Mr. Edgeworth ; namely, that if chewed, it destroys the power of the tongue to appreciate the state of sugar and all saccharine substances. In his own person he found that powdered sugar, taken immediately after masticating some of the leaves, appeared like so much sand in his mouth, and this effect lasted nearly twenty-four hours, when he recovered the power of distinguishing the taste of sugar (Pharm. Journ., vol. vii., p. 551).
Mr. Hooper repeated the above experiment and states that, after chewing one or two leaves, it was proved undoubtedly that sugar had no taste immediately afterwards. He also further discovered that the leaf had the valuable property of completely removing the bitter taste of sulphate of quinine after a good dose of the leaf, tasting like so much chalk.
Though of opinion that this property might prove of value in pharmacy for the purpose of destroying the taste of quinine, he writes, " I am not going to propose its use in the administration of nauseous drugs, until the properties of the gymnema have been more studied. Otherwise, the quantity of the vehicle taken may be proved to counteract the effect of the medicines."
The leaves contain no cyanogenetic glucoside. On igniting the air-dried leaves, 8.6 per cent of ash was obtained, which yielded the following results on analysis : CaO, 19.3 per cent. ; Fe$_2$O$_3$ and Al$_2$O$_3$ 17.9 per cent. ; MgO, 2.7 per cent. ; the remainder consisted chiefly of alkali carbonates, with traces of manganese and silica.
On adding water to an alcoholic extract of the leaves, a soft, dark -green, resinous mass was obtained which contained formic and butyric acids and hentriacontane, melting at 68° and present in the leaves to the extent of about 0.05 per cent. When sulphuric acid was added to the filtrate from this ​ precipitate, a dark-coloured resinous product was obtained. This substance, which was termed by Hooper " gymnemic acid," is a complex mixture, from which ethyl acetate extracts a portion possessing the property of temporarily destroying the sense of taste for sweet substances ; this latter product., for which it is proposed to reserve the name " gymnemic acid," although there is no evidence that it is a homogeneous substance, amounts to about 6 per cent, of the air-dried leaves. It has weak acidic properties and, when fused with potassium hydroxide, yields acetic acid and a molecular compound of proto-catechuic and p-hydroxybenzoic acids which melts at 192° ; on oxidation with potassium permanganate, formic acid is produced. The resinous substance associated with the gymnemic acid in the precipitate obtained with sulphuric acid is also of an acidic nature, and yields the same products on fusion with potassium hydroxide. The liquid from which the above substances had been separated was found to coutain Z-quercitol, together with i-dextrose. The fruits of gymnema sylestre contain the same substances as the leaves, with the exception of l-quercitol.
Gymnemic acid and the resinous substance insoluble in ethyl acetate are devoid of toxic properties.— (Fred. B. Power and Frank Tutin, Pharm. J. 1904.) J. Oh. S. Vol. LXXXVL, pp. 763-764.
780. Marsdenia Royleii, Wight, h.f.b.i., iv. 35.
Vern. :— Pathor (Chenab) ; Tar, veri (Salt Range) ; Kurang (Simla) ; Murkula (Hind.).
Habitat : — Eastern and Western Himalaya, from Simla to Kumaon and Sikkim.
A twining shrub. Young parts soft tomentose. Brandies, petioles, leaves beneath and cymes finely pubescent or tomentose. Leaves 3-6 by 2-4in., often velvety beneath, ovate, cordate, acuminate; base usually deeply cordate. Cymes 1-1½in. diam., corymbose. Calyx hairy outside. Corolla ¼-⅓in. diam., lobes pubescent without, villous within, coronal scales slender, subulate, far exceeding the short anther-tips. Stigma dome-shaped. Follicles turgid, 3in. long, 1 to l½in. broad, with a beak-like tip, straight ; pericarp thick, transversely rugose, puberulous. Seeds ½in. long.
Uses :— The unripe fruit is powdered and given as a cooling medicine (Stewart). A decoction is used as a remedy in gonorrhœa.
781. Tylophora fascicalata, Ham., h.f.b.i., iv. 40.
Vern. :— Bhui-dori (Bomb.). ​ Habitat : — South Nepal ; at Sukanagur ; South Concan and the Bababoodan hills.
Twining perennial herbs. Stems several from the root, erect 12-18in., nearly simple, flexuous or climbing amongst grass, pubescent. Branches glabrous below, finely puberulous above. Leaves small, 1-1½in., rather crowded, ovate or oblong-lanceolate, rounded or acute at base, acute, glabrous above, pubescent on veins beneath, coriaceous. J. D. Hooker says, " leaves 1-2 by ¾-1½in." Petiole ¼in., slender, pubescent. Flowers small, on rather long, slender, pubescent pedicels. Cymes racemose, shorter than leaves, shortly stalked, erect ; bracts filiform. Sepals linear- lanceolate, acute, coronal processes globose. Follicles fusiform, short, turgid. " 1½-2 by ½-⅔ in., ovoid-lanceolate ; paricarp very thick, glabrous. Seeds ¼in. long, broadly ovoid, quite flat." " Pollen-masses horizontal, according to Wight, but "I think erect," says J. D. Hooker.
Uses : — In the Southern Concan, it is used as a poison for rats and other vermin. Dr. Lyon records a case in which it proved fatal to a man (1879). As this plant has very active properties, its physiological effects should be investigated (Dymock).
The juice of the root is given with milk as a tonic ; the leaves are pounded and used as an application to unhealthy ulcers and wounds to induce healthy granulation (Pharmacographia lndica, Vol. II. p. 441.
The leaves were very mucilaginous when treated with water, and even the alcoholic extract when evaporated to dryness made a thick solution with a large quantity of water. The latter solution was precipitated by alkaloidal reagents and was most acrid to the taste. Shaken with ether a resinous body was removed, and then made alkaline with ammonia, which produced a slight precipitate, and again shaken with ether, a small quantity of an amorphous alkaloid was separated, which gave a yellowish brown colour with sulphuric acid, passing to a red. The leaves gave off slightly alkaline fumes when ignited, and left 12 per cent, of ash.
The roots reduced to fine powder were made into a tincture with strong spirit, and the evaporated tincture when treated with water left some resinous matter undissolved. The solution shaken with ether yielded up some more resinous substance which became encrusted with feathery crystals when the solvent had been dissipated. A larger quantity of alkaloid was present ​ in the root than in the leaves, but it appeared to possess similar characters. It was amorphous, but formed a slightly crystalline hydrochloride. The damp crystals of the hydrocloridc brought into contact with the fumes from a drop of nitric acid produced a bluish green coloration. With sulphuric acid the alkaloid was first coloured reddish-brown, passing to carmine and then to purple. It was precipitated from solution by the usual reagents.
The alcoholic extract was emetic and purgative. A quantity from 2 grams of the leaves mixed with bread and given to a chicken produced frequent and watery stools. The aqueous extract from the leaves, after removal of all that was soluble by means of alcohol, had no effect upon a guinea-pig.
(Pharmacographia Indica Vol. II pp. 44L-442).
782. T. asthmatica, W. & A., h.f.b.l, iv. 44.
Syn. : — Asclepias asthmatica, Willd. Roxb. 252.
Vern : — Jangli-pikwan, Antamul* (H.) ; Antomul (B.) ; Pitkari ; Kharaki-rásna (Bomb.) ; Nach-churuppán, nay-palai, peyp-palai (Tam.); Verri-pala ; Kukka-pála (Tel.) ; Valli-pála (Mal.) ; Mendi (Uriya) ; Pita-kári (Mar.). Adumuttada (Kan).
Habitat :— N. & E. Bengal, Assam, Cachar, Chittagong ; Deccan Peninsula.
A perennial herb. Roots many, long, fleshy. Stems slender, very long, slightly branched, strongly twining pubescent or hairy ; or glabrous. Leaves 2-lin., rather thickly coriaceous, very variable in width, rarely pubescent or tomentose on both surfaces, ovate, rounded or oblong, apiculate, acute or acuminate, base usually cordate ; nerves few, spreading ; petiole ⅓-⅔in. Cymes always more or less pubescent, hispid at the base of the umbels. Peduncles shorter than the leaves, bearing 2-3 sessile few-or many-fid umbels, pedicels long, capillary. Sepals long, lanceolate, hispid. Corolla large, ½in. diam. Lobes short, acute. Flowers dull-yellow and purple within. Coronal processes gibbous or globose, with free cuspidate tips. Follicles very variable, poniard-shaped, divaricate or deflexed 3-4in. ; slender in the Dekkan specimens, with a thin pericarp ; slender, fusiform, glabrous, in the Ceylon specimens. Seeds ¼-⅓in. long, broadly ovate, coma ¾in.
Uses : — The dried leaves are emetic, diaphoratic and expectorant, useful in over-loaded states of the stomach and other cases requiring the use of emetics. It has also been found useful in dysentery, catarrh, and other affections in which Ipecacuanha has been employed (Pharm. Ind.) Roxburgh, in his Flora Indica, gives a long account of the use of this plant as a substitute for Ipecacuanha : —
" On the coast of Coromandel, the roots of this plant have often been used as a substitute for Ipecacuanha. I have often prescribed it myself, and always found it answer as well as I could expect Ipecacuanha to do. I have also often had very favorable reports of its effects from others. It was a very useful medicine with our Europeans who were unfortunately prisoners with Hydar Ally, during the war of 1780, 1781, 1782, and 1783. In a pretty large dose, it answered as an emetic ; in smaller doses, often repeated, as a cathartic, and in both ways, very effectually.
" I had made and noted down many observations of its uses, when in large practice in the General Hospital at Madras in 1776, 1777, and 1778, but lost them, with all my other papers, by the storm and inundation at and near Coringa in May 1787. I cannot therefore be so full on the virtues of this valuable, though much neglected, root, as I could wish. I have no doubt but it would answer every purpose of Ipecacuanha.
" The natives also employ it as an emetic ; the bark, of about three or four inches, of the fresh root, they rub upon a stone, and mix with a little water for a dose ; it generally purges at the same time."
Note By Dr. P. Russell.
" Dr. Russell was informed by the Physician General at Madras (Dr. J. Anderson) that he had many years before known it used, both by the European and Native Troops, with great success in the dysentry which happened at that time to be epidemic in the camp. The store of Ipecacuanha had, it seems, been wholly expended, and Dr, Anderson, finding the practice ​ of the black doctors much more successful than his own, acknowledged, with his usual candour, that he was not ashamed to take instruction from them, which he pursued with good success; and collecting a quantity of the plant which they pointed out to him, he sent a large package of the roots to Madras. It is certainly an article of the Hindu Materia Medica highly deserving attention."
" In the Concan, 1 to 2 tolas of the juice are given as an emetic ; it is also dried and made into pills which are administered in dysentry " (Dymock).
[The root of this plant, which is met with in the bazaars in the form of thick contorted pieces of a pale colour, and a bitterish, somewhat nauseous, taste, has long been known to possess diaphoratic and emetic properties, and its efficacy in dysentery is asserted by Dr. J. Anderson (Roxburgh, Flor. Ind., vol. ii , p. 34). Its value has also been confirmed by Sir W. O'Shaughnessy. It has, however, been superseded by the dried leaves, the operation of which has been found more uniform and certain. It may be regarded as one of the best indigenous (Indian) substitutes for Ipecacuanha.]
Dr. Bidie considers that, like Ipecacuanha and Tartar Emetic, it acts as a specific emetic, exciting vomiting after absorption, by its action on the vagus.
A concentrated infusion of the leaves has a slightly acrid taste. It is abundantly precipitated by tannic acid by neutral acetate of lead or caustic potash, and is turned greenish-black by percholoride of iron. Broughton of Ootacamund obtained from a large quantity of leaves a small amount of crystals — insufficient for analysis. Dissolved and injected into a small dog they occasioned purging and vomiting,
A re-examination of the drug by one of us (D. H.) shows that both the leaves and root contained an alkaloid, Tylophorine, which is crystalline and forms a crystalline hydrochlorate. The solution of the alkaloid is precipited by tannin, iodine in potassium iodide, potassio-mercuric iodide, perchloride of mercury, picric acid, volatile and fixed alkalies. The alkaloid in a free state is very soluble in ether and alcohol, bat only partially in water. With sulphuric acid it dissolves with a reddish colour changing to green and indigo. With HN0$_3$ it dissolves with a purplish red colour.
Frohde's regent gives a deep sap-green solution. Sulphuric acid and K$_2$Cr$_2$O$_7$ dirty violet. The leaves afford 15 per cent, of mineral matter.
(Pharmacographia Indica, Vol. II, pp. 439-440.)
783. Cosmostigma racemosum, Wight., h.f.b.i , iv. 46.
Vern. : — Ghárahuvon (Can.) ; Shendvel, Shendori, Márvel, Márvivel (Mar.) ; Vattu-valli (Mal.) ; Ghárphul (Goa).
Habitat : — The Western Ghats, from the Konkan southward. Sylhet. Chittagong. Ceylon, low country, rather common.
A shrubby climber. Stems stout, cylindrical, often lenticillate, glabrous. Leaves 3-5in., ovate, cordate, or rounded at base, acuminate, subacute, glabrous pedicels ; cymes at first umbellate or corymbose, but lengthening out into racemes 2-2½ in. long; no bracts. Sepals oval, obtuse, ciliolate. Corolla greenish-yellow, speckled with red dots ; about lin. diam., lobes ovate obtuse. Follicles 2½-3in. Seeds ⅜in., broadly ovate (Trimen). " Corolla ⅓in. diam., fleshy, speckled with brown. Follicles 7in. long by l½in. diam., lanceolate or linear-oblong, obtuse, smooth " (J. D. Hooker).
Uses : — This large woody climber, running over high trees, has a medicinal reputation on the Western Coast, where its leaves are used to cure ulcerous sores, Ghâra (घाड ) and the root-bark is administered internally in Vataka ( वटक ) a disease in which white lumps of undigested food are passed. Useful in dyspepsia accompanied by a febrile condition and absence of bile in the stools. The authors of the Pharmacographia Indica have tried the root-bark of this plant in such cases, given in five grain doses, three times a day, and have found it to be a most efficient cholagogue ; it had no purgative effect, but restored the natural colour of the stools after the usual remedies (mineral acids, podophyllin, enonyrium, etc.) had been abandoned in despair. The flowers of this plant are sweet and eaten by the natives. A biscuit was made with the powder of two ounces of the root and given to a dog without any ill effects (Pharmacographia Indica, Vol. II., p. 449.)
An ether extract of the powdered root contained some free crystalline fatty acids, soluble in cold rectified spirit and aqueous alkalies. Petroleum ether dissolved the fatty acids from the extracts, leaving a small quantity of an acid resin. An alcoholic extract, in addition to a resin, contained a sugar, ​ and a substance affording the re-actions of an alkaloid. The resin is decomposed by boiling with dilute acids, and gives a purplish colour with strong sulphuric acid. It is glucosidal and is related to Jalapin. An aqueous extract contained gum and a carbohydrate having the properties of dextrin. The root was devoid of astringency. The powder mixed with milk of lime gave off ammonia. The larger roots left 3-16 per cent., the smaller ones 5.86 per cent., of inorganic matter on incineration. (Pharmacographia Indica, Vol. II, p. 450)
784. Dregea volubilis, Benth., h.f.b.l, iv. 46.
Syn. : — Asclepias volubilis, Linn. f. Roxb. 253.
Vern : — Nak-chhiknî (Hind.); Tita-kunga (Beng.) ; Hiran-dodi ; Ambri. (Mar.) ; Kodic-palay (Tam.) ; Marangkongat (Santal.) ; Âmbri ; Dudhi (Bomb.) ; Dudi-palla (Tel.).
Habitat: — Bengal, Assam and the Deccan Peninsula, from the Concan southwards.
A stout, glabrous, hoary or mealy climber, with a woody stem ; branches stiff, often pustular ; innovations generally hoary, tomentose. Leaves ovate, suborbicular or cordate acuminate, 3-6 by 2-4in., rather coriaceous, base sometimes rounded, truncate or cuneate, usually tomentose beneath, when young. Main lateral nerves up to 5 pair. Petiole rather stout, 1-3in.; peduncles l-3in., rather slender, drooping. Cymes axillary or inter-petiolar, umbelliform ; pedicels ½-1½in,, rusty, scaberulous. Flowers green ⅓-½in. diam. Calyx about 1/10in. across, stellate. Sepals triangular, ovate. Corolla dark-green, cup-shaped ; lobes broadly triangular, overlapping to the right, ½in. diam. Coronal scales 5, fleshy, hemispherial, adnate to the very short column, spreading, inner angle cuspidate ; pollen-masses wavy. Stigma dome-shaped. Follicles usually double, 3-4 by 1-1½in., broadly lanceolate, turgid, longitudinally ribbed, velvety until mature, afterwards minutely tomentose. Seeds ⅓-2/5in. long, says Kanjilal, broad-elliptic, concave, smooth, shining, with sharp edges; coma of very fine, white, silky hairs, about l½in. long.
Parts used : — The leaves ; roots and tender stalks.
Uses : — The leaves are much employed as an application to boils and abscesses. The roots and tender stalks are considered emetic and expectarant. (Ph. Ind.), ​ The Vytians suppose the root and tender stalks to possess virtues in dropsical cases ; they sicken and excite expectoration, (Ainslie).
The plant is used in colds and eyes diseases to cause sneezing, whence the Hindi name Nakchikni. This property of the plant is also known in Madras, where the young shoots are cut and the exuding juice is inserted into the nose- (Pharmacographia Ind. II, 445).
The fresh follicles, freed from seeds and then' comose appendages, were bruised in a mortar and the juice expressed. The juice was heated to boiling to coagulate albuminous matters and filtered, and the liquor after evaporation to a small bulk, was treated with two volumes of spirit to remove mucilage and salts. After dissipating the spirit by a gentle heat the acidulous solution had a bitterish taste, was free from Tannic matters and contained an abundance of glucose. It was shaken with ether and the ethereal solution left a mass of light coloured transparant scales, soluble in water with a peculiar bittesish — sweet taste and neutral or slightly acid reaction. This solution gave an abundant white precipitate with tannin, none with neutral plumbic acetate and with alkaloidal reagents, such as potassio— mercuric iodide and Iodine in potassium iodide only if previously acidified. With strong aqueous alkali a precipitate without colour, was obtained. With sulphuric acid the dried scales dissolved with a brown colour, passing through cherry — red to purple, and finally separated as a black powder. With Nitric acid no colour was manifested in the cold. Boiling with diluted acid destroyed the bitterness of the principle with the formation of an insoluble brown substance, such as would attend the decomposition of a glucoside. We consider this glucoside to be the active principle of the fruits and propose to name it Dregein. [Pharmacographia Indica, Vol. II. pp. 445-446].
785. Ceropegia bulbosa, Roxb. h.f.b.l, iv. 67.
N.B. — The Flora of British India notices the following varieties of this plant, viz., 1. bulbosa proper, 2. Lushii ; 3. esculenta.
Vern. :— Mánchi, Manda (Tel, Tam.), Gálot (Punj.) ; Khap- parkadu, Gáyala (Mar.)-
Habitat: — From Western India, the Punjab and upper Gangetic plains as far East as Allahabad, southward to Travancore.
A twining herb. Root tuberous. Steins very slender. Leaves excessively variable, fleshy. In some varieties, the leaves are petioled l-2in., rarely more, orbicular oblong-elliptic or obcordate, ​ acute or apiculate, rarely elliptic-lanceolate ; base acute, rounded or cordate. In some varieties, the leaves are subsessile, very narrowly linear, 4-8 by 1/6-⅓in. In a third variety, the leaves are 4-5 by 1in.., shortly petioled, linear-lanceolate. Peduncle ½-1in., 3-5fid. Pedicels short. Calyx minute ; sepals 1/10in. long. Corolla small, straight, rarely 1in. long, narrow, greenish, base moderately inflated, mouth obtusely 5-angled ; lobes short, narrow, erect, fleshy, linear from a triangular base, villous within ; ⅓-½ the length of the tube, purple within. Corona glabrous, lobes minute, or obsolete ; processes filiform, straight. Follicles 4in. long, slender, terete ; pericarp thin. Seeds ⅓in. long, linear oblong, wing membranous.
The part used : — The tubers.
Use: — The tubers of this and several other species of Ceropegia are used and considered to be tonic and digestive. The authors of the Pharmaeographia Indica (Vol. II., p. 456) write : — "The tubers when boiled lose their bitterness, and pulped with milk form a sweet mucilaginous mixture not unlike Salep, which, judging from their chemical composition, should be highly nutritious."
The drug is used in Behar in colds and eye-diseases to cause sneezing ; dose : gr. 1 to ½dram. (Irvine). The tubers yielded on analysis-
| Moisture | 5.25 |
| Fat | 3.30 |
| Sugar, Gum &c | 23.40 |
| Albuminoids | 3.48 |
| Starch | 42.52 |
| Crude fibre | 12.64 |
| Ash | 9.43 |
| Total. | 100.00 |
The bitter principle of the tubers is an Alkaloid, Ceropcgine, soluble in ether, Alcohol and water. The total nitrogen afforded by burning with soda lime was 0.55 per cent. The ash contains Manganese, and is constituted as follows : —
| Soluble in Water | 61.7 |
| Soluble in Acid | 14.9 |
| Insoluble | 23.4 |
| Total. | 100.0 |
[Pharmaeographia Indica, Vol. II— p. 457.] ​
786. C. tuberosa, Roxb. h.f.b.l, iv. 70.
Syn. : — C. acuminata, Roxb. 251.
Vern. : — Kappe-kadu (Bomb.) ; Pátál-tumbdi (Mar.) ; Commúmadu (Tel.).
Habitat : — Deccan Peninsula, from the Concan southwards.
Twining herbs, quite glabrous ; root tuberous. Stem leafy-slender. Leaves glabrous, l-4in.; fleshy, from orbiculcular apiculate to lanceolate acuminate ; base acute or rounded. Petiole ¼-⅔in. Peduncles glabrous 1-3 together, ½-3in.; pedicels fascicled or subpaniculate ; bracts minute. Flowers lin. long and upwards, rarely less. Sepals subulate, 1/6in., recurved. Corolla l-2in., straight, base somewhat inflate, mouth slightly dilated. Lobes ⅓ shorter than the tube, suddenly contracted from a triangular base into linear cohering appendages that are at first connate throughout their length, and villous within. Coronallobes ciliate, very short. Follicles 4-5in. long, slender. Seeds ¼in. long, linear.
Use : — The starchy, somewhat bitter tubers, are used as a nutritive tonic in the bowel complaints of children (Dymock).
787. Boucerosia aucheriana, Dcne, h.f.b.l, iv. 78.
Vern. : — Charúngli, chungi, pawanne, pamanke (Pb.).
Habitat :--Dry hills in the Western Punjab ; the Salt Range, &c.
The genus Boucerosia is described by J. D. Hooker as " fleshy leafless herbs, with thick 4-angled stem, angles toothed."
B. Aucheriana is a plant 2-6in. high ; branches ⅓-½in. diam. Flowers capitate. Sepals ovate-lanceolate. Corolla ⅓in. diam., dark-purple, more or less deeply divided into lobes, narrow, lanceolate, glabrous, pustular above. Follicles 3-4in., tips capitate.
Uses : — The juicy stems are considered stomachic, carminative, and tonic. Bellew states that they are also used as vermifuge, and Masson mentions that, dried and powdered, they are taken as stimulants (Stewart). It is also used as a febrifuge.
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