# Indian Medicinal Plants/Natural Order Acanthaceæ

N. 0. ACANTHACEÆ.
912. Cardanthera uliginosa, Ham. h.f.b.l, iv. 403.
Syn. :— Ruellia uliginosa, Linn. f. Roxb. 475 ; Adenosma ulginosa, Nees.
Habitat : — In dry-up rice-swamps ; S. Madras, frequent. Sikkim Terai.
An annual herb, 1-2½ft., erect or decumbent, branching from the base. Stem pubescent upwards. Leaves 1 by ⅓in., glabrous, sub-pubescent, subsessile, oblong or subovate, entire or crenate. Spikes 1-3in., scarcely interrupted at the base even in fruit. Flowers mostly in opposite axils. Bracts ¼in., from elliptic to cordate, glabrous or puberulous, 4-ranked, imbricated in fruit, bracteoles 1/5in , ovate or elliptic. Sepals 1/5in., linear, pubescent. Corolla ⅓in., puberulous. Stamens 4, fertile. Anthers of the posterior stamens half as large as of the anterior. Capsule 1/5in., minutely pilose upwards.
Use : — The juice of its leaves mixed with salt, is used on the Malabar Coast as a blood purifier. (Balfour.)
913. Hygrophila spinosa, J. Anders, h.f.b.l, iv. 408.
Syn :— Ruellia longifolia, Roxb, 475 ; Asteracantha longifolia, Nees.
Sans. : — Ikshugandha ; Kokilâksha.
Vern. : — Tâl-makhânâ, gokshura (H.) ; Kuliakhara, kante-kalikâ (B.) ; Niramalli (Tam.) ; Nirguri veru (Tel.) ; Tâlima-khána, Kolasunda (Mar.) ; Ekharo, gôkhru (Guz.) ; Kalavan kabija (Kan.).
Habitat : — Abundant throughout India in ditches ; from the Himalaya to Ceylon. Very common in the Konkan.
An annual marshy herb, with an ascending rhizome. Stems numerous, stout, erect, hispid, 2-5ft., usually fascicled and undivided or unbranched, somewhat compressed, thickened at nodes with long hair below each node. Leaves sessile, 6 at a node, 2 outer 4-5 in., 4 inner about 1½ in. each having a nearly straight ​ sharp yellow spine about lin. long in the axil, tapering at both ends, sparsely hispid on both sides, spinous ciliate (Trimen). Flowers, bright purple-blue, occasionally white ; 8 (in 4 pair) at each node. Bracts like the leaves, but smaller ; bractlets linear, hyaline below, bristly hairy on back. Sepals 4, shorter than bractlets, equal, narrow, but one much broader than the rest ; hyaline with long hair outside. Corolla glabrous, lobes oblong, truncate. Anther oblong, subequal. Capsule ⅓in., shorter than the sepals, linear-oblong, 4-8-seeded.
Uses : — In Hindu medicine, the leaves are described as cooling and useful in jaundice and anasarca. The root is also considered cooling, bitter and tonic, and is used in rheumatism, urinary affections and anasarca. The ashes also used as diuretic in dropsy (Dutt). The Mahomedan physicians consider the seeds as aphrodisiac (Dymock.)
Dr. Kirkpatrick (Cat. of Mysore Drugs, No u 451) states that he frequently employed it in dropsical cases, and that it undoubtedly possesses considerable power as a diuretic. Dr. Gibson also bears testimony to its powers as a diuretic ; and it is favourably reported on by Dr. Æ. Ross and Native Surgeon Iyaswamy (Ph. Ind.).
The seeds are given for gonorrhœa, and with milk and sugar in spermatorrhœa.
When placed in the mouth they immediately become coated with a large quantity of extremely tenacious mucilage, which adheres to the tongue and palate and is of rather agreeable flavour. The seeds are one of Panchavija, or "five seeds" the others being those of Celastrus, Fenugreek, Ajwan, and Cumin. There are, however, several other sets of five seeds.
The seeds are glutinous, besides being mucilaginous. They contain 4.92 per cent, of nitrogen, which is equivalent to 31.14 per cent, of albuminoids, traces of an alkaloid, and 23 per cent, of a yellow fixed oil. The mucilage is not affected by ferric chloride, plumbic acetate, or by two volumes of alcohol. (Pharmacogr. Ind., III 39-40.)
914. Ruellia prostrata; lamk, h.f.b.l, iv. 411 ; Roxb. 473.
Vern. :— Upu-dali (Mal.).
Habitat : — Deccan Peninsula, extending north to Behar, ​ A small diffuse undershrub. Stems 6-18 in. long, prostrate, or climbing, amongst bushes, much branched, internodes long, the nodes more or less hairy and often tinged with purple. Leaves ¾-3 in. long, ovate or elliptic, acute at both ends, entire, glabrous or slightly hairy, petioles, ¼-¾ in. long. Flowers subsessile, solitary or few together ; bracteoles similar to the leaves but smaller. Calyx in. long, divided to below the middle ; segments linear-subulate, acute, hairy. Corolla pale greyish-purple, 1¼ in. long, caducous, pubescent outside ; tube narrowly cylindric below, funnel-shaped above ; lobes subequal obovate-oblong, rounded. Capsule ¾ in. long, clavate, pointed, pubescent. Seeds 16-20, subglabrous but with a dense fringe of hygroscopic hairs on the margin. (Duthie)
Uses : — The juice of the leaves, boiled with a little salt, is supposed on the Malabar Coast to correct a depraved state of the humors (Rheede). They are sometimes given with pundum or liquid copal as a remedy for gonorrhœa (Ainslie.)
915. R. suffruticosa, Roxb. h.f.b.i., iv. 413 Roxb. 476.
Vern. : — Chanlia (Santal.).
Habitat : — Dinajpur ; (Bengal; ; throughout Chota Nagpore. Upper Gangetic Plain, and Moradabad.
An erect pubescent undershrub, 1-2 ft. high. Roots stout, often with fusiform swellings. Stems herbaceous, annually produced from a short creeping woody rhizome. Leaves petioled lanceolate elliptic or oblanceolate, the lower ones usually smaller and often suborbicular, obtuse or subacute, entire, villous with white hairs on both surfaces especially on the nerves and veins beneath, margins ciliate. Flowers solitary, terminal, subsessile ; bracteoles resembling the leaves but smaller and narrower, ¾in. long, stalked. Roxburgh states that the flowers open at sunset and drop off on the following morning. Calyx-segments ¼ in. long, linear, puberulous or nearly glabrous. Corolla white, 1½-2 in. long, tube slender, limb subregular. Capsule 1½ in. long, oblong, glabrous, often tinged with purple. Seeds few, (Duthie) ​ Use : — The root is used medicinally by the Santals in gonorrhœa, syphilis and renal affections generally (Campbell).
It is also used by them Santals for producing fermentation in the grain from which they manufacture their beer.
916. Dœdalacanthus roseus. T. Anders, h.f.b.l, iv. 419.
Vern. : --Dasamúli (Mar.)
Habitat : — W. and S. Deccan Peninsula, from the Bombay Ghats to Mangalore.
A perennial, glabrous herb. Stems 2-6ft, Leaves 5 by 2in ., elliptic, acuminate at both ends, glabrous, lineolate. Spikes linear, subinterrupted, often 6in Peduncles 0-2in., axillary and terminal. Bracts all but the lowest imbricated, ½-¾ in., shortly rugose by raised inarching green nerves ; margins entire, glabrous, ciliate or very hairy. Corolla 1-1½in. rose subglabrous. Seeds ⅛in. diam., much compressed. Roots usually ten in number, tuberous, spindle-shaped, as thick as a quill, several inches in length and covered by a dark brown bark.
Uses : — The root boiled in milk is a popular remedy for leucorrhœa ; dose one drachm. In the Southern Concan, it is given to pregnant cattle to promote the growth of the fœtus (Dymock).
917. Strobilanthes callosus, Nees. h.f.b.i., iv. 451.
Vern. : — Kárvi (Bomb.).
Habitat—S. Deccan Peninsula; common in the Ghats; Central India.
A shrub, 6 ft.; branches glabrate, often warted or scabrous-tubercled. Leaves 7 by 3 in., sometimes much larger, crenate, conspicuously lineolate above; nerves 8-16 pair ; petiole 2 in. Spikes 1-4 in., often densely or laxly cymose : bracts ½-l in., orbicular or elliptic. Calyx ½ in., in fruit often exceeding ¾ in., lobed nearly to the base, segments oblong, obtuse, softly hairy. Corolla 1½ in., subsymmetric glabrous without, very hairy within, deep-blue (Dalzell) : cylindric base as long as the ventricose ​ portion. Filaments hairy downwards. Pistil glabrous. Capsule ¾ by ½ in. Seeds more than ⅓ in. long, thin, obovate acute, densely shaggy with white adpressed inelastic hairs, except on the large oblong areoles. (C. B. Clarke;.
The flower spikes resemble hops in shape and size, and are covered with a visid resinous exudation called Mel having a musky and resinous odour (Dymock).
Uses : — The plant has a strong aromatic odor and is much used in domestic medicine by the country -people of the regions where it occurs The bark, with an equal proportion of that of Calophyllum inophyllum, is applied as a fomentation in tenesmus. The juice of the bark, with an equal quantity of that of Eclipta alba, boiled down to one-half and mixed with old Sesamum oil, a few pepper corns and ginger, is heated and used as an external application in parotitis, and equal quantities of the juice of the flowers and of those of Randia dumetorum are smeared over bruises (Dymock).
Another species, named, Strobilanthes ciliatus, Nees. H.F.B.I., iv. 439. is also used for the same purposes.
918. S. auriculatus, Nees. h.f.b.i., iv. 453.
Vern. :— Gada-kalha ; Harnapakor (Santali).
Habitat: — Behar, Central India, from Jubbulpore to Chutia Nagpur.
An underwood or small shrub, 2-6ft. Branches many, devaricate, often zigzag, quadrangular, glabrous, tips more or less hairy. Leaves variable, very often unequal, in the same pair, minutely hairy beneath. Spikes linear oblong, closely velvety, mostly terminal, solitary, 3½ by ½in , quasipeduncled. Bracts soft, membranous, broader than long, ¼-⅓in., very obtuse, apex often recurved in fruit, persistent, with aromatic glandular hair. Calyx divided nearly to the base, velvety, ¼-⅓in., unequal, linear obtuse. Corolla bluish-purple, lin., curved, very slightly hairy, narrow, cylindric base very much shorter than the ventric part, limb slightly 2-lipped. Stamens and pistil very nearly glabrous. Capsule ⅓in., glabrous, 4-seeded. Seeds scarcely 1/12in., thin, orbicular, elastically white — hairy; areoles very small. ​ Use : — The pounded leaves are rubbed on the body during the cold stage of intermittent fever (Watt).
919. Blepharis edulis, Pers. h.f.b.i., iv. 479.
Vern. : — Uttangan (Pb.); Utanjan(H.) ; Utangan (Bomb.).
Habitat: — Punjab and Sindh.
A rigid shrub. Stems short or 1ft. or more ; branched. Leaves often ½in. broad, spinescent, elliptic or oblong, glaucous or pubescent. Bracts more than an inch long, spinous. Bracteoles linear, hairy, shorter than the bract. Heads few or many-fid. Corolla ⅔-¾in. Capsule 2-seeded. Seeds heart-shaped, flat, covered with long, coarse hairs.
Use : — Dr. Royle was the first to bring the seeds of the plant to the notice of the medical profession. He considered them to be the products of some Urtica. Honnigberger had these seeds examined by some botanists of: Vienna who deemed them to belong to Acanthacea. Dr. Burton Brown of: Lahore succeeded in correctly identifying these seeds as those of Acanthodium spicatum, Delile, which is a synonym of this plant. (B. D. Basu). The seeds are considered to be attenuant, resolvent, diuretic, aphrodisiac, expectorant, and deobstruent (Dymock).
Chemical composition. —The bitter principle of the seeds is a white crystalline body soluble in water, ainylic and ethylic alcohol, but insoluble in ether and petroleum ether. It gives a reddish colour with sulphuric acid, green at the margin if impure, and is best distinguished by the fine violet colour its solutions impart when brought into contact with ferric salts. With H$^2$SO$^4$ and K$^2$Cr$^2$O$^7$ an agreeable odour of salicylous acid is evolved. It is associated with a substance which reduces Fehling's solution. Another white crystalline principle is present in the seeds which is not bitter, and does not give colour reactions with sulphuric acid and ferric salts. The latter crystals melted on the surface of heated mercury at 225°. The aqueous extract of the seeds contained much mucilage and vegetable albumen. The ash amounted to 7.1 per cent. (Pharma cogr. Ind., III. 41-42).
920. Acanthus ilicifolius, Linn, h.f.b.i., iv. 481 ; Roxb. 467.
Sans :— Harikasâ.
Vern. : — Harkuchkânta (H. and B.) ; Mârândi (Mar.) ; Moranna (Goa) : Nivgur (Bomb.). Kalutaimulli (Tam), Holeculli (Kan.) Payinaculli (Mal). ​ Habitat :— Sea coast, from Malabar to Ceylon, and from the Sunderbuns to Malacca.
A common evergreen, conspicuous, shrub, gregarious of the tidal forests of India, Burma, Ceylon, the Andamans, often forming the under- wood or adventitous roots of the Rhizophora (Mangrove). Stems l-5ft., in clumps little divided, terete, glabrous. Leaves large, 6 by 2½in., oblong elliptic, toothed or pinnatifid, glossy, rigidly coriaceous. Spinous, rigid ; petiole ¼in , at times absent. Flowers in spikes, 4-16in., terminal, commonly solitary, supported by 2 pair of bracteoles, ¼-⅓in. long, terminal, sometimes axillary. Calyx ⅔in.; sepals, 2 outer elliptic, rounded, 2 inner, broadly lanceolate, subacute. Corolla pubescent within 1¼in. long, bright blue. Capsule bright-brown, apiculate, 1¼ by ⅔in., shining, blunt. Seeds ¼-⅓in., testa white, very lax.
Uses : —In Goa, the leaves which abound in mucilage are used as an emollient fomentation in rheumatism and neuralgia, Ainslie says that Rheede mentions the use of the tender shoots and leaves ground small and soaked in water as an application to snake-bites. Bontius commends its expectorant qualities. It is a plant in great request among the Siamese and Cochin Chinese, and is called by the latter Cay-o-ro, who consider it to be cordial and attenuant, and useful in paralysis and asthma. In the Concan, a decoction of the plant with sugarcandy and cumin is given in dyspepsia with acid eructations (Dymock).
Chemical composition, — The powdered leaves yielded to ether a quantity of fatty matter coloured strongly with chlorophyll and some soft resins. Alcohol removed more resin, an organic acid, and a bitter alkaloid. The alkaloid gave a reddish-brown colour with sulphuric acid, and was precipitated from its solutions by the usual reagents, including the volatile and fixed alkalies. Some soluble saline matter was present in the extracts of the leaves, and contributed largely to the 16.4 per cent, of total ash obtained from the air-dried leaves. (Pharmacogr. Ind., III. 43).
921. Barleria prionitis, Linn, h.f.b.i., IV. 482 ; Roxb. 470.
Sans. : — Karuntaka, vajradanti.
Vern. : — Katsareyá (H.) Kántájâti(B.); Dasakarantod (Uriya) ; Kalsunda, korhánti, vajradanti (Bom.) ; Kántá-shelio (Guz.) ; ​ Piwala koranta or koreta (Mar.) ; Lál-phul-ke-kolse-ká-pattá (Duk.) ; Vajra daul (Cutch) ; Shemmuli, varamulli (Tam.) ; Muli-goranta (Tel.) ; Keletta vitla (Mal.) ; Mullu-gorante, Mullu-madarangi, Kollate-vettila (Kan).
Habitat : — Tropical India, from the Himalaya to Ceylon.
There are white and blue flowered varieties growing in the Thana and Ratnagiri districts (K.R.K.)
A small perennial bush or shrub, often planted for a fence, 2-4 or 5ft., much branched. Bark white. Branchlets cylindrical, swollen above nodes, glabrous, with slender, very sharp spines in the axils, each with 3 divaricate branches, densely scabrid, lineolate sometimes puberulous. Leaves 3½-5in., entire, passing into bracts above, ovate, tapering below, acute, mucronate, glabrous above, slightly pubescent on veins beneath, copiously lineolate ; venation pellucid, lateral venation prominent beneath. Flowers bright, pale-orange, yellow, sessile, rather large, solitary, opposite, becoming spicate above. Bractlets linear, mucronate, stiff, almost spinous, spreading. Sepals longer than bractlets, acuminate, mucronate, glabrous, outer pair ovate, inner linear-lanceolate. Corolla about lin., tube cylindrical, pubescent outside, limb 1-1¼in. diam. lobes nearly equal, rounded, recurved, the two lateral ones broader. Stamens 4-2, minute or sterile. Filaments of two rudimentary stamens very short. Disk annular, small, entire. Pistil glabrous, Capsule about ¾in.-lin., ovoid, with a solid tapering beak, compressed. Seeds 2, ⅓in. diam., ovate, much compressed.
Uses : — The juice of the leaf is used by the natives in Madras in catarrhal affections of children, accompanied with fever and much viscid phlegm. The ashes of the burnt plant, mixed with conjee and water, are used in dropsy and anasarca, and also in coughs (Ainslie). In Bombay, the natives apply the juice of the leaves to their feet in the rainy season to prevent cracking. In the Concan, the dried bark is given in whooping cough, and 2 tolas of the juice of the fresh bark with milk in anasarca. Dr. Bidie observes that it acts as a diaphoretic and expectorant. A paste is made of the root which is applied to disperse boils and glandular swellings, and a medicated oil, ​ made by boiling the leaves and stems with sweet oil until all the water has been driven off, is used as a cleansing application to wounds (Dymock). A tooth paste made of the astringent leaves and common salt is used to strengthen the gums and in tooth-ache due to caries (Sakharam Arjun). Used in syphilitic affections as an alterative (Dr. Stewart, Cuttack). Useful in coughs and infantile diarrhoea (Dr. Thompson, Madras). The whole plant and especially the root, is much used as a diuretic and tonic medicine in Ceylon (Trimen).
922. B. noctiflora, Linn., h.f.b.l, iv. 484.
Habitat : — Neilgherry Mts., Ootacamund.
A small, very prickly undershrub ; branches pubescent upwards. Leaves ¾ by 1/6 in., obtuse or acute, grey pubescent at first ; petiole hardly any. Bracteoles ¼-¾ with simple spines or denticulate near the base. Flowers axillary solitary, 2 outer sepals ¾ by ⅓-½in., large ovate acute spinous-dentate sparsely pubescent, corolla tube 1 ¼ by ⅓in., elongate narrowly cylindric, pubescent without, lobes ⅓ in., round-ovated. Capsule ⅔in., 4-seeded.
Use. ' — Dr. Mootooswamy says that in Tanjore a decoction of this plant is used as an adjunct to, and substitute for, human milk.
923. B. cristata, Linn., h.f.b.l, iv. 488.
Syn. : — B. dichotoma, Roxb. 471. Sans. : — Jhinti.
Vern. : — Jhánti and Sada-jati (B.) ; Jhinli (Assam.) ; Tadrelu (Bazar name, bánsá siyáh) (Pb.) ; Gorp-jiba, kálá bánsa (N-.W. P.) ; Koileka (Uriya.)
Habitat. — N.-W. Himalaya, Sikkim, Khasia, Burma, Central India, Nilgiri. Common in Indian gardens ; often wild in and near Bombay and the Thana District (K. R K.)
A small, perennial, erect or diffuse undershrub. Branches adpressedly yellow, hairy. Leaves oblong or elliptic, acute, yellow, hairy beneath, 3-4 by lin. Petiole ⅛-½in. Spikes ovate, often compressed, dense, bracteoles ⅓-⅔in., linear-lanceolate, toothed. Outer sepals ¾in., toothed, softly hairy, glabrous, subspinescent. ​ ovate, acuminate or lanceolate nervose. Corolla 1½in., purple-blue or white ; tube funnel-shaped in the upper half, lobes ½in., ovate. Capsule ⅔in., 4-seeded. Seeds orbicular, compressed, silky.
Uses : — The seeds are supposed to be an antidote for snake-bite, and the roots and leaves are used to reduce swelling, and an infusion is given in coughs (Watt).
924. B. strigosa, Willd. h.f.b.l, iv. 489.
Syn. : — B. cœrulea, Roxb. 471.
Vern. : — Dasee (B.) ; Wáhiti, Kála Koráuta (Bomb.).
Habitat : — Sub-Himalayan tracts eastwards, Bengal, Assam and Sikkim ; also in the Bombay Presidency, and S. India.
An unarmed shrub, 3-4ft. high. Stems more or less strigose with fulvous hairs. Leaves 4½-6 in. long, ovate or elliptic, acute or acuminate, the base long-decurrent on the petiole, lineolate and sparingly fulvous strigose on the upper surface, densely strigose on the nerves and veins beneath and with bulbous-based hairs intermixed, margins ciliate, main lateral nerves 6-8 pairs. Flowers in dense fulvous-hairy unilater-al spikes, often crowded at the tops of the branches ; bracteoles about ½in. long, lanceolate, hairy on the back and with ciliate margins. Calyx densely strigose ; outer segments sub-equal, ½-lin. long, elliptic-lanceolate, sub-acute, margins denticulate and ciliate ; inner smaller, linear, acute, densely clothed, with white appressed silky hairs. Corolla l½-2in. long, blue ; tube pale-blue, upper part funnel-shaped ; lobes obovate-oblong, obtuse. Capsule ¾ in long, acute at the top, 4-seeded, glabrous. Seeds silky-hairy (Duthie).
Use : —The root is used by the Santals as a remedy for coughs.
925. Neuracanthus sphcerostaehyus,Dalz, h.F.B.i., iv. 491.
Vern. :— Ghosvel (M.).
Habitat : — Concan ; common in Bombay island.
A stout, unbranched, rough shrub. Stem 1-2 ft. Leaves ​ovate, subsessile, nearly glabrous, 4½- by 2in., obtuse or subacute ; petiole scarcely ⅛in. Spikes l-2in., sometimes agglomerated into axillary globes, 3-4in. diam., bracts ½in., purplish. Calyx ⅓in., one lobe shortly 3-toothed, the other deeply 2-fid. Corolla 3/5in., limb a line blue, obconic, subentire, plicate ; lower lip of 3 very depressed triangular lobes, upper an emarginate subsimilar lobe. Anthers pubescent. Capsule ⅔in., 4-seeded. Seeds ⅓in., diamet. The plant appears rarely to seed.
Uses. — It is powdered and made into a paste which is used to cure ringworm, and the roots are administered in that form of indigestion in which fatty or saponaceous, grape-like masses are observed in the stools. They resemble Serpentaria in appearance, but may be distinguished by the thick covering of white, silky hairs upon the root stock. The roots have hardly any taste.
926. Andrographis paniculata, Nees. h.f.b.i., iv. 501.
Syn. : — Justicia paniculata, Burm. Roxb. 40.
Sans. : — Kirata ; Bhunimba ; Mahâtikta (king of bitters).
Vern. : — Kiryát, charáyetah, mahátia (Hind.) ; Kálmegh, mahátia (Beng.)'; Olenkiráyat (Mar.) ; Kiryáta, olikiryât, kiryáto, kariyátu (Guz.) ; Charayetah, kalafnáth (Duk.) ; Nila-veêmbu, shirat-kuchch (Tam.) ; Nela-vêmu (Tel.) ; Nila-veppu, kiriyattu (Mala.) : Nela-bevinágidâ, kreata (Kan.)
Habitat : — Througout India, from Lucknow and Assam to Ceylon (probably introduced in some of the northern stations).
An erect annual, l-3ft. high, branches sharply 4-angled or almost winged. Leaves 2-3in. long, lanceolate, acute, tapering to the base, paler beneath, main lateral nerves 4-6 pairs, petioles none or up to ¼ in. long. Flowers small, solitary, arranged in lax spreading axillary and terminal racemes or panicles, the whole forming a large paniculate inflorescence ; pedicels distinct, gland. -pubescent ; bracts 1/10in. long, lanceolate bracteoles smaller or none. Calyx ⅛ in. long ; segments equal linear-lanceolate, gland. -pubescent. Corolla pink, ⅜in. long, hairy outside, tube 1/5in. long, dilated below the limb. Filaments ​ hairy upwards, anthers bearded at the base. Capsule ¾in. long, tapering at each end. Seeds several, subquadrate, rugose, glabrous (Duthie).
N. B.— The figure given in Bentley and Triman's Medicinal Plants is erroneous as to the seeds being hairy (C. B. Clarke).
Uses .-—This bittter shrub is well known under the name of Kalmegh, and forms the principal ingredient of a house-hold medicine called Alui, extensively used in Bengal. The expressed juice of the leaves, together with certain spices, such as cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, &c, is dried in the sun, and made into little globules, which are prescribed for infants to relieve griping, irregular stools and loss of appetite. The medicinal properties of this plant are many. The roots and the leaves are febrifuge, stomachic, tonic, alterative and anthelmintic. According to Murray, the plant is very useful in general debility, dysentery and certain forms of dyspepsia. It is officinal in the Indian Pharmacopœia. " The Yanadees, a wandering gipsy tribe in the Madras Presidency, constantly carry a supply of pills made of Great fresh leaves, and the pulp of the ripe tamarind, which they consider antidotal to the venom of the cobra. A pill made into a paste with water is applied to the bitten part, and some of it is put into the eyes ; two pills are given for a dose every hour or two internally" (P. Kinsley, Chicacole, Madras). " Green leaves with the leaves of Indian birth wort (Aristolochia Indica) and the fresh inner root-bark of country sarsaparilla, made into an electuary, is used by native hakims as a tonic and alterative in syphilitic cachexia and foul syphilitic ulcers. I have seen many cases successfully treated by this electuary" (Morris, Negaptam). See Watt's Dictionary.
Surgeon-Major Parker, Medical Store-Keeper, Bombay, wrote : " A preparation of this drug has, within the past few years, been largely advertised in England as a substitute for quinine and as a general powerful tonic. Kiryat is the native Chiretta and is used extensively by them as a febrifuge. Preparations — Succus, Fluid Extract, Infusion, Tincture. The whole plant is used and is collected towards the end of the monsoon and dried in the shade. The dried plant is to some extent found in the ​ market this reason of the year, but, as a rule, the fresh plant only can be obtained from the herbalists. Cultivated at Matunga, near Bombay. Kiryat as a substitue for Quassia and Chiretta, and as a possible means of lessening quinine expenditure seems well worthy of consideration. Chiretta is almost always adulterated and is produced, I believe, in Nepal. Can be readily cultivated from the seed in shady places" (Report, Central Indigen. Drugs Com. Vol. I p. 157.)
In the Second Report of the said Committee (p. 61) it is stated that : —
Andrographis puniculata is very extensively used in India as a remedy for malaria and also in dysentey and diarrhœa. It is not unlikely that in the bazaars it and Indian chiretta are offered rather indiscriminately. It is also the basis of an English " patent " tonic. Ward, in the Pharmaceutical Journal LV, page 197, remarks that there are so many bitters in England that there is little call to resort to it. But in India there are not so many, and the plant is so common that the drug is very readily available. The whole of it is medicinal. Boorsma (Mededeelingen uit S' Lands Plantentuin XVIII 66) reports that the plant may contain an alkaloid, but that he could not definitely prove its presence. The bitter principle is another substance— a crystalline glucoside, most abundant in the leaves, which Boorsma calls " andrographid." Its chemical properties were to some extent investigated by Boorsma, but no one has yet had it isolated in quantity for pharmacological examination.
Chemical composition.— According to the authors of the Pharmacographia : — " The aqueous infusion of the herb exhibits a slight acid reaction and has an intensely bitter taste, which appears to be due to an indifferent, non-basic principle, for the usual reagents do not indicate the presence of an alkaloid. Tannic acid, on the other hand, produces an abundant precipitate, a compound of itself with the bitter principle. The infusion is but little altered by the salts of iron ; it contains a considerable quantity of chloride of sodium."
In " Food and Drugs " of Calcutta, for Jany 1915, Mr. Kshiti Bhushan Bhaduri, M. Sc, gives the results of his analysis of this plant as follows : —
For examination 68 Gm. of the powdered leaves and stems were taken and exhausted in a Soxhleb apparatus successively by petroleum ether, ether, chloroform, and alcohol. ******
The plant is very rich in chlorophyll, one portion of which is soluble in chloroform and the other not, though both are soluble in alcohol.
Examination of the Petroleum Ether Extract.
This was a viscid, brownish- yellow colored liquid from which, on keeping a small quantity of an inactive, needle shaped crystalline substance separated out, having 117° C. as its melting-point, the quantity obtained was so small that no further examination was possible. The viscid mass also contained a ​ little essential oil, which was separated by extraction with alkalies ; the rest of it was " kalmegh resin," a portion of which was extracted by first making it alkaline with caustic potash and shaking up with ether. It can be further extracted with ether after acidification with an acid.
Chloroform Extract.
This contained, besides chlorophyll, an amorphous white substance and very little of a bitter substance, the former of which separated out on concentrating the chloroform extract. Its melting-point is 221° C. It is tasteless and insoluble in water and alcohol. It is unacted upon by acids and alkalies.
Extraction of the Bitter Principles.
For this extraction the powdered leaves and stems were exhausted in a percolator with alcohol. * * * * * *
The residue remaining in the flask separated into two layers, one aqueous and the other solid ; the former, when allowed to cool, deposited some yellow colored crystals (bitter a) ; the latter was boiled with water and filtered hot ; from the filtrate a white amorphous precipitate was deposited having an extremely bitter taste (bitter b).
Examination of the Bitter Principle (a).
This was purified by dissolution in alcohol and fractional precipitation ; the process was repeated three times. It had a pale-yellow coloy. When a little of the substance was heated in a test-tube it diffused a very fragrant odor. It had melting point of 2.06° C. * * * * * The substance is very soluble in ethyl and methyl alcohol, though not to the above extent in amyl alcohol. It is very slightly soluble in chloroform and ether. Benzene and petroleum ether do not dissolve it even on boiling.
It is neither an alkaloid nor a giucoside, as it neither contains nitrogen nor produces a reducing sugar after hydrolysis. It can be acetylated, — i.e., it contains hydroxyl groups ; the acetyl derivative is white and insoluble in water. Its melting-point is 95° C. * * * * *
Examination of the Bitter Principle (b).
It was a white amorphous substance having an extremely bitter taste. It is odorless, and its melting-point is 185° C. It is practically insoluble in cold water. When a little of the substance was boiled for a long time with water, the latter acquired a slightly acid reaction. It is soluble in alcohol and chloroform. * * The formula C$_{19}$H$_{51}$O$_5$ is given to it, * * *
The name " Kalmeghin "is proposed for it.
A white substance separated out when bitter (b) was treated with an acid.
This was washed with water and dried. It had an acid reaction and was soluble in alkalies, neutralizing it. As it was derived from Kalmeghin the name " Kalmeghic acid " was given to it. * * The formula is C$_{14}$H$_{28}$O$_2$
927. A. echioides, Nees. h.f.b.l, iv. 505.
Syn. : — Justicia echioides, Linn. Roxb. 40.
Vern. :- Peetumba (Malaly) ; Ran Chimani (Deccani). ​ Habitat. — Tropical India in the drier districts, from the Panjab and Chota Nagpore to Ceylon, common (absent in Bengal proper and humid Malabar).
An erect annual, 6-18in. high. Stem 4-angled grooved, clothed with spreading hairs, sometimes branched. Leaves l-3in. long, sessile oblong or subelliptic, obtuse, sparsely hairy, base cuneate, margins ciliate, main lateral nerves 4-6 pairs. Flowers unilateral, in axillary spreading or recurved racemes shorter than the leaves, rhachis gland.-hairy ; bracts 1/12in. long, lanceolate, bracteoles much smaller. Calyx 1/6-¼in. ; segments narrowly linear, acute, ciliate, elongating in fruit. Corolla about ½in. long, densely hairy outside, pink or white, the lower lip spotted with purple. Filaments slightly hairy, anthers bearded. Capsule ⅓-½in. long, elliptic-lanceolate, hairy. Seeds 1/10in. long, rugose, glabrous.
Use : — The juice is given in fever (Rheede).
928. Haplanthus verticillaris, Nees., h.f.b.l, iv. 506.
Syn. : — Justicia Verticillata, Roxb. 45.
Vern. : — Kastula (H.) ; Jhankara (Marathi) ; Kálá Kiráyat ; Kálayakara (Western India).
Habitat : — W. Deccan Peninsula, frequent, extending north to Mt. Aboo. Bundelkhand, Assam.
A herb, 1½-2½ ft.high. Stems glabrous at the base, more or less pubescent upwards. Leaves 2½-4in. long, ovate, acuminate acute or subobtuse, hairy on the upper surface and on the nerves beneath, abruptly cuneate at the base ; main nerves 8-10 pairs, prominent beneath, petioles 1-2in. long. Cladodes (axillary spines) 1-1½ in. long, stout, 4-angled, enlarging in fruit, usually with 2 sharp spines at the apex, more or less glandular-pubescent and with spreading bristles towards the base. Flowers sessile amongst the verticils of cladodes ; bracteoles longer than the calyx, subulate, finely pointed. Calyx 1/6in. long, segments lanceolate, pointed, gland. -pubescent. Corolla ⅔in. long, minutely hairy outside, limb lilac, with darker lines. Capsule about ½in. ​ long, narrowly oblong acute, glabrous. Seeds 1/10-1/6in. long (Duthie).
929. H. tentaculatus, Nees. h.f.b.l, iv. 507.
Vern. : — The same as of the last.
Habitat : — Bombay ; Belgaum ; Malabar ; Central India.
A slender gland.-pubescent herb. Stems 4-angular above. Leaves 2-4in. long, ovate, acuminate, decurrent into the petioles ; main nerves 8-10 pairs, petioles often obscure. Cladodes slender, ¼-¾in. long, densely clothed, with short hairs intermixed with longer ones, the apex furnished with 2 or 3 flattened villous teeth (reduced leaves). Flowers sessile amongst the cladodes ; bracteoles subulate, shorter than the calyx. Calyx 1/6in. long ; segments linear-subulate, hairy. Corolla about ½in. long, blue lilac or white. Capsule ⅓in. long, oblong, pointed, hairy. Seeds smaller than those of H. verticillaris.
Mr. Nairne, in his ' Flowering Plants of Western India ' says of this plant, that it is " a smaller species than the last, very like it, but with short petioled oval leaves, rounded at both ends, a little hairy."
Uses : — The authors of the Pharmacographia Indica (Vol. III p. 47) say that the above-mentioned two plants " are used medicinally." They are given in fever.
930. Gymnostachyum febrifugum, Benth. h.f.b.l, iv. 508.
Vern. : — Nelamuchchala (Kan.).
Habitat : — S. Deccan Peninsula ; Mangalore.
Nearly stemless. Leaves 6½ by 3in., decurrent on the petiole, subentire or undulate-crenulate, above lineolate nearly glabrous or minutely sparsely setulose, beneath paler glabrous or pubescent on the nerves. Panicles puberulous, 6-12in., in appearance radical ; flowers opposite, solitary or in very small few-fid. cymes ; bracts small, narrow ; bracteoles 0. Sepals ⅛-1/6in., glabrous or puberulous. Corolla l¼in., upper half inflated, glabrous. Anthers ovate, hairy, capsule lin.
Use : — A decoction of the root is a febrifuge. ​ The root contains a bitter principle of a resinoid nature dissolving in sulphuric acid, with a purple colour. It contains, besides, a crystalline cho- lesterol, with small quantities of tannin and sugar (Hooper).
931. Phlogacanthus thyrsiflorus, Nees. h.f.b.i iv. 512.
Vern. :— Lalbâhuk (Ph.).
Habitat: — Subtropical Himalaya, from Garhwal to Bhotan, very common. Khasia hills and Assam.
A shrub 3-7ft. Leaves large, lanceolate, glabrous, 7 by 1¾in., tapering at both ends, subentire, densely punctulate ; petiole ¾in. Thyrses 4-12in., terminal, solitary or several, or quasi-axillary on lateral branches ; peduncles short ; bracts ¼in., linear. Calyxtube ⅛in. ; teeth ¼-⅓in., setaceous, densely pubescent. Corolla ⅔in., closely villous, orange; tube broad from the base, curved ; 2-lipped, upper lip suberect, lower patent. Stamens glabrous, or slightly hairy near the base of the filaments ; 2 rudiments often discernible. Style glabrous. Capsule 1¼ by 1/6in., subquadrangular, glabrous, 12-14-seeded. Seeds much compressed, orbicular in outline, densely shortly hairy, hairs elastically spreading when moistened.
Use : — In the Panjab, it is put to the same uses as Adhatoda Vasica, Nees.
932. Lepidagathis cristata, Willd. h.f.b.i. iv. 516 ; Roxb. 476.
Vern. : — Bhuyaterada (M.) ; Ot dhompo (Santal).
Habitat : — Frequent in Coromandel.
Herbs, with perennial rootstock. Stems 6-18in., branched, procumbent, quadrangular, puberulous or slightly pubescent. Leaves 1 by ¼in., sessile lanceolate above, minutely scabrid pubescent on the nerves beneath or glabrate ; linear or oblong. Inflorescence subradical globose ; one or two small heads sometimes added to the lower part of the leafy branches. Bracts ⅓in., rigid in fruit. Bracteoles membranous, hairy, spinescent. Both bracts and bracteoles elliptic ovate or obovate, suddenly spinose acuminate. Calyx sub-4-partite, one segment bifid ; ​ sepals elliptic or obovate, suddenly spinulose and densely hairy in fruit ; thickened , very hairy upwards, with a mucro. Corolla 1/5in., densely hairy in bud, white, with brown or purple spots in the palate. Stamens glabrous, anther-cells one slightly above the other, papillose, ciliate. Ovary glabrous. Capsule ¼in., 2- seeded, elongate conic, dorsally scarious, thin, irregularly tearing, only ultimately 2-valved from the subsolid tip. Seeds ovate- lanceolate, with very long hair, spreading elastically when wet, very mucilaginous (C.B. Clarke).
Uses : — A bitter herb used in fevers (Sakharam Arjun). The ash of the dry plant is employed in Chutia Nagpur as an application to sores (Revd. A. Campbell). It is applied to cure itchy affections of the skin (Dymock).
933. Justicia Gendarussa, Linn. f. h.f.b.l, iv. 532, Roxb. 43.
Syn. : — Gendarussa vulgaris, Nees.
Sans. : — Nil-nirgandi.
Vern. ' — Udí-sanbhálá, nílí-nargandi (Hind.) ; Jagat-madan, jogmodon (Beng.) ; Teo, kala-adulsa (Bomb.) ; Kalíshanbálí (Dec); Karu-noch-chi, karuppu-noch-chi (Tam.); Néla-vávili, nalla-noch-chi, nalla-vávili (Tel.) ; Karelakki-gidá (Kan.) ; Karun-noch-chi, váták-koti, vátan-golli (Mal.)
Habitat : — Throughout India, from Bengal to Ceylon.
A perennial, much branched, undershrub. Stems 2-4ft., erect, quadrangular, thickened above the nodes, glabrous, purple. Leaves 4 by ¾in., sometimes 5in. long, linear lanceolate, acute at base, tapering to obtuse apex, entire or slightly and irregularly crenate, glabrous and shining, rather thick, veins prominent beneath, purple. Petiole ¼in. Flowers rather small, white or pink, with minute red dots in the throat and lip, in opposite clusters of three short interrupted sessile terminal spikes, lower clusters usually distant. Bracts ¼in., linear, acute. Bracteoles 0. Sepals 1/6in., linear, subulate, glabrous. Corolla nearly glabrous ; tube ⅜in., upper lip notched, lower lip transversly rugose. Fruit not seen, says Triman, from Ceylon. "Lower anther-cell distinctly tailed. Capsule ½in., clavate, glabrous, 4-seeded" (C.B,. Clarke), ​ Commonly used in Bombay as a garden fringe-plant. The leaves have a pleasant taste, says Triman. It is questionable if they are so ; for on chewing them I find them distinctly possessed of a disagreeable oily taste (K.R. Kirtikar).
Uses : — The Malays employ it as a febrifuge (Motley, in Hooker s Journ. of Bot., 1855, vol. vii. p. 166). According to Horsfield (Asiat. Journ., vol. vii. p. 266), emetic qualities are ascribed to it in Java. The leaves and tender shoots, which, when bruised, emit a strong but not unpleasant odour, are, according to Ainslie (Mat. Ind. vol., ii. p. 68), prescribed in decoction in chronic rheumatism. Its action is apparently that of a diaphoretic. Our knowledge of its virtues rests principally on native testimony (Ph. Ind.).
An oil prepared from the leaves when applied locally is said to be useful in eczema, and an infusion of the leaves is given internally in cephalalgia, hemiplegia, and facial paralysis (Surg.-Major Houstan, in Watt's Dictionary).
The juice of the fresh leaves is dropped into the ear for earache, and into the corresponding nostril on the side of the head affected with hemicrania (P. Kinsley, in Watt's Dictionary).
934. J '. procumbens, Linn., h.f.b.l, iv. 539. Roxb. 45,
Vern. : — Gháti-pitpáprá, pitpápada (Bomb.)
Habitat : —South Western India, extending as far north as the South Konkan.
Stems diffuse, slender, with many divaricate branches, rooting at lower nodes, furrowed, nearly glabrous, with a few long hairs below the nodes, or with spreading hair. Leaves ¾-1½in., oval or ovate-oval, obtuse at both ends, entire or slightly crenate, softly hairy-pubescent on both sides ; elliptic or lanceolate, says C. B. Clarke. Flowers very small, in rather dense cylindric terminal spikes ; ½-l½in. long. Bractlets linear, long, ciliate. Sepals linear- filiform, strongly ciliate, as long as bractlets, one shorter or absent. Lower lip of Corolla broader than long, lobes shallow, obtuse. Capsule 1/6in., with a short, solid base. Flowers pale, violet, pink, the lower lip spotted with darker pink. The flowers vary in size, being larger than the hill forms. ​ Uses : — Used as a substitute for true Pit-pápra (Fumaria), which it resembles in having a faintly bitter, disagreeable taste (Dymock). The juice of the leaves is squeezed into the eye in cases of ophthalmia (Ainslie).
935. Adhatoda Vasica, Nees, h.f.b.i., iv. 540.
Syn. : — Justicia Adhatoda, Linn. Roxb. 43.
Habitat: — From the Punjab and Assam to Ceylon and Singapore.
Sans. : — Arusak (not angry), Vâsa (giving perfume), Vrisha (chief), Sinha-mukhi (lion-mouthed), Sinha-parni (lion-leaved), Sinhakatpat (lion-eradicator), Ruksha (dry.)
Vern. : — Arusha, adulasá, adulaso (Hind, and Bom.); Bâkas, vásaka (Beng.) ; Bhekkar, basúti, tora bujja, bashang arús, (Himalayan names) ; Bansa (Pers.) ; Adhadode (Tam.) ; Adasara (Tel.) ; Atalotakam (Mad.)
An evergreen, dense shrub, 4-8ft., sometimes arborescent, even 20ft., with a fetid smell, says Kanjilal. The Bombay plant has no fetid smell. Leaves 4-8in., entire, minutely pubescent especially when young, lateral nerves 8-12 pair. Petiole l-l½in. Inflorescence a dense, short, pedunculate, bracteate spike, 2-4in. long, terminal often several together. Bracts ¾ by ¼in., ovate or elliptic sessile ; bracteoles ½ by ⅛in., falcate, oblong. Calyx ⅓-½in. deeply 5-lobed, lobes equal, lanceolate. Corolla-tube ⅛-⅓ by ½-⅓in. broad, white, lower portion short and funnel-shaped ; lower lip with two lines of oblique purple bars. Stamens 2 ; filaments dilated ; anther-cells acute at the apex, scarcely spurred at base. Capsule ¾in. clavate, longitudinally channelled, pubescent, 4-seeded. Seeds 1/5in. diam., glabrous, tubercled. Wood white, moderately hard. Every part of the plant is exceedingly bitter.
Uses : --The leaves and the root of this plant are considered a very efficacious remedy for all sorts of coughs, being administered along with ginger. " The medicine was considered so serviceable in phthisis that it was said no man suffering from this disease need despair as long as the vasaka plant exists" ​ (U. C. Dutt.) It is often administered along with honey, the fresh juice or a decoction with pepper being made into a cough mixture. The Pharm. Indica states that strong testimony has been given in favor of its remedial properties, drawn from personal experience, in the treatment of chronic bronchitis, asthma, &c, when not attended with febrile action. The flowers and the fruit are bitter, aromatic and antispasmodic. The fresh flowers are bound over the eyes in cases of ophthalmia. " The flowers, leaves, and root, but especially the first, are supposed to possess antispasmodic qualities." " They are bitterish and sub-aromatic and are administered in infusion and electuary as anthelmintic" (Ainslie). The leaves are used as a cattle medicine ; in the case of man for rheumatism ; and the flowers for ophthalmia (Stewart).
The leaves dried and made into cigarettes are smoked in asthma and their juice is used for diarrhœa and dysentery. The powdered root is used in Mysore by native doctors in cases of malarial fever. It has expectorant and antispasmodic properties, and its use has been recommended in the treatment of colds, coughs, asthma, phthisis, and even diphtheria, in which it deserves more extended trial. It is said, also, to be a valuable antiseptic, antiperiodic, and anthelmintic. Drury mentions that the leaves given in conjunction with those of Solanum trilobatum and S. xanthocarpum are employed by the Vythians internally in decoction as anthelmentic. In Bengal and Upper India also the leaves are smoked as cheroots for asthma. In Assam, the juice of the plant is considered the best preparation. It is extracted from the young shoots and flowers by first washing them in an ordinary brass or iron vessel over a fire and then applying pressure. It is taken with ghi or honey. In Central India, the plant is one of the ingredients used for preparing the mixture in which infants up to the age of four months are bathed. The Burmese pound the leaves and use them as a poultice for fresh wounds, while an infusion of the leaves and twigs is given internally for coughs. In the Tenasserim district, the leaves are used externally in cases of swellings, bleeding of the nose, and headache ; and internally for fever, colic, asthma and dysentery. It is prescribed in a spirit for wealthy persons suffer​ ing from certain humours. The spirit is prepared with this as a chief ingredient and several other articles, and it is said to strengthen the chest and throat. It has been known to cure bleeding of the lungs by taking a sweetened decoction of the plant, and the preparation is an excellent mixture for children and others with bad coughs and colds.
Dr. Rusby states that " it appears to be toxic to all forms of life, in direct proportion to their lowness in the scale, and that this property is unique among plants. * ® The leaves are found to completely destroy the lower aquatics and to prevent their re-appearance. Laid upon fruits and other perishable substances they, to a great extent, prevent mould and decay. They check the development of parasitic diseases on vegetation. The very extended use of this plant in India in the treatment of tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases may be founded upon this property."
"It is probable," writes Dr. Watt, "we have in Adhatoda an antiseptic at the door of every Indian peasant. An aqueous solution of the alcoholic extract of the leaves was tried upon flies, fleas, mosquitoes, centipedes and other insects, and in every case the application met with poisonous results."
There seems to be a wide field of usefulness for this remarkable plant in the treatment of diseases depending upon the presence of fungi, bacteria, etc.
In the Second Report of the Indigenous Drugs Committee, p. 35, we read. —
" In the experiments so far done (see Pro. Indigenous Drugs Committee, Vol. I., pages 387-418) Captain Childe, who used 30 minim doses of the tincture, reported that it did well in cases of bronchitis, especially in chronic bronchitis, but no benefit resulted in cases of phthisis. Lieutenant-Colonel Nailer reported that the drug was administered in chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma and phthisis, and that he would not recommend its use in such cases. Lieutenant-Colonel Lee reported that it was a useful expectorant. Major Crawford reported that the drug was tried in several cases in the form of a tincture ; it acted well in the latter in the stages of acute bronthitis. Assistant Surgeon W. D. Innes reported that the drug was used in cases of chronic bronchitis, its action was not definite and not as effective as some of the drugs now in ordinary use. Captain Stewart, who used half drachm in a few cases of bronchitis and pneumonia, reported that it is as effective as ipecacuanha. Major Frenchman, who used the ticture in doses varying from m. xx ​to dr. i, reported that in 10 out of 24 cases of chronic and subacute bronchitis and bronchial catarrh, it was found efficacious and successful. It failed in 3 cases of phthisis that he tried. In 2 out of 3 cases of asthma it acted well. The full dose of dr. i causes nausea and griping, and, therefore, had to be reduced to m. xx. which was found sufficient."
The analysis of the leaves reveals certain principles resembling those found in tobacco, as, for instance, an odorous volatile principle, an alkaloid, but not volatile like nicotine, one or more organic acids, sugar, mucilage and a large percentage of mineral salts.
The chemical analyses have revealed the presence of an alkaloid vasicine as the active principle, and this result has been confirmed by the physiological as well as chemical tests of Dr. Boorsma of Java. A tartrate of vasicine is now an article of commerce on the Continent and future possibilities may be expected of it in medical science.
The various portions of the plant available in the Office of Reporter on Economic Products were analysed by Mr. Hooper, with the following results :—
| | Moisture. | Ash. | Spt.ext. | Vasicine. |
| Leaves | 7.9 | 20.0 | 13.3 | .39 |
| Bark | 10.2 | 14.0 | 14.4 | .35 |
| Root | 6.7 | 4.6 | 3.4 | traces. |
| Root-bark | 5.8 | 12.4 | 11.2 | .58 |
The alkaloidal content of the bark is here seen to approach very closely to that of the leaves. The question of cost in collecting these two products would have to be considered, and it is evident that the separation of the bark from the stems would entail more labour than the simple method of gathering the leaves from the shrub. In other medicinal shrubs, such as Buchu and Senna, when the leaves are officinal, it is not customary to use the bark of the plants in addition to the leaves.
The following results were obtained from quantitative experiments on the powdered barks : —
| Header text | From Young Plants. | From Old Plants. |
| Moisture | 12.1 | 10.2 |
| Spirit extract | 15.0 | 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 the remark made some years ago by Mooden Sheriff of Madras. In the Supplements 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.
936. Rhinacanthns communis, Nees., h.f.b.i.,, iv. 541.
Syn. : — Justicia Nasuta, Linn., Roxb 40.
Sans. : — Guthika-parni. ​ Vern. : — Palik-juhia, pálak-juhi, jui-pani (Hind.); Júi-pana (Beng.); Pulcolli, puzhuk-kolli, pushpa-kedal, nagamallichcheti (Mal. S. P.) ; Gâchkaran (Bomb.); Gajakarní (Mar.) ; Kabútar-ka-jhár (Dec); Naga-malli (Tam.) ; Nargamollay, nága malle (Tel.) ; Naga-mallige (Kan.).
Habitat:— Cultivated throughout India; perhaps wild in the Deccan Peninsula.
A much-branched shrub. Leaves entire, 3-4 by ¾-1½in., usually narrowed at both ends, oblong or ovate-oblong, pubescent or glabrate ; margins undulate ; petiole ⅓in. Cymes terminal and on short lateral branches, dusky. Flowers often clustered. Bracts and bracteoles O-1/12in., linear. Calyx densely pubescent, 1/10in. Corolla-tube 1 by 1/16in., lobes ⅓in., 3 lower, each twice as broad as the shortly bifid upper. Capsule clavate 4-seeded, stalk long, solid cylindric.
Uses : — The fresh root and leaves, bruised and mixed with lime juice, are a useful remedy for ringworm and other cutaneous affections. The seeds also are efficacious in ringworm. (Ainslie and Royle.) The root-bark is a remedy for the affection of the skin which the Europeans call Dhobie's itch, Malabar itch, &c. (Oymock).
In Sind, it is said to possess extraordinary aphrodisiacal powers, the roots boiled in milk being much employed for that purpose by native practitioners (Murray).
The roots are believed in some parts of India to be an antidote to the bite of poisonous snakes. Of late, it seems to have attracted considerable attention in Europe, on account of its reputed value in the treatment of ringworm. It seems, however, to be universally used with good results in cases of Tinea circinata tropica, although its utility in ordinary ringworm (Tinea tonsurans) seems very doubtful. Dr. Liborius analysed the root at his laboratory at Dorpat, and found that it contained a substance which he called rhinacanthin, and which resembled Chrysophanic and frangulic acids in its antiseptic and antiparasitic properties (Watt).
chemical composition. — Liborius has analysed the root in the Dorpat Laboratory, finding in it 13.51 per cent, of ash and 1.87 per cent, of Rhinacanthin, a quinine-like body, besides the ordinary constituents of plants. ​N. O. ACANTHACEÆ. 979
Rhinacanthin is a dull cherry-red resinous substance, which contains no nitrogen, and does not reduce copper solution. It seems to be related to chrysophanic and frangulic acids. Two ultimate analyses gave a mean of carbon 67.55 per cent., hydrogen 7.36 per cent. The formula C$_{14}$H$_{18}$O$_4$ corresponds with 67.20 C and 7.20 H. Its presence in the plant is said to be limited to certain intercellular spaces occurring in the bark, the cellular tissue of of this part appearing to be filled with an intensely red substance, supposed to consist of a compound of rhinacanthin with an alkali. It is obtained by exhaustion of the powdered root fibres with absolute alcohol, Rhinacanthin has the peculiarity of forming with bases beautiful red compounds that are easily decomposed by certain neutral solvents, such as petroleum spirit, which dissolves the rhinacanthin and assumes a yellow colour (Pharm. Zeitch f. Russl., Feb. 1881 ; Year Book Pharm., 1881, p. 197.)
937. Ecbolium linneanum, Kurz., h.f.b.i., iv. 514.
Syn. : — Justicia Ecbolium, Linn., Roxb. 38.
Vern. : — Uda-jati (H.) ; Rán-aboli. Dháktaádulsa (Mar.).
Habitat : — S. Deccan Peninsula.
A low shrub, branches erect, cylindrical, thickened above the nodes, glabrous. Leaves large, 4½-6in., oblong, oval or lanceolate, tapering to base, acuminate, acute, entire to very faintly crenate, glabrous, shining and dark green above, paler and densely finely pubescent beneath. Petiole obscure. Flowers large, sessile in opposite pair. Spikes nearly sessile, 2-10in., 4-sided. Bracts ¾-⅞in., oblong-oval, aristate, glandular-puberulous, ciliate, semi-membranous, reticulate-veined. Bractlets subulate. Sepals linear, acuminate, glandular-pubescent. Corolla-tube l½in., slightly dilated and laterally compressed at throat, deflexed, hairy outside, upper lip about ½in. very narrow, strongly reflexed, lower lip about l½in. diam. ; lateral lobes oblong, acute, middle one oval obtuse. Capsule pubescent. Seeds white.
The colour of flowers, is, says Trimen from Ceylon, "pale bluish-green." J. D. Hooker says " greenish-blue or purple."
Use : — The roots are prescribed in jaundice and menor-rhagia (Dymock).
938. Graptophyllum hortense, Nees., h.f.b.i., iv. 545.
Syn. : — Justicia picta, Roxb. 39.
Vern. : — Pandhara adulsa (variegated variety); Kala adulsa (Dark variety) — (Konkan). ​ Habitat: -Cultivated in gardens throughout India and Malaya; where wild, uncertain.
A large elegant, ramous shrub, common in gardens, and one of our finest ornaments. I never saw it wild ; it is in flower most part of the year. Leaves opposite, short-petioled, ovate-lanceolate, smooth pointed, generally variegated with large white spots, though sometimes of a uniform green, and we have a variety with the leaves uniformly ferruginous. Racemes terminal, short, erect, smooth. Flowers large, generally of a beautiful crimson colour. Bracts opposite ; below three or four-flowered ; above one-flowered. Corolla throat compressed, divisions of the border soon after they expand becoming spirally revolute, with their inside wrinkled, and beautifully ornamented with small chrystalline specks (Roxburgh).
Uses : — In the Konkan, it is used in the same manner as Adhatoda Vasica, Nees. According to Rumphius, the variegated variety is used pounded with the milk of the cocoanut to reduce swelling. Loureirs states that the leaves are emollient and resolvent, and notices their use as a cataplasm to inflamed breasts caused by obstruction to the flow of milk (Dymock).
939. Rungia reopens, Nees., h.f.b.i., iv. 549.
Syn. : — Justicia repens, Linn., Roxb. 44.
Vern. : — Kodaga saleh (Tam.) ; Ghátipitpápada (Bomb.).
Habitat : — Common throughout India, from the Punjab and Bengal to Ceylon.
A procumbent herb, rooting, ramous weed, says Clarke. Stems usually decumbent, says Triman, and rooting at the base, thin, erect, slender, cylindric puberulous. Branches quadrangular, pubescent or nearly glabrous. Leaves oblong or lanceolate- linear, l-2in., on very short petiole, acute at base, subacute at apex, entire glabrous, densely lineolate above (so as to be rough when dried). Spikes long, l½-5in., 4-sided, erect, terminal. Bracts much imbricated, all similar, nearly ¼in., broadly-oval, obtuse, sharply mucronate, pubescent, very slightly ciliate, ​ broadly bordered, with white scarious margins. Bractlets linear-lanceolate, acute. Capsule 1/6in., oblong-ovoid, pubescent. Seeds with concentric furrows. Anther-cells superposed, lower white tailed. Corolla white, with rose or purple spots (C. B. Clarke). Ovary glabrous ; style thinly hairy at base.
Flowers, says Trimen from Ceylon, " violet, with red dots, thin clots in the throat."
Uses : — The leaves resemble, both in smell and taste, those of thyme ; while fresh, they are bruised, mixed with castor oil, and applied to the scalp in cases of tinea capitis (Ainslie).
The whole plant, dried and pulverised, is given in doses of from 4 to 12 drams in fevers and coughs, and is also considered a vermifuge (Drury).
940. R. parviflora, Nees., h.f.b.l, iv. 550.
Syn : — Justicia pectinata, Linn. Roxb. 44.
Sans. : — Pindi.
Vern. : — Tavashu miirunghie ; punakapundii (Tarn.); Pindi kunda (Tel.) ; Bir lopong arak (San tab). Habitat : —Throughout India.
Annual ; erect stems, slender, with opposite lines of pubescent, divaricately branched ; upper leaves 2½-4in., linear, much tapering to base, obtuse, slightly undulate, glabrous, lanceolate, petiole obscure, lower leaves oval or rotundate, distinctly petioled. Spikes very short, about ¼in. flat, ranks of empty bracts in one plane, ¼in., linear oblong, mucronate, with a very narrow margin, glabrous, slightly ciliate, floral bracts about ⅛in., oval, obtuse, slightly mucronate, with the scarious margin wider, glabrous, ciliate ; bractlets narrower than the bracts. Sepals linear lanceolate. Corolla ¼in., small (Trimen). Flowers white, with blue lines on lower lip. " Capsule 1/5in., seeds small, minutely verrucose ; spikes nearly all terminal, markedly one-sided " (C. B. Clarke).
Uses : — The juice of the small and somewhat fleshy leaves is considered cooling and aperient and is prescribed for children suffering from small-pox in dose of a tablespoonful or two twice daily. The bruised leaves are applied to contusions to relieve pain and diminish swelling (Ainslie). ​ Among the Santals the root is given as a medicine in fevers (Revd. A. Campbell).
N.B. — In Bombay, the above two species are sometimes employed by the shopkeepers to adulterate Fumitory (Fumaria officinalis) ; hence they are also called pitpáprá there (K. R. K.).
941. Dicliptera Roxburghiana, Nees., h.f.b.i., iv. 553.
Vern. : — Kirch, Semni, Lakshmana (Pb.) ; Bouna (Simla).
Habitat : — Frequent in the plains of N. India, from the Punjab to Assam, Silhet and E. Bengal, Bhotan.
Diffuse herbs. Stems l-3ft, elongate, very nearly glabrate. Leaves 2½ by lin., base cuneate, elliptic, acute, obscurely pubescent or glabrate. Petiole ¼in. Flowers in clusters, axillary and terminal, sessile, more rarely shortly peduncled. Bracts nearly ½ by 1/5in., often 3-nerved, ciliate, thinly pubescent, cuneate-elliptic obovate, apiculate, not acuminate. Corolla ¾in. Capsule ¼in., clavate, puberulous or glabrous. Seeds conspicuously verrucose.
Use : — According to Stewart, the plant is used medicinally in the Punjab.
It is said to be a useful tonic (Watt).
942. Peristrophe bicalyculata, Nees., h.f.b.i., iv. 554.
Syn. : — Justicia bicalyculata, Vahl., Roxb 42.
Vern. : — Nasa bhaga (B.) ; Barge khode baha (Santal.) ; Kali- andi jahria (Merwara) ; Ghátpitta-pápada (Mahr.) ; Atreelal (Hind.) ; Nazpat (Sind.) ; Chebira (Tel.).
Habitat : — Tropical and Subtropical India, from the Punjab and Sind to Assam and Madras.
Erect spreading herbs, thinly patently hairy. Leaves 2 by lin., ovate, acuminate. Petiole ¼in. Each pair of bracts long-petioled. Bracts ⅓ by 1/20in., unequal, linear or linear-spathulate, acute mucronate. Panicles lax,divaricate. Corolla ⅓-½in. Anther cells ovoid, remote, ovoid, not linear, which latter is the characteristic of the other species of genus Peristrophe Capsule ⅓-½in. Seeds minutely glandular, papillose. ​Uses :— According to Rheede, the whole of the plant, macerated id an infusion of rice, is said to be a useful remedy in poisonous snake-bites. Dr. Sakharam Arjun, in his' List of Bombay Drugs, says that this plant is supposed to have the properties of Fumaria parviflora and is used in its stead, but has not the bitterness of that plant.
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