In addition to its use as an antidote for snakebites, R. serpentina was often employed to treat anxiety, insomnia, and insanity. Other local cultures used the plant as a relaxant and as a tranquilizer to put children to sleep for the night. Technician removing the apical meristem from a plant to be cultured. They will be separated and further cultured to maturity. In 1949, the alkaloid reserpine was isolated and identified from the roots of Rauvolfia.
Alkaloids are a major class of natural products that have a physiological effect in other organisms.
They characteristically contain carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and in many cases, oxygen. Because of their potent pharmacological effects, alkaloids are the basis for many pharmaceuticals. Reserpine is considered a sympathomimetic agent, one that targets the sympathetic nervous system. Reserpine has been found to lower blood pressure in remarkably low oral doses. CIBA, a pharmaceutical company based in Switzerland, marketed reserpine under the trade name Serpasil as the first major drug to treat hypertension.