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In this article we will discuss about:- 1. Habitat of Rauvolfia Serpentina 2. History of Rauvolfia Serpentina 3. Medicine 4. Chemical Constituents 5. Uses.
Contents:
- Habitat of Rauvolfia Serpentina
- History of Rauvolfia Serpentina
- Medicine of Rauvolfia Serpentina
- Chemical Constituents of Rauvolfia Serpentina
- Uses of Rauvolfia Serpentina
1. Habitat of Rauvolfia Serpentina:
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A large climbing or twining shrub, found in the tropical Himalayas and plains near the foot of the hills from Sirhind and Moradabad to Sikkim. It occurs also in Assam (up to 4000′) and in South India Peninsula along the Ghats to Travancore and Kerala.
The genus is distributed in the tropics, i.e., Central and South America, Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Burma, China and Japan. The largest number of species is found in Africa and South America. It is also distributed to Malaysia and Java.
The roots are used as medicine. It has been used in indigenous medicine for hundreds of years, has acquired great importance in modem therapeutics following recent scientific research. It is being extensively used in reducing blood pressure in hyperplesis and as a sedative in the treatment of insomnia, hypochondria, mental disorders and certain forms of insanity.
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It has been recently used to advantage in numerous other diseases like intractable skin disorders such as psoriasis, excessive sweating and itching, gynaecological ailments such as menopausal syndrome; in old-age afflictions such as toxic goitre; and in conditions such as angina pectoris and rapid or irregular heart action.
As high blood pressure now is one of the commonest constitutional diseases, the drug is considered a great boon and is assured of an ever increasing demand.
2. History of Rauvolfia Serpentina:
The story of Rauvolfia serpentina is a most fascinating one. The plant is mentioned in ancient literature including the works of Charaka (1000-800 B.C.) where it is described under its Sanskrit name of Sarpagandha as a useful antidote against snake-bite and insect stings. There are many folk-lores about rauvolfia. One such is that a mongoose would first chew upon its leaves to gain strength before engaging a cobra in combat.
According to another, its leaves when freshly ground and applied to the toes, could serve as an antidote for snake poison. A third one has it that the mentally deranged person is relieved of his madness if he eats the pieces of the root. Because of this supposed curative effect in case of insanity the plant has also been known in India as “Pagal-ki-dava’.
Its generic name was coined towards the end of the seventeenth century by the French Botanist, Plumiers in honour of the well-known sixteenth-century German physician, botanist, traveller and author Leonard Rauwolf of Augsburg.
3. Medicine of Rauvolfia Serpentina:
In India and Malaysia the root of this plant has been, from ancient times, much valued as an antidote for the bites of poisonous reptiles and the stings of insects, also as febrifuge, and as a remedy for dysentery and other painful affections of the intestinal canal. In Sanskrit works it is mentioned under the name of Sarpagandha.
Rumphius speaks of it under the name of Radix musteloe, and says that in his time it was widely used in India and Java as an antidote against every sort of poison. It was administered both internally in the form of a decoction of the root and externally by making a plaster of the roots and fresh leaves and applying them to the soles of the feet.
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For snake poison, he continues, it was esteemed as specially valuable and the poisonous effects of even cobra’s bite were viewed as rendered harmless by the administration of this wonderful root.
It is said by him to have been universally employed as an internal remedy against fevers, cholera and dysentery, and the juice of the leaves was instilled into the eyes as a remedy for the removal of opacities of the cornea.
He states also that this is the plant to which the mongoose is believed to have recourse when bitten by poisonous snakes. Sir W. Jones gives a similar account of the supposed medicinal virtues of the plant, but expresses a doubt as to whether it really is the so called khneumon plant.
Roxburgh states that it is used by the “Telinga physicians, first, in substance, inwardly, as a febrifuge; secondly, in the same manner, after the bite of poisonous animals; and thirdly, it is administered, in substance to promote delivery in tedious cases”. Horsfield remarks that the root yields a strong bitter infusion and that its sensible properties indicate considerable activity.
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4. Chemical Constituents of Rauvolfia Serpentina:
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Siddiqui and Siddiqui (1931) isolated five crystalline alkaloids.
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These are divided into the groups:
(i) Ajmaline group-, —ajmaline, ajmalinine and ajmalicine; and
(ii) Serpentine group—serpentine and serpentinine.
Today, about 30 alkaloids are known to exist in this plant, the more widely known being reserpine, rescinnamine and yohimbine.
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Now they can be grouped into three categories:
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(i) Deep-yellow coloured quaternary anhydronium bases,
(ii) The intermediate strong indoline alkaloids and
(iii) Weak basic indole alkaloids; the last mentioned two groups are colourless. Of all the above-mentioned alkaloids, reserpine (serpasil) has gained the greatest prominence in Western countries for its therapeutic action.
Besides the alkaloids, the roots contain oleoresins, a sterol, unsaturated alcohols, oleic acid, fumaric acid, glucose, sucrose, a derivative or oxymethylantheraquinone, a strongly fluorescent substance and mineral salts. Of these, the oleoresin is said to be physiologically active and shows typical hypnotic and sedative action of the drug.
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5. Uses of Rauvolfia Serpentina:
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Vast developments have been made in the chemistry of its different alkaloids and their role in hypertension, neuropsychiatric and other pharmacodynamics. The two main pharmacological actions of reserpine, viz., lowering the blood pressure and sedative influence, have led to successful trials of the drug in hypertension, neuropsychiatric, gynaecological and geriatrics.
With a moderate hypotensive action it controls mainly subjective symptom of high blood pressure when given alone.
The drug is also reported to be useful in certain gynaecological conditions, such as menstrual, moliminia, frigidity and women complaining of menopausal syndrome. In the clinical use of reserpine in geriatrics it is reported to be of value in hypertension, nervousness, insomnia, etc.
Some important preparations are as follows:
Rauvolfia serpentina (tablets)—Gluconate Limited Calcutta.
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Ralfen (alcoholic preparation) (tablets)—Bengal Chemical and Pharmaceutical Works, Calcutta.
Serpina or S 117—Himalaya Drug Company, Dehradun.
Raudixin (tablets)—Sarabhai Chemicals, Ahmedabad.
Adelphene-CIBA India Limited, Mumbai.
Serpasil—CIBA Pharma Limited, Basle, Switzerland.
