Justicia adhatoda
Encyclopedia
Justicia adhatoda L. (Adulsa, Malabar Nut); syn.
Adhatoda vasica Nees
, (Kannada: Aadumuttada Soppu)(Malayalam: ആടലോടകം ("aadalodakam") , Sanskrit: अडुसा adusa, aruha, अरुष arusha, others) is a medicinal plant native to Asia
.
The plant grows wild in abundance all over Nepal
, India, and the Pothohar region of Pakistan
, particularly in the Pharwala
area.
with lance-shaped leaves 10 to 15 centimeters in length by four wide. They are oppositely arranged, smooth-edged, and borne on short petioles
. When dry they are of a dull brownish-green colour. They are bitter-tasting. When a leaf is cleared with chloral hydrate
and examined microscopically the oval stoma
ta can be seen. They are surrounded by two crescent-shaped cells at right angles to the ostiole
. The epidermis bears simple one- to three-celled warty hairs, and small glandular hairs. Cystolith
s occur beneath the epidermis of the underside of the blade.
s are present in the leaves. The most important is vasicine, a quinazoline
alkaloid responsible for the medicinal activity of the plant. The vasicine yield of the herbage has been measured as 0.541 to 1.1% by dry weight.
.
Vasicine, the active compound, has been compared to theophylline
both in vitro
and in vivo
. Another, vasicinone, showed bronchodilatory activity in vitro but bronchoconstrictory activity in vivo; it is probably biotransformed in vivo, causing bronchoconstriction. Both the alkaloids in combination (1:1) showed pronounced bronchodilatory activity in vivo and in vitro. Vasicine also exhibited strong respiratory stimulant activity, moderate hypotensive
activity and cardiac-depressant effect; vasicinone was devoid of these activities. The cardiac-depressant effect was significantly reduced when a mixture of vasicine and vasicinone was used. Vasicinone (dl-form) showed no effect on the isolated heart, but probably the l-form is a weak cardiac stimulant. Clinical trials of a commercial drug containing vasicinone and vasicinone have not revealed any side effects while treating bronchial asthma.
Synonym (taxonomy)
In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...
Adhatoda vasica Nees
Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck
Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck was a prolific German botanist, physician, zoologist, and natural philosopher. He was a contemporary of Goethe and was born within the lifetime of Linnaeus. He described approximately 7,000 plant species...
, (Kannada: Aadumuttada Soppu)(Malayalam: ആടലോടകം ("aadalodakam") , Sanskrit: अडुसा adusa, aruha, अरुष arusha, others) is a medicinal plant native to Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.
The plant grows wild in abundance all over Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, India, and the Pothohar region of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, particularly in the Pharwala
Pharwala
Pharwala is a historic fort located about 40 km from Rawalpindi in Punjab, Pakistan. It is naturally defended by one side by a small Himalayan range and the other by the Swaan River. It is a Gakhar fort built in the 15th century on the ruins of a 10th century Hindu Shahi Fort...
area.
Botanical description
This is a shrubShrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
with lance-shaped leaves 10 to 15 centimeters in length by four wide. They are oppositely arranged, smooth-edged, and borne on short petioles
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
. When dry they are of a dull brownish-green colour. They are bitter-tasting. When a leaf is cleared with chloral hydrate
Chloral hydrate
Chloral hydrate is a sedative and hypnotic drug as well as a chemical reagent and precursor. The name chloral hydrate indicates that it is formed from chloral by the addition of one molecule of water. Its chemical formula is C2H3Cl3O2....
and examined microscopically the oval stoma
Stoma
In botany, a stoma is a pore, found in the leaf and stem epidermis that is used forgas exchange. The pore is bordered by a pair of specialized parenchyma cells known as guard cells that are responsible for regulating the size of the opening...
ta can be seen. They are surrounded by two crescent-shaped cells at right angles to the ostiole
Ostiole
An ostiole is a small hole or opening through which algae or ascomycetal fungi release their mature spores. The term is also used in higher plants, for example to denote the opening of the involuted fig inflorescence through which fig wasps enter to pollinate and breed....
. The epidermis bears simple one- to three-celled warty hairs, and small glandular hairs. Cystolith
Cystolith
Cystolith is a botanical term for the inorganic concretions, usually of calcium carbonate, formed in a cellulose matrix in special cells, generally in the leaf of plants of certain families, e.g. Ficus elastica, the Indian rubber plant of the family Moraceae...
s occur beneath the epidermis of the underside of the blade.
Chemical composition
Several alkaloidAlkaloid
Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that contain mostly basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Also some synthetic compounds of similar structure are attributed to alkaloids...
s are present in the leaves. The most important is vasicine, a quinazoline
Quinazoline
Quinazoline is a compound made up of two fused six-membered simple aromatic rings, a benzene ring and a pyrimidine ring. Its chemical formula is C8H6N2. Quinazoline is yellow and crystalline...
alkaloid responsible for the medicinal activity of the plant. The vasicine yield of the herbage has been measured as 0.541 to 1.1% by dry weight.
Pharmacology
This shrub has a number of traditional medicinal usesHerbalism
Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, herblore, and phytotherapy...
.
Vasicine, the active compound, has been compared to theophylline
Theophylline
Theophylline, also known as dimethylxanthine, is a methylxanthine drug used in therapy for respiratory diseases such as COPD and asthma under a variety of brand names. Because of its numerous side-effects, the drug is now rarely administered for clinical use. As a member of the xanthine family, it...
both in vitro
In vitro
In vitro refers to studies in experimental biology that are conducted using components of an organism that have been isolated from their usual biological context in order to permit a more detailed or more convenient analysis than can be done with whole organisms. Colloquially, these experiments...
and in vivo
In vivo
In vivo is experimentation using a whole, living organism as opposed to a partial or dead organism, or an in vitro controlled environment. Animal testing and clinical trials are two forms of in vivo research...
. Another, vasicinone, showed bronchodilatory activity in vitro but bronchoconstrictory activity in vivo; it is probably biotransformed in vivo, causing bronchoconstriction. Both the alkaloids in combination (1:1) showed pronounced bronchodilatory activity in vivo and in vitro. Vasicine also exhibited strong respiratory stimulant activity, moderate hypotensive
Hypotension
In physiology and medicine, hypotension is abnormally low blood pressure, especially in the arteries of the systemic circulation. It is best understood as a physiologic state, rather than a disease. It is often associated with shock, though not necessarily indicative of it. Hypotension is the...
activity and cardiac-depressant effect; vasicinone was devoid of these activities. The cardiac-depressant effect was significantly reduced when a mixture of vasicine and vasicinone was used. Vasicinone (dl-form) showed no effect on the isolated heart, but probably the l-form is a weak cardiac stimulant. Clinical trials of a commercial drug containing vasicinone and vasicinone have not revealed any side effects while treating bronchial asthma.
Names
It is also called Adhatoda vasika, which is derived from a former scientific name. It has different names in different Indian languages.- MalayalamMalayalam languageMalayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people...
: Atalotakam (ആടലോടകം) - Sanskrit: Sinhapuri, Vasaka (वसाका)
- Hindi: Adosa, Arusha, Rus, Bansa
- BengaliBengali languageBengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
: Adulsa, Bakash,Vasok - GujaratiGujarati languageGujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
: Adulso, Aduraspee, Bansa (અરડૂસી) - KannadaKannada languageKannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...
: Adusogae - MarathiMarathi languageMarathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
: Adulsa, Adusa (अडुळसा) - PersianPersian languagePersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
: Bansa - PunjabiPunjabi languagePunjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
: Bhekkar - TamilTamil languageTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
: Adhatoda - TeluguTelugu languageTelugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
: Adamkabu, Adampaka, Addasaram (అడ్డసరం)
External links
- MONOGRAPH BY Dr AJAY PADMAWAR
- Flora of Nepal: Justicia adhatoda Contains a detailed monograph on Justicia adhatoda syn. Adhatoda vasica (Vasa; Vasaka), as well as a discussion of health benefits and usage in clinical practice. Available online at http://www.toddcaldecott.com/index.php/herbs/learning-herbs/342-vasaka