Vernacular names

Hindi- Chaya, Gorakhganja, Gorkhabundi, Kapurijadi, Thikaritoda. Beng.- Chaya. Guj.- Bur, Kapurimadhuri, Gorakha ganjo. Kan.- Billhindisoppu.

Mal.- Cerula,Valippo, Ceruvula, Cherupula. Mar.- Kapurmadhura,

Kapurimadhuri, Kaparphuti, Kumrapindi. Punj.- Buikallan. Tam.- Poolai,

Cerupulai, Pillai, Sirupulai. Sirrupulayvayr. Tel.- Pindichettu, Nilaphlai,

Kaminulas, Pindicettu, Pindikonda, Thelagapindi Koora. Oriya- Paunsai.

Sind.- Bui, Jari. Sinhalese.- Polkudupala. Deccan.- Khul, Kul.

Porebunder.- Bhonyajdi, Gorkhaganjo. Rajputana.- Bhui. Spanish.-

Sanguinaria de Cuba. Kerala.- Bhadram, Bhadrika, Cherula, Cherupula

(Kirtikar and Basu, 1988; Chopra, 1986; Nadkarni, 1976; Anonymous,

2000a; Vaidya, 1968; Sharma, 1978; Anonymous, 1994; Ayer and

Kolammal, 1994).

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

Erect or prostrate herb with a long tap root, branched from near the base; branches many, terete, pubescent or wooly-tomentose, striate. Leaves

alternate, simple 0.5-1.5 X 0.2-1.0 cm on the branches, elliptic or obovate or

suborbicular, obtuse or acute, entire, pubescent above, more or less white

cottony beneath; petioles often obscure. Flowers greenish white, very small,

sessile, often bisexual, in small dense subsessile axillary heads or spikes,

often, closely crowded and forming globose clustered heads. Fruit utricle,

broadly ovoid, acute. Seed black, smooth and polished. Flowering and

Fruiting : August-February (Cooke, 1967; Hooker, 1973; Guha Bakshi et al.,

1999; Anonymous, 1985; Kirtikar and Basu, 1988; Agharkar, 1991; Bole and Pathak, 1988; Anonymous, 1991; Ayer and Kolammal, 1994).

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GORAKSHGANJA Aerva lanata Juss. ex Schult.

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DISTRIBUTION

Common throughout tropical India, ascending upto an altitute 900m in the

hills, along road sides, waste places, on walls of old forts, under the shade of

trees and in open cleared areas (Anonymous, 2004). Also occurs in Sri

Lanka, Arabia, Tropical Africa, Java, Philippines (Cooke, 1967; Gamble,

1967; Kirtikar and Basu, 1988), Pakistan and Bangladesh (Guha Bakshi et

al., 1999).

PART(S) USED

Whole plant, root, flower, leaf (Sharma, 1978; B.N., 1982)

ACTIONS AND USES

The plant is used as anthelmintic, cooling, lithotriptic and demulcent. It is beneficial medicine for cough, sore throat, indigestion, wounds and diabetes.

Decoction of the plant is considered as efficacious in diuretic and useful in

catarrh of bladder (Nadkarni, 1976; Chatterjee and Pakrashi, 1994). The plant

is used to cure diarrhoea, cholera and dysentery. The root is diuretic,

demulcent, tonic and given to pregnant women. The root and flowers are

used to cure headache (Kirtikar and Basu, 1988). The flowers are used in

gonorrhoea and for removal of kidney stones (Chopra et al., 1986;

Anonymous, 1985).

AYURVEDIC PROPERTIES

Rasa - Tikta, Kashaya

Guna - Laghu, Tikshna

Vipaka - Katu

Veerya - Ushna

Prabhav - Ashmaribhedana

Doshaghnata - Kaphavata shamaka (Sharma, 1978; B.N., 1982)

Karma - Ashmaribhedana, Mootrala (Sharma, 1978), Snehana,

Mootrajana, Vedanahara, Ashmarighna, Krimighna, Kasahara (B.N., 1982)

Rogaghnata - Ashmari, Mootrakrichchhra (Sharma, 1978), Ashmari,

Mootrakrichchhra, Krimi, Kasa (B.N., 1982)

Dose : Decoction 50 - 100 ml (Sharma, 1978; B.N., 1982)

SIDDHA PROPERTIES

Siddha Name - SIRUGANPEELAI

Suvai (Taste) - Kaippu (Bitter).

Veeriyam (Potency) - Veppam (Hot).

Vibakam (Transformation) - Kaarppu (Pungent).

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Gunam (Pharmacological action) - Siruneer perukki (Diuretic),

Karkaraichchi (Lithotriptic).

Siddha pharmaceutical preparations - Sirugan peelai chooranam, Nerunjil

kudineer.

Uses - Used in treatment of Renal stones, cystitis, Dysuria.

PHARMACOGNOSY

Macrocopic

Root - Well developed tap root system of creamy white colour. The main

root is short upto 1 cm in thickness depending upon the age of plant, bearing

many lateral slender rootlets; odour not characteristic; taste slightly

astringent.

Microscopic

The transverse section shows phellem represented by 4 to 6 cells deep, tissue with hyaline lumen, phellogen consists of 1-2 layers, the phelloderm

composed of large parenchyma cells containing many cluster crystals of

calcium oxalate. The root show anomalous secondary growth, the primary

xylem is very scanty consisting of 3-5 tracheary elements. The inner phloem

of each strip is composed of sieve tubes and companion cells mostly, no

sclerenchymatous cells in the phloem, the xylem composed of lignified

prosenchyma with groups of vessels embedded in it, vessels in radial rows

usually, narrow with lumen, 40-60 in diameter, medullary rays not

discernible. Pith is absent.

Microscopic

Stem - Transverse section of the young stem is roughly polygonal, single layered epidermis composed of barrel shaped cells with a fairly heavy cuticle,

and abundant multicellular uniseriate, simple, unbranched trichomes. The

cortical tissue is chlorenchymatous except below the ridges of collenchyma.

Endodermis and pericycle within the six layered cortex. The vascular strands

are slender and collateral. The large pith composed of bigger thin walled cells

with intercellular spaces. In the older stem, the epidermal hairs fall off

leaving their basal cells. The endodermis is distinct. The pericyclic

sclerenchyma fibres are in groups of two or three fibres. Pith cells possess

pitted walls. It shows anamolous secondary growth.

Leaf - It shows dorsiventral structure. The main vein shows two prominent

humps consisting of collenchyma below the epidermis. The vascular strand

is represented by a single collateral strand. The epidermal cells on the adaxial

surface are larger than those of the abaxial surface, both the epidermis bear

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anomocytic (ranunculaceous) stomata. The lower epidermis is more densely

trichomatous than the upper epidermis, trichomes are simple, unbranched,

multicellular and uniseriate. The basal cells are short and small with smooth

walls, the body cells are elongate, papillated, cylindrical ones with

interlocking end walls, the apical cell gradually tapering into an acute

nonpapillate end. The palisade cells are not regularly arranged, in some

places it is two celled deep while one celled deep in other places. The

spongy tissue composed of large cells in about four layers. Large

crystalliferous idioblasts are present along the line where the palisade and

spongy tissue meet, about 80 in diameter and contain a large cluster

crystals almost filling up the lumen (Swamy and Ali, 1967; Afaq and

Tajuddin, 1991).

CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS

Plant:-Sitosterol, free sugars,-sitosteryl palmitate, palmitic acid,-

amyrin (Aiyar et al., 1973), flavonoid glycosides (Zadorozhnii and

Zapesochnaya, 1986), aervine (10-hydroxy-conthin-6-one), 10-D-

glucopyranosyl oxycanthine-6-one (aervoside), 3--carbolin-1-yl propionic

acid,-carboline-1-propionic acid, 6-methoxy--carboline-1-propionic acid (aervolanin), canthin-6-one, aervine- (10-ethoxy canthin-6-one),-coumaroyl

glycosides (Zapesochnaya et al., 1991a, 1992), betulin, kaempferol-3-

galactoside, kaempferol-3-rhamnogalatoside (Afaq et al., 1991; Chandra and

Sastry, 1990), chrysine,- ecdysone, daucosterol, narcissin, syringic acid,

vanillic acid, ascorbic acid, campesterol, chrysin, hemicellulose, starch,

polysaccharides (acid and water soluble), aervitrin, aervolanine, aervoside,

amysine (Yuldeshev et al., 2002), aflatoxins (Abeywickrama and Bean,

1991).

Leaves: O-acylglycosides, feruloylthyramine (Zadorozhnyi and

Zepesochnaya, 1986), 5-methoxycanthin-6-one (Yuldeshev et al., 2002).

Roots: Feruloyl amides (Zapesochnaya et al., 1991b, 1992), flavone

glycoside - chrysin-7-O--galactoside, flavone-aervanone (8-C--galactosyl- 7, 4-dihydroxy flavone) (Yuldeshev et al., 2002).

PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES

Plant was found to have antidiabetic (Vetrichelvan et al., 2002), antimicrobial (Chowdhury et al., 2002), hepatoprotective (Majmumdar and Shah, 1999),

antilithic (Selvam et al., 2001), antitumor (Nevin and Vijayammal, 2003) and

nephroprotective (Shirwaikar et al., 2004) activities. Roots were reported as

diuretic, anti-inflammatory, anthelmintic, antibacterial and mild analgesic

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(Prasad et al., 1986; Vetrichelvan et al., 2000). Leaf extract has angiotensin

converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory action in varying degrees (Somanadhan

et al., 1999). Administration of Aerva lanata aqueous suspension (2g/kg body

wt/dose/day for 28 days) to CaOx urolithic rats was reported to reduce the

oxalate synthesizing enzymes and diminished the markers of crystal

deposition in the kidney (Soundararajan et al., 2006).

TOXICOLOGY

Petroleum ether extract was proved to be cytotoxic to Dalton's lymphoma ascites (DLA), Ehrlich ascites (EA) and B16F10 cell lines in vitro (Nevin and

Vijayammal, 2003). Ethylacetate and methanol extract were reported to have

significant cytotoxic properties (Chowdhury et al., 2002).

FORMULATIONS AND PREPARATIONS

Ghrita - Shatavaryadi ghrita (Anonymous, 2000)

SUBSTITUTES AND ADULTERANTS

Aerva javanica Juss, A. tomentosa Forsk, Coleus aromaticus Benth,

Nothosaerva bractiata Wight, Rotula aquatica Lour, Ammania baccifera

Linn, Aerva sanguinolenta Blume are used as substitute or adulterants of this

drug (Anonymous, 2000a; Ayer and Kolammal, 1994; Vaidya, 1968; 1982).

PROPAGATION AND CULTIVATION

Found mostly in wasteland, even in poor soils and sun exposed places,

locally abundant in arable and fallow fields (Guha Bakshi, et al 1999).

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