sarpagandha (RAUVOFIA)

FAMILY : Apocynacceae

the trade name   rauvolfia is based on the  scientific name of the plant . the word rauvolfia refers to  a  16th century german  botanist and   physician leonard rauwolf.

Desription : An  erect glabrous  shrub 30-75 cm high ;  leaves horled ;8-20cm long , gradually tapering  into  a shot periole . flowers about 1.5 cm long , atals  white  or  pinkish , peduncle deep red , in small clusters . fruits small , round , dark purple  or  blackish when ripe .

Distribution :  the plant is  found in almost all parts of india up to an altitude of   about 1,000 m:  it is  more common in submontane  regions of himalaya and  in lower   ranges of eastern  and western  ghats ; also   collecterf from several places in plains of bengal , bhiar  , uttar pradesh ,  maharashtra , etc  the plat is now  being cultiveted at several places.

Drug and its propeerties:  the drug  consists of the  dried roots with bark intact , preferble collected in autumn and from plants of about 3-4 years age . it is believed that thise  plant haas been know in indian medicine for about 4,000 years . A maention of the plant is found in chaeak's  wwork .

the roots contain several alkaloids . the chief use of the drug is as a sedative and  hypnotic and for reducing  blood  pressure . the  drug  id now largely used in insanity and high blood  pressure . the  sedative action  of the  drug is more  suitable  for  mild anxiety cases or patients of  chronic mental  illness . the drug  has tranquillising effect. the drug should not be given to person suffering form  bronchitis, asthma or  gastric ulcers.
 the  roots of theplant are  useful also in diseases of bowels  and in fever.
 other species of the geneus as R. tetraphylla L .( syn.)  R . canescens L. are also  useful in medicine.
 much research  work has been done , and is being done on thsie group of plant , and india holds a places of [ride in this regard . now , howevee , some contried are developing  systhetic to brig about the same effects as rauvolfia . its cultivation need  to be greatly expanded . the plant can be cultivated almost anywhere in the palnt , in everygreen  forestws and sub- Himalayan tracts. the plant are best raise from root cutting , they are also raised from seed and stem cutting . six to seven  quintals of drug  have been obtained from onw acre of land; yields even higher than this  have been reported from forest research institute , dehradun , from  only two- year old fields.