Synonyms:- Rauwolfia root; Chotachand; Sarpagandha; Snake root
Biological Source:- Rauwolfia consists of dried roots of the plant known as Rauwolfia serpentina. Benth. belonging to family Apocynaceae. It is collected in autumn from 3 to 4 years old plant alongwith the bark. It contains not less than 0.14% of alkaloids calculated as reserpine. Rauwolfia refers to the name of scientist Dr. Rauwolf and serpentina refers to long snake like structure of root
Cultivation & Collection:- Under wide range of climatic conditions, Rauwolfia grows luxuriantly. However, it flourishes in hot humid condition and grows satisfactorily in shade. In wild state, it grows in variety of soils. But for cultivation, clay loamy soil with large amount of humus and good drainage are supposed to be ideal. The pH of the soil should be acidic and around 4. The temperature range for cultivation is 10°C to 38°C. Rainfall should be in the range of 250 to 500 cm. Soils containing large amount of sand make the plants more susceptible to diseases.
It can be propagated by various methods, such as by seeds, roots, cutting, root stumps etc. The propagation from seeds is usually the method of choice. The healthy seeds are sown into the nursery beds. The rate of germination of seeds is very low, hence sufficient quantity of the seeds be sown. Sowing is done in the month of May or at the break of monsoon. The seedlings are then transplanted in the month of August at a distance of 6 to 30 cm. It needs about 5 kg of seeds to produce the seedlings sufficient to cover the 161 area of one hectare after transplantation. The shrub is about 1 m in height, with white or rose coloured flowers and purplish black fruits. The plants are provided with various chemical fertilizers and manures. The chemical fertilizers include ammonium sulphate, urea while the manures include, generally, the bone-meal. The plants are kept free from weeds.
Chemical Constituents:- About 30 indole alkaloids have been reported in drug and total alkaloidal content of rauwolfia roots ranges from 0.7 to 3%, depending upon the source. Alkaloids are concentrated mostly in the bark of the roots. The alkaloids of rauwolfia broadly classifiedinto the following types:1 Indole alkaloids;2 Indoline alkaloids;3.Indolenine alkaloids4. Oxyindole alkaloids and i5.Pseudo-indoxyl alkaloidsThe important alkaloid of rauwolfia is reserpine. Apart from the alkaloids it also contains oleo-resin, phytosterol, fatty acids unsaturated alcohol and sugars. The other alkaloids present in the drug are ajamalicine, ajamaline, rauwolfinine, rescinnamine, reserpinine, yohimbine, serpentine and serpentinine.The major alkaloids reserpine and rescinnamine are esters derived from methyl reserpate and trimethyl-oxybenzoic acid in reserpine and trimethoxycinnamic acid in case of rescinnamine.
Uses :-
The activities of rauwolfia are mainly due to reserpine which has depressant action on central nervous system. It produces tranquilizing effect (emotional calmness without producing hypnosis) and lowers the blood pressure. It can be administered orally and has cumulative effect. It is also given parenterally in the treatment of hypertension, when the oral route is found to be impracticable. Reserpine should be used with caution in anxiety, depression and in the patients with cardiac arrhythmia, myocardial infarction, bronchitis, asthama or gastric ulcers. It has tranquillizing effect, rather than hypnotic one. The drug is used for extraction of alkaloids like reserpine, rescinnamine, ajamaline etc. and also for the preparation of rauwolfia liquid extract.
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