Rauvolfia serpentina

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Rauvolfia serpentina
Rauvolfia serpentina 11.JPG
CITES Appendix II (CITES) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Rauvolfia
Species:
R. serpentina
Binomial name
Rauvolfia serpentina
Synonyms [3]
  • Ophioxylon albumGaertn.
  • Ophioxylon obversumMiq.
  • Ophioxylon salutiferumSalisb.
  • Ophioxylon serpentinumL.
  • Ophioxylon trifoliatumGaertn.
  • Rauvolfia obversa(Miq.) Baill.
  • Rauvolfia trifoliata(Gaertn.) Baill.

Rauvolfia serpentina, the Indian snakeroot, devil pepper, serpentine wood, Sarpagandha (as known locally) or Chandrika, [4] is a species of flower in the milkweed family Apocynaceae. [5] It is native to the Indian subcontinent and East Asia (from India to Indonesia). [6] [7]

Contents

Rauvolfia is a perennial undershrub widely distributed in India in the sub-Himalayan regions up to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft).

Sarpagandha is used in folk medicine in India for centuries to treat a wide variety of maladies, including snake and insect bites, febrile conditions, malaria, abdominal pain, and dysentery. It was also used as a uterine stimulant, febrifuge, and cure for insanity. The plant was mentioned in Hindu manuscripts as long ago as 1000 BCE. [8]

Chemical composition

Rauvolfia serpentina contains dozens of alkaloids of the indole alkaloid family, including ajmaline, ajmalicine, reserpine, and serpentine, among others. [5] [9]

Research

A 2016 review found that reserpine reduced systolic blood pressure (SBP) by about 8 mmHg compared to placebo, and may be as effective at reducing SBP as other front-line hypertensive drugs, although more research is needed to determine a dose-specific safety profile. [10]

Potential adverse effects

R. serpentina may cause adverse effects by interacting with various prescription drugs [11] or via interference with mechanisms of mental depression or peptic ulcer. [11] The reserpine in R. serpentina is associated with diverse adverse effects, including vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, headache, anxiety, or hypersensitivity reactions. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Apocynaceae is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison. Members of the family are native to the European, Asian, African, Australian, and American tropics or subtropics, with some temperate members. The former family Asclepiadaceae is considered a subfamily of Apocynaceae and contains 348 genera. A list of Apocynaceae genera may be found here.

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Ajmaline is an alkaloid that is classified as a 1-A antiarrhythmic agent. It is often used to induce arrhythmic contraction in patients suspected of having Brugada syndrome. Individuals suffering from Brugada syndrome will be more susceptible to the arrhythmogenic effects of the drug, and this can be observed on an electrocardiogram as an ST elevation.

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<i>Rauvolfia vomitoria</i> Species of plant

Rauvolfia vomitoria, the poison devil's-pepper, is a plant species in the genus Rauvolfia. It is native from Senegal east to Sudan and Tanzania, south to Angola; and naturalized in China, Bangladesh, different ranges of Himalayan and Puerto Rico. The plant contains a number of compounds of interest to the pharmaceutical industry and is widely used in traditional medicine.

<i>Rauvolfia tetraphylla</i> Species of tree

Rauvolfia tetraphylla is a plant in the family Apocynaceae, growing as a bush or small tree. It is commonly known as the be still tree or devil-pepper. The plant is native to Mexico, Central America, West Indies, and northern South America. It has been cultivated widely as both an ornamental and for use in traditional medicine. It is now naturalized throughout the tropics including Australasia, Indochina, and India.

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References

  1. "Appendices". Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-07.
  2. "Rauvolfia serpentina". US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. 1992-2016. Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  3. "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK and Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  4. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Rauvolfia serpentina". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 "Rauwolfia serpentina root". DrugBank, Canadian Institutes of Health Research. 2 November 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  6. eFloras. "Rauvolfia serpentina". Flora of China. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  7. Oudhia, P. and Tripathi, R.S. (2002). Identification, cultivation and export of important medicinal plants. In Proc. National Seminar on Horticulture Development in Chhattisgarh: Vision and Vistas. Indira Gandhi Agricultural University, Raipur (India) 21-23 Jan. 2002:78-85.
  8. Douglas Lobay. "Rauwolfia in the Treatment of Hypertension".
  9. Srivastava, A.; Tripathi, A. K.; Pandey, R.; Verma, R. K.; Gupta, M. M. (2006). "Quantitative determination of reserpine, ajmaline, and ajmalicine in Rauvolfia serpentina by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography". Journal of Chromatographic Science. 44 (9): 557–60. doi: 10.1093/chromsci/44.9.557 . PMID   17059683.
  10. Shamon, Sandy D.; Perez, Marco I. (2016-12-21). "Blood pressure-lowering efficacy of reserpine for primary hypertension". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2016 (12): CD007655. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD007655.pub3. ISSN   1469-493X. PMC   6464022 . PMID   27997978.
  11. 1 2 "Rauwolfia serpentina (drug interactions)". Drugs.com. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018.