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Rauvolfia serpentina

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(Redirected from Rauwolfia serpentina) Species of plant

Rauvolfia serpentina
Conservation status
CITES Appendix II (CITES)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Rauvolfia
Species: R. serpentina
Binomial name
Rauvolfia serpentina
(L.) Benth. ex Kurz
Synonyms
  • Ophioxylon album Gaertn.
  • Ophioxylon obversum Miq.
  • Ophioxylon salutiferum Salisb.
  • Ophioxylon serpentinum L.
  • Ophioxylon trifoliatum Gaertn.
  • Rauvolfia obversa (Miq.) Baill.
  • Rauvolfia trifoliata (Gaertn.) Baill.

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

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.

Chemical composition

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

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.

Potential adverse effects

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

Gallery

  • Flower Flower
  • Flowers and leaves Flowers and leaves
  • Maturing flower Maturing flower

See also

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. NRCS. "Rauvolfia serpentina". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  5. ^ "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 (2015). "Rauwolfia in the Treatment of Hypertension". Integrative Medicine: A Clinician's Journal. 14 (3): 40–46. PMC 4566472. PMID 26770146.
  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. ^ "Rauwolfia serpentina (drug interactions)". Drugs.com. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
Taxon identifiers
Rauvolfia serpentina
Ophioxylon serpentinum
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