herbal drug

1. Drugs acting on Nervous System
Aswagandha

2. • Syn. : Withania root, Winter Cherry •
• Biological Source : Dried roots & stem bases
of Withania somnifera Family : Solanaceae
• Geographical Source : Congo, South Africa,
Egypt Jordan, Pakistan In India it is found in
M.P., U.P., Punjab, Gujarat and Rajasthan

3. • Morphological Characters
• ROOT • Size : Length 10 -17 mm Width 6-12 mm
• Shape : Conical or cylindrical, straight and unbranched
• Fracture : Smooth and powdery Colour : Grayish yellow •
Odour : Faintly pungent and charasteric • Taste :
Mucilagenous, acrid and bitter • Extra features : Centre of the
root is creamy and consists of soft, solid mass with scattered
pores
• Steroidal alkaloids: • Anaferin • Withanine • Tropine •
Anahygrine • Cuscohygrine • Choline
• Steroidal Lactones: • Withanolides • Withaferine • Withaferin
A • Withanone

4. Chemical test
• Dil. KMnO4 + Drop of aqueous extract
=Decolourisation of KMnO4 solution
• 2. Aqueous extract + FeCl3 (5%)= No
darkening

5. Uses • Sedative and Hypnotic • Hypotensive,
Respiratory stimulant action along with
Bradycardia • Immuno-modulatory agent and
having anti-stress activity
Used in the treatment of Rheumatism, Gout and Skin
diseases • Widely used as sex-stimulant • Strength
and vigor promoting drug especially in geriatric case
• Withaferin, a steroid lactone shows anti-tumour
activity

6. BELLADONNA
• Syn: Deadly Nightshade
• Biological Source : Dried or fresh leaves, flowering
and fruiting tops of Atropa belladonna (European)
Atropa acuminata (Indian) Family: Solanaceae
• Geographical source : South Europe, England,
Germany, U.S.A, India (Simla, Kashmir,Himachal Pradesh)
Preparations :Leaves are dried at 40-600C, if not dried
properly deteriorate and give off ammonia

7. • Morphological Characters
• Size: Length 5-25cm, Width 2.5-12cm
• Shape: Ovate, lanceolate
• Apex: Acuminate
• Margin: Entire
• Lamina : Decurrent ( plant parts that extend downward, most often applied to leaf blades that
partly wrap or have wings around the stem or petiole and extend down along the stem.)
• Colour : Green to brownish green
• Odour : Slight and characteristic
• Taste : Bitter and acrid
• Extra feature : Most leaves are transversely broken

8. • Chemical Constituents: Contains Tropane
alkaloids
• L – Hyoscamine Atropine Belladonine
• Scopoletin Hyoscine Pyridine
• Volatile oil
• USES: Antispasmodic in case of intestinal gripping
• Parasympatholytic with Anticholinergic activity
• Reduce secretion of sweat, saliva and gastric juice Mydriatic
• Adulterants: Phytolacca americana
• Solanum nigrum Ailanthus glandulosa

10. ACONITE
• Syn : Monkshood , Nabhi (Telugu)
• Biological Source : It consists of dried roots of Aconitum napellus
Family : Ranunculaceae
• Geographical Source : Wild plant in Germany,
Switzerland and France, Cultivated in England
• Morphological Characters ROOT
• Shape : Parent root and daughter roots are obconical ( in the form of
an inverted cone) and tapering below
• Size : 4 -10cm long, 1-3cm in diameter
• Surface : Slightly twisted and longitudinally wrinkled, shows rootlets
or the scars The parent roots are more shriveled than daughter
roots which show apical buds

11. • Fracture : Short and horny (hard to break )Odour : Slight
• Taste : At first slightly sweet, later causing tingling
sensation and finally producing numbness
of the tongue
Chemical constituents
• Terpene ester alkaloids= Aconitine, Picroaconitine and Aconine
(less toxic than Aconitine)
• Used as :Mainly used for its Respiratory, antipyretic and cardiac
depressant actions
• High doses or repeated doses produce Aconite poisoning Milk is
prescribed as antidote in Aconite poisoning
• Stomach should be washed out using emetics
• Artificial respiration and stimulants (such as strychnine, atropine
and digitalis) are useful and the patient should be kept warm

12. Ephedra
• Syn: Ma-Haung, Ephedra stem
• Biological Source : Dried young stem of Ephedra gerardiana
(India), Ephedra nebrodensis (India), Ephedra sinica (China)
Ephedra equisetina (China),Family : Ephedraceae
• Geographical Source: China, Pakistan, Australia,
Kenya, Spain, Yugoslavia , Northwest part of India
• Morphological Characters:Ephedra is a Gymnospermous plant
• Stems are woody, cylindrical, grey to greenish colour, about
5mm thick, Shows internodes at a distance of about 3-3.5cm
• Bears scales leaves in a whorl of 2.Bears a terminal bud
• Male spikes are solitary, ovate, sessile and crowded fractured
at internode, the outer part is fibrous and easily split
vertically.
• Odor, slight; taste, astringent and slightly bitter, giving a slight
sensation of numbness on the tongue

13. Ephedrine dissolved in water and HCl+ CuSO4 & NaOH= Violet
red colour- Shaken with solvent ether= Organic layer
(Purple), Aqueous layer (Blue)
• Uses = Ephedra shows Sympathomimetic activity
• Used as a Bronchodilator in Asthma
• In allergic conditions like Hay fever, Bronchitis, Whooping cough
• To correct low B.P because of its peripheral
contraction of arterioles
Ephedrine shows prolonged action than adrenaline
as it is slowly hydrolysed by MAO