SARALA (Heart Wood)
Sarala consists of dried heart wood of Pinus roxburghii Sargent (Fam. Pinacem), a large tree upto 30 m high and 2.5 m in girth, growing on the Himalayas from 600 m to l830m.
SYNONYMS
Sansk. : Surdhiasuka, Pita Vrksa
Assam. : —
Beng. : Tarper Telargaach, Sarala Gach
Eng. : Long Leaved Pine
Guj. : Saral
Hindi. : Cheed
Kan. : Saral
Kash. : —
Mal. : Saral, Saralam
Mar. : Saral
Ori. : —
Punj. : Cheel
Tam. : Saral, Shirsal
Tel. : Saral
Urdu. : Cheer, Sanobar
DESCRIPTION
a) Macroscopic
Drug available as chips of heart wood, yellowish-brown when fresh and becoming brown on exposure; surface, smooth; fracture, short; resin canal strands and growth rings seen on fractured surface; taste, not distinct; odour, resinous and aromatic.
b) Microscopic
Wood non-porous; medullary rays and schizogenous resin ducts present, alternating bands of autumn wood and spring wood present; tracheids of spring wood, large, polygonal in shape and thinner than autumn tracheids; autumn tracheids small and nearly squarish in shape with several bordered pits arranged uniseriately on the radial walls of tracheids; medullary rays mostly uniseriate and upto 6 cells high, biseriate rays, upto 20 cells high, but only occasionally seen; schizogenous resin ducts fairly abundant in autumn wood and spring wood; each duct associated with some thin walled, cellulosic parenchyma.
Powder – Yellowish-brown; shows numerous tracheids and pieces of medullary rays, and few resin debris.
IDENTITY, PURITY AND STRENGTH
Foreign matter Not more than 1 Per cent, Appendix 2.2.2
Total ash Not more than 1 Per cent, Appendix 2.2.3
Acid-insoluble ash Not more than 0.3 Per cent, Appendix 2.2.4
Alcohol-soluble extractive Not less than 5 Per cent, Appendix 2.2.6
Water-soluble extractive Not less than 1 Per cent, Appendix 2.2.7
T.L.C. –
T.L.C. of the alcoholic extract on Silica gel ‘G’ plate using Toluene: Ethylacetate (8 : 2) shows under UV (366 nm) four fluorescent zones at Rf. 0.14 (yellow), 0.28, 0.48 and 0.55 (all sky blue). On exposure to Iodine vapour five spots appear at Rf. 0.14, 0.19, 0.24,0.28 and 0.61 (all yellow). On spraying with Vanillin-Sulphuric acid reagent and on heating the plate at 105°C for ten minutes three spots appear at Rf. 0.28, 0.61 and 0.92 (all violet).
CONSTITUENTS – Oleo-resin and Flavonoids.
PROPERTIES AND ACTION
Rasa : Madhura, Katu, Tikta
Guna : Laghu, Snigdha, Tiksna
Virya : Usna
Vipaka : Katu
Karma : Kaphavatasamaka, Vranasodhaka, Svedahara
IMPORTANT FORMULATIONS – Karpuradyarka, Rajanyadi Curna, Sudarsana Curna
THERAPEUTIC USES – Karnaroga, Kantha Roga, Aksiroga, Daha, Murccha,Vrana, Kasa Svarabhramsa, Yuka.
DOSE – 1-3 g. in powder form.
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