APARAJITA (Root)
Aparajita consists of dried root of Clitoria ternatea Linn. (Fam. Fabaceae); a perennial climber with slender downy stem, found throughout the tropical regions of the country being cultivated in gardens every where and often also found growing over hedges and thickets.
SYNONYMS
Sanskrit : Girikarnika, Visnukranta
Assamese : Aparajita
Bengali : Aparajita
English : Clitoria
Gujrati : Gokarni
Hindi : Aparajita
Kannada : Girikarnika Balli, Girikarnika
Kashmiri : —
Malayalam : Shankhapushapam
Marathi : Gokarna, Aparajita
Oriya : Aparajita
Punjabi : Koyal
Tamil : Kakkanam
Telugu : Dintena
Urdu : —
DESCRIPTION
a) Macroscopic
Drug consisting of a stout tap root with a few tortuous branches, cylindrical, 1-5 mm in thickness, a few places show cracks due to presence of lenticels, colour, lightbrown, fracture, fibrous; taste, bitter.
b) Microscopic
Root – Shows 10-20 or more layers of rectangular, thin-walled, tangentially elongated exfoliating cork cells; secondary cortex consists of 10-12 rows of large, polygonal, thin walled cells filled with starch grains, a few cells contain prismatic crystals of calcium oxalate in this region; single or groups of 2-10 lignified cortical fibres, distributed in the lower half of the cortex; secondary phloem consists of usual elements; phloem fibres 2-8 in groups, a few solitary fibres also present, very long, thin-walled with narrow lumen and pointed tips; secondary xylem consists of usual elements; vessels pitted with oblong, bordered pits and have short conical tail at one end, mostly occur 2 or 3 in groups; xylem fibres similar to those of phloem fibres, a few showing slit-like pits; medullary rays 1-5 cells wide, oblong and pitted; xylem parenchyma irregular in shape and pitted walls; starch grains simple as well as compound having 2-6 components, single grains measuring 3-13 n in dia., found in secondary cortex, phloem and xylem parenchyma.
Powder – Yellowish-brown; shows simple and compound starch grains, measuring 3-13 n in dia., vessels with oblong bordered pits and fragments of fibres.
IDENTITY, PURITY AND STRENGTH
Foreign matter Not more than 2 per cent, Appendix 2.2.2.
Total Ash Not more than 5 per cent, Appendix 2.2.3.
Acid-insoluble ash Not more than 2 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 8 per cent, Appendix 2.2.7.
T.L.C.
T.L.C. of alcoholic extract of the drug on Silica gel ‘G’ using Chloroform:
Ethylacetate : Formic Acid (5:4:1) v/v shows one spot at Rf. 0.79 (dull yellow) in visible light. Under U.V. (366 nm) a spot is seen at Rf. 0.79 (blue). On exposure to Iodine vapour two spots appear at Rf. 0.54 and 0.79 (both yellow). On spraying with 10% aqueous solution of Ferric Chloride and heating the plate at 105° C for about fifteen minutes one spots appears at Rf. 0.79 (grey).
CONSTITUENTS – Tannin, Starch, Resin, Taraxerol & Taraxerone.
PROPERTIES AND ACTION
Rasa : Katu, Tikta, Kasaya
Guna : —
Virya : Sita
Vipaka : Katu
Karma : Kanthya, Kaphahara, Pittahara, Vatahara, Medhya, Visahara, Buddhiprada, Caksusya
IMPORTANT FORMULATIONS – Misraka Sneha, Vataraktantaka Rasa
THERAPEUTIC USES – Sula, Sotha, Kustha, Mutraroga, Vrana
DOSE – 1 – 3 g. of the drug in powder form.
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