ARJUNA (Stem Bark)
Arjuna consists of the stem bark of Terminalia arjuna W.& A. (Fam. Combretaceae); a large deciduous tree, commonly found throughout the greater parts of the country.
SYNONYMS
Sanskrit : Kakubha, Partha, Svetavaha
Assamese : Arjun
Bengali : Arjuna
English : —
Gujrati : Sadad, Arjuna, Sajada
Hindi : Arjuna
Kannada : Matti, Bilimatti, Neermatti, Mathichakke, Kudare Kivimase
Kashmiri : —
Malayalam : Nirmasuthu, Vellamaruthi, Kellemasuthu, Mattimora, Torematti
Marathi : Arjuna, Sadada
Oriya : Arjuna
Punjabi : Arjon
Tamil : Marudam
Telugu : Maddi
Urdu : Arjun
DESCRIPTION
a) Macroscopic
Bark available in pieces, flat, curved, recurved, channelled to half quilled, 0.2-1.5 cm thick, market samples upto 10 cm in length and upto 7 cm in width, outer surface somewhat smooth and grey, inner surface somewhat fibrous and pinkish, transversely cut smoothened bark shows pinkish surface, fracture, short in inner and laminated in outer part; taste, bitter and astringent.
b) Microscopic
Stem Bark -Mature bark shows cork consisting of 9-10 layers of tangentially elongated cells, a few outer layers filled with brown colouring matter; cork cambium and secondary cortex not distinct and medullary rays observed traversing almost upto outer bark; secondary phloem occupies a wide zone, consisting of sieve tubes, companion cells, phloem parenchyma and phloem fibres, traversed by phloem rays, usually uniseriate but biseriate rays also occasionally seen; in the middle and outer phloem region, sieve tubes get collapsed and form ceratenchyma; phloem fibres distributed in rows and present in groups of 2-10; rosette crystals of calcium oxalate measuring 80-180 n in dia., present in most of the phloem parenchyma, alternating with fibres; idioblasts consisting of large cells having aggregates of prismatic and rhomboidal crystals of calcium oxalate in row throughout the zone, measuring 260-600 n in dia., starch grains, mostly simple, compound of 2-3 components, sometimes upto 5 components, round to oval, elliptical, measuring 5-13 n in dia., distributed throughout the tissue (absent in T.alata); in a tangential section the uniseriate phloem rays 2-10 cells high and biseriate, 4-12 cells high; in longitudinal section rosette crystals of calcium oxalate found in the form of strands in phloem parenchyma.
Powder – Reddish-brown; shows fragments of cork cells, uniseriate phloem rays, fibres, a number of rosette crystals of calcium oxalate, a few rhomboidal crystals, starch grains
simple and compound, round to oval, elliptic, having 2-3 components with concentric striations and small narrow hilum, measuring 5-13 n in diameter.
IDENTITY, PURITY AND STRENGTH
Foreign matter Not more than 2 per cent, Appendix 2.2.2.
Total Ash Not more than 25 per cent, Appendix 2.2.3.
Acid-insoluble ash Not more than 1 per cent, Appendix 2.2.4.
Alcohol-soluble extractive Not less than 20 per cent, Appendix 2.2.6.
Water-soluble extractive Not less than 20 per cent, Appendix 2.2.7.
CONSTITUENTS – Tannins
PROPERTIES AND ACTION
Rasa : Kasaya
Guna : Ruksa
Virya : Sita
Vipaka : Katu
Karma : Bhagnasandhanakara, Hrdya, Kaphahara, Pittahara, Vrananasana, Vyanga Hara
IMPORTANT FORMULATIONS – Parthadyarista, Nagarjunabhra Rasa, Arjuna Ghrta.
THERAPEUTIC USES – Medoroga, Vrana, Hrdroga, Ksataksaya, Prameha, Trsa, Vyanga.
DOSE – 3-6 g. of the drug in powder form.
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