CAVYA (Stem)
Cavya consists of dried stem of Piper retrofractum Vahl. Syn. P. chaba Hunter non Blume., P. officinarum DC. (Fam. Piperaceae); a glabrous, fleshy climber, cultivated mainly in Southern India.
SYNONYMS
Sanskrit : Cavika
Assamese : Chepaan
Bengali : Chei
English : Cubeb
Gujrati : Chavka, Chavaka
Hindi : Chavya
Kannada : Kadumenasinaballi, Chavya
Kashmiri : —
Malayalam : Kattumulaku, Kattumulakunveru
Marathi : Chavaka
Oriya : Chainkath
Punjabi : Chabak
Tamil : Chavyam, Chevuyam
Telugu : Chevyamu
Urdu : Peepal Chab, Kababah
DESCRIPTION
a) Macroscopic
Drug consists of dried cut pieces of stem of variable length and usually 0.5-2.0 cm in width, cylindrical and somewhat twisted, greyish-brown, surface smooth with a few longitudinal wrinkles, nodes and internodes distinct, fracture, short; odour, peppery; taste, acrid.
b) Microscopic
Stem – Shows a thin cork consisting of 3-4 layers of rectangular, brownish cells; cork cambium not distinct; secondary cortex a wide zone, consisting of round, oval to rectangular, thin-walled, parenchymatous cells with prominent intercellular spaces; plenty of simple starch granules present; endodermis single layered; stelar region composed of five wedge-shaped vascular bundles alternating with wide medullary rays; phloem lies towards outer side and composed of sieve elements, parenchyma and phloem fibres occurring singly or in groups; xylem lies towards centre and composed of vessels, tracheid, fibres and xylem parenchyma; isolated vessels barrel-shaped with pitted and reticulate thickenings; fibres needle and spindle-shaped, medullary rays multi seriate, cells thin walled, filled with simple, round to oval, starch grains, measuring 3 – 14 n in diameter.
Powder – Greyish-brown; shows fragments of vessels, fibres and simple, round to oval starch grains, measuring 3-14 n in diameter.
IDENTITY, PURITY AND STRENGTH
Foreign matter Not more than 2 per cent, Appendix 2.2.2.
Total Ash Not more than 10 per cent, Appendix 2.2.3.
Acid-insoluble ash Not more than 1.5 per cent, Appendix 2.2.4.
Alcohol-soluble extractive Not less than 3 per cent, Appendix 2.2.6.
Water-soluble extractive Not less than 6 per cent, Appendix 2.2.7.
CONSTITUENTS – Alkaloids, Glycosides and Steroids.
PROPERTIES AND ACTION
Rasa : Katu
Guna : Laghu, Ruksa, Tiksna
Virya : Usna
Vipaka : Katu
Karma : Bhedana, Dipana, Kaphahara, Pacana, Recana, Vatahara
IMPORTANT FORMULATIONS – Pranada Gutika, Candramrta Rasa.
THERAPEUTIC USES – Arsa, Anaha, Gulma, Krimi, Udara Roga, Pliha Roga, Sulal
DOSE – 1-2 g. of the drug in powder form.
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