DUGDHIKA (Whole Plant)
Dugdhika consists of whole plant of Euphorbia prostrata W. Ait. (Fam. Euphorbiacem), an accepted substitute for E. thymifolia, the official drug; it is a small more or less pubescent, much branched prostrate annual, found throughout India as a naturalized weed.
SYNONYMS
Sanskrit : Svaduparni, Ksirini, Laghudugdhika, Nagarjuni, Goraksadugdhi
Assamese : —
Bengali : Bara, Kharui, Kerai, Dudiya, Shwet Keruee
English : —
Gujrati : Raati Dudhelee, Naagalaa dudhelee
Hindi : Dudhi, Duddhi, Dudhdee, Chhotidudhi
Kannada : Kempu nene hakki
Kashmiri : —
Malayalam : Nilappal
Marathi : Lahaan naaytee, Naayeti, Lahaandudhi
Oriya : —
Punjabi : Dodhak, Hajardana, Baradodk, Hazardana
Tamil : Sittirappaladi, Sittirappaladi
Telugu : Peddivari manubaala
Urdu : Dudhi
DESCRIPTION
a) Macroscopic
Branched prostrate with many stems spreading from the roots, slender upto 20 cm long; leaves green but occasionally purplish red, opposite, 2.5 to 5 mm long and 2 to 4 mm broad, oblong or subquadrate, tip mucronate, base symmetric and more or less cordate, margin serrulate in upper portion, glabrous above, slightly pubescent beneath especially on the apex; petiole short, 1 mm or even less in length; tap root 1 to 3 mm in diameter; inflorescence cyathium in short axillary racemiform clusters, involucre lobes 5, deltoid ovate, ciliate; nectary gland 4, minute; ovary tricarpellary, suborbicular, stipitate, narrowly limbed long styles; stigma three branched, each bifid; capsule 1 to 1.5 mm long, densely hairy on ridges, hairs occasionally present on the surface; fruit subglobosely trigamous, long stalked; seeds 0.6 to 0.8 mm long, oblong, 4 angled, smooth with 5 to7 transverse ribs, reddish brown and bluntly pointed; smell oily; no characteristic taste.
b) Microscopic
Root – T. S. of young root circular in outline, endodermis without casparian bands; triarch stele; mature roots phelloderm 6 to 8 layers, outer most layer thickly suberized; cork cells obliterated; cambium indistinct; broad xylem vessels solitary or in a group of 2 or 3, surrounded by a number of radially arranged narrow vessels and tracheids; medullary rays short, one or two seriate and extend upto phloem.
Stem – Cross section of stem circular in outline, thick, non striated cuticle, interrupted by unicellular or multicellular uniseritate trichomes upto 185 n long and 15 n broad; paracytic stomata at some places; cortex with a few latex canals; pericyclic fibres in groups; cambium not discernible; medullary rays narrow, 1 or 2 cell wide, parenchymatous pith with intercellular spaces.
Leaf – Two types of hairs present (a) multicellular, multiseriate glandular hairs with single apical cell at leaf margins only, (b) uniseriate 1 to 3 celled hairs on the margins, at abaxial side and in apex; cross section shows dorso-ventral structure, single layered upper and lower epidermis, mesophyll and vascular bundles; in surface view, the abaxial epidermal cells angular with straight cell walls, stomata anomocytic to anisocytic, stomatal indices 17.6 to 26.3 and density 60 to 130; adaxial epidermal cell walls slightly wavy with globular thickening at the angles; stomata anisocytic, stomatal indices 11.4 to 18.7 and stomatal density 25 to 60; palisade ratio 3 to 6; vascular bundles collateral, with bundle sheath; laticiferous canals observed; vein islet 1 to 5 and vein termination numbers is 3 to 13.
Powder – Powder yellowish-green, tasteless with oily odour; on microscopical examination it shows angular and slightly wavy epidermal cells with stomata, uniseriate, 1 to 3 celled trichomes or hairs and some pieces of glandular hairs parenchymatous patches, laticiferous canals, pollen grains, pieces of nectary glands, fragments of vessels, tracheids, fibres and stomata; when treated with 1N NaOH in methanol shows purple colour with yellowish tinge, and in acetic acid reddish yellow colour under UV – 254 nm.
IDENTITY, PURITY AND STRENGTH
Foreign matter Not more than 1 per cent, Appendix 2.2.2.
Total Ash Not more than 11 per cent, Appendix 2.2.3.
Acid-insoluble ash Not more than 0.2 per cent, Appendix 2.2.4.
Alcohol-soluble extractive Not less than 11 per cent, Appendix 2.2.6.
Water-soluble extractive Not less than 27 per cent, Appendix 2.2.7.
T.L.C.
T.L.C. of the methanolic extract on precoated silica gel ‘G’ plate (0.2 mm thick) using toluene : ethyl acetate (80 : 20) shows under UV (366 nm.) fluorescent zones at Rf. 0.05 (Maroon), 0.15 (light blue) and 0.66 (red). On spraying with anisaldehyde-sulphuric acid reagent and heating the plate for ten minutes at 1200C, spots appear at Rf. 0.12 (bright green), 0.23 (pinkish blue), 0.32 (pink), 0.38 (grey), 0.48 (dark greyish blue), 0.52 (pink), 0.61 (magenta), 0.66 (magenta) and 0.94 (blue).
CONSTITUENTS – Glucoside, Galactoside, β-sitosterol, Compesterol, Stigmasterol, Cholesterol.
PROPERTIES AND ACTION
Rasa : Madhura, Lavana, Katu, Tikta
Guna : Guru, Ruksa, Tiksna
Virya : Usna
Vipaka : Katu
Karma : Kaphahara, Mutrala, Vrsya, Garbhakaraka, Vistambhini, Grahi, Malastambhaka, Dhatuvrddhikara, Hrdya.
IMPORTANT FORMULATIONS – Gaganasundara Rasa
THERAPEUTIC USES – Svasa, Krmi, Kusta, Prameha, Raktapitta, Pravahika, Raktarsa, Palita, Danta-ghuna, Dadru, Sphota
DOSE – 5-10 g.
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