KUTAJA
Kutaja consists of dried stem bark of Holarrhena antidysenterica (Roth) A. DC. (Fam. Apocynacem): a small to medium sized tree, found throughout India, drug collected from 8-12 years old tree during the middle of rainy season (July to September) and again at the end of winter season by hewing and peeling and separated from attached wood.
SYNONYMS
Sanskrit : Kalinga, Sakra, Vatsaka
Assamese : Dudhkuri
Bengali : Kurchi
English : Ester tree, Conessi bark
Gujrati : Kuda, Kadachhal, Kudo
Hindi : Kurchi, Kuraiya
Kannada : Kodasige, Halagattigida, Halagatti Mara
Kashmiri : Kogad
Malayalam : Kutakappala
Marathi : Pandhra Kuda
Oriya : Kurei, Keruan
Punjabi : Kurasukk, Kura
Tamil : Kudasapalai
Telugu : Kodisapala, Palakodisa
Urdu : Kurchi
DESCRIPTION
a) Macroscopic
Small recurved pieces of varying sizes and thickness, outer surface buff to brownish longitudinally wrinkled and bearing horizontal lenticels, inner surface brownish, rough and scaly fracture short and granular, taste, acrid and bitter.
b) Microscopic
Transverse section of dried stem bark shows cork consisting of 4-12 rows of tangentially elongated cells, radial 15- 45 n tangential 30-60 n cork cambium consists of a row of thin walled tangentially elongated cells, secondary cortex usually wide, parenchymatous, interspersed with strands of stone cells, stone cell rectangular to oval, with numerous pits often containing prismatic crystals of calcium oxalate, non-lignified pericyclic fibres upto 52 mm thick, present in bark, secondary phloem wide consisting of sieve-tubes, companion cells, phloem parenchyma and stone cells, stone cells arranged in tangential rows in concentric manner associated with crystal sheath containing prisms of calcium oxalate, medullary rays mostly bi or triseriate rarely uniseriate becoming wide toward, outer part and consist of thin-walled, radially elongated, parenchymatous cells, medullary ray cells near stone cells become sclerosed.
IDENTITY, PURITY AND STRENGTH
Water-soluble extractive Not less than 10 per cent, Appendix 2.2.7.
Foreign matter Not more than 2 per cent, Appendix 2.2.2.
Total Ash Not more than 7 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 18 per cent, Appendix 2.2.6.
ASSAY
Assay- Kutaja contains not less than 2 per cent of total alkloids when assayed by the following method:weigh accurately about 5 g in powder (No. 85 seive) and moisten with 10 ml of an Alcohol-chloroform mixture (1 :3) containing 2 per cent of Ammonia solution for 15 minutes. Pack the mixture in a small glass percolator surrounded by a jacket of hot water kept at 50o. Macerate with more of the alkaline Alcohol-chloroform mixture for an hour and collect 25 ml of percolate in a receiver containing 1 g of Oxalic acid dissolved in 5 ml of alcohol. Stop the percolation add l0 ml of the alcoholchloroform mixture containing 1 per cent w/v of Sodium Hydroxide and macerate for fifteen minutes. Continue the percolation adding further quantities of the alcoholchloroform mixture until the alkaloids are completely extracted. Mix the percolate well and extract by shaking with five 20 ml portions of 2 N Hydrochloric acid. Combine the acid extracts and make alkaline with dilute Ammonia Solution. Extract with four 10 ml portions of Chloroform, add 1 ml of 0.5 N Sodium Hydroxide, and extract again with Chloroform. Wash each Chloroform extract with the same two 10 ml portions of water contained in different separators. Combine the Chloroform extracts, add 20 ml of O.IN Sulphuric Acid and shake well for 5 Minutes. Transfer the acid Liquid to a conical flask, wash the Chloroform extract with two 20 ml portions of water and add the washing to the acid liquid in the conical flask. Titrate the excess of acid with 0.1N Sodium Hydroxide using the mixed 3 indicator. Each ml of 0.1N Sulphuric Acid is equivalent to 0.01657g of total alkaloids of Kutaja.
CONSTITUENTS – Conessine and related alkaloids.
PROPERTIES AND ACTION
Rasa : Tikta, Kasaya
Guna : Laghu, Ruksa
Virya : Sita
Vipaka : Katu
Karma : Dipana, Sangrahi, Kaphapittasamaka
IMPORTANT FORMULATIONS – Kutajarisa, Kutajavaleha, Kutajaghana Vati
THERAPEUTIC USES – Arsa, Atisara, Kustha, Pravahika, Trsna, Jvaratisara
DOSE – 20-30 g of the drug for decoction.
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