PALASA (Seed)
Palasa consists of dried seed of Butea monosperma (Lam.) Kuntze, Syn. B. frondosa Koen. ex Roxb. (Fam. Fabacem), a medium sized tree with a somewhat crooked trunk, 12 to 15 m high with irregular branches, commonly found throughout the greater part of the country upto about 915 m altitude.
SYNONYMS
Sanskrit : Brahma Vrksa, Kimsuka, Rakta Puspaka, Ksara Sresa
Assamese : —
Bengali : Palash Gachha
English : Bengal Kinotree
Gujrati : Kesudo, Khakharo
Hindi : Dhak, Palash
Kannada : Muttuga
Kashmiri : —
Malayalam : Palashu
Marathi : Palash
Oriya : —
Punjabi : Dhak, Palash, Tesoo, Kesoo
Tamil : Purashu
Telugu : Moduga mada
Urdu : Dhak (Tesu)
DESCRIPTION
a) Macroscopic
Seed flat, kidney-shaped, 2.5 to 4 cm long, 1 to 3 cm wide, dark reddish-brown, thin, glossy; hilum clear, situated near middle of concave edge ‘of seed; odour, faint; taste, slightly acrid and bitter.
b) Microscopic
Shows a wide zone of testa, consisting of a layer of palisade cells, a row of bearer cells and many layers of parenchymatous cells; palisade cells compactly arranged, columnar shaped and covered with thick cuticle, followed by a single row of bearer cells; parenchymatous layers consisting of many rows of cells, filled with reddish-brown contents; a number of vascular bundles occur in a row, in middle region of parenchymatous zone; cotyledons consists of a single layered epidermis, composed of square to oval cells, covered with cuticle; mesophyll cells bear hyaline walls, oval to irregular shaped with small intercellular spaces; simple, oval to round, starch grains with concentric striations, and centric hilum, compound grains having 2 to 4 components measuring 8 to 16 n in dia., present in cotyledons.
Powder – Cream or grey; shows fragments of testa, bearer cells, numerous simple oval to round starch grains with concentric striations and a centric hilum, and also compound starch grains having 2 to 4 components, measuring 8 to 16 n in diameter.
IDENTITY, PURITY AND STRENGTH
Foreign matter Not more than 1 per cent, Appendix 2.2.2.
Total Ash Not more than 7 per cent, Appendix 2.2.3.
Acid-insoluble ash Not more than 0.5 per cent, Appendix 2.2.4.
Alcohol-soluble extractive Not less than 9 per cent, Appendix 2.2.6.
Water-soluble extractive Not less than 25 per cent, Appendix 2.2.7.
Hexane soluble extractive Not less than 15 per cent. (By soxhlet extraction)
T.L.C.
T.L.C. of alcoholic extract of the drug on Silica gel ‘G’ plate using Toluene: Ethylacetate (9:1) shows under U.V. light (366 nm) three fluorescent at Rf. 0.41, 0.49 to 0.65 (elongated and light blue) and 0.91 (blue). On exposure to Iodine vapour six spots appear at Rf. 0.04, 0.19, 0.28, 0.41, 0.49 to 0.65 (elongated) and 0.91 (all yellow). On spraying with Vanillin-Sulphuric acid reagent and heating the plate for about ten minutes at 110oC six spots appear at Rf. 0.04, 0.19, 0.28, 0.41, elongated spot (0.49-0.65) and 0.91 (all violet). On spraying with Dragendorff reagent followed by 5% Methanolic- Sulphuric acid reagent three spots appear at Rf. 0.41, 0.49 to 0.65 (elongated) and 0.91 (all light orange).
CONSTITUENTS – Fixed Oil, Enzymes and small quantities of Resins and Alkaloids.
PROPERTIES AND ACTION
Rasa : Katu, Tikta, Kasaya
Guna : Sara, Snigdha
Virya : Usna
Vipaka : Katu
Karma : Dipana, Kaphahara, Pittahara, Sangrahi, Vatahara, Vrsya, Asthisandhanaka
IMPORTANT FORMULATIONS – Ayaskrti, Krmimudgara Rasa, Khrimikuthara Rasa, Palasa Bija Curna, Palasa Arka
THERAPEUTIC USES – Arsa, Grahani, Gulma, Kandu, Prameha, Vrana, Krmiroga, Basti Roga, Pliha Roga, Dadru, Tvak Roga, Timira Roga, Netrabhisyanda, Garbhadhananivaranartha.
DOSE – 3 gm of the drug in powder form.
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