PALASAH (Dried Flower)
Palasah consists of dried flower of Butea monosperma (Lam.) Kuntze syn. B. frondosa Roxb. (Fam. Fabacem), a moderate sized deciduous tree, commonly called Flame of the Forest”, flowering in March – May found throughout India upto a height of 1250 m, except in the arid zones.
SYNONYMS
Sanskrit : Kimsuka, Raktapuspaka, Ksarsrestha
Assamese : —
Bengali : Palash
English : Bastard teak, Flame of the Forest, Butea Seed
Gujrati : Khaakharo
Hindi : Dhaak, Tesu, Palaash
Kannada : Muttug, Muttulu
Kashmiri : —
Malayalam : Plashu
Marathi : Palas, Palash paapda
Oriya : Porasu, Kijuko
Punjabi : Tesh
Tamil : Purasu
Telugu : Moduga
Urdu : —
DESCRIPTION
a) Macroscopic
Inflorescence raceme; flowers large, 4 to 6 cm long, alternate, with pubescent long, velvety, olive green peduncle; bright yellowish-red to orange red pedicels, 1.5 cm long, twisted, bracteate, bracts and bracteoles small, linear, velvety, orange green, deciduous; calyx campanulate, 5-partite, oblique, about 1 cm long, dark olive green, densely velvety outside, clothed with silky hairs within, two upper teeth connate, large, three lower ones unequal, the lowest being much shorter than the lateral ones; corolla 4 to 6 cm. long, orange red, covered outside with silky white hairs, papilionaceous; stamen diadelphous; anthers linear, yellow; ovary stipitate, silky, pubescent, style incurved, longer than the stamens.
b) Microscopic
Pedicel: T.S. of pedicel circular in outline, bearing numerous 2 to 4 celled uniseriate hairs; cortex collenchymatous, differentiated in two zones- outer formed of smaller cells with some contents and inner zone of larger cells; cortex and stele separated by endodermis of barrel shaped cells containing starch grains; phloem parenchyma containing tannin; pith parenchymatous; vascular bundles separated by broad medullary rays and arranged in a ring; rhomboidal crystals of calcium oxalate present in cortex. Sepals: Sepals on upper surface have one type of trichome 3 to 5 celled, with prominent basal cell; on lower surface two types of trichomes, (i) multicellular, uniseriate, long, thick walled with circular basal cell; (ii) a few multicellular, club-shaped, trichomes glandular in nature; stomata anomocytic type. Petals: Upper surface of wing petal with profuse 2 to 6 celled hairs on its basal part and multicellular trichomes at the tip; lower surface of wing petal covered with multicellular uniseriate trichomes; papillate epidermal cells in the middle region of wing petal, in surface view shows striations radiating from the base of papilla; cells in apical region of wing petal without papillate, but narrow with random striation; upper surface of standard
petal glabrous but margins hairy; multicellular, club shaped appendages and uniseriate 2 to 5 celled trichomes present at the apex. In the middle portion cells longer than broad, drawn out into papillm with striations radiating out from this; upper surface of keel petal cells polygonal, with irregular striations, trichomes profuse except at apical region. Stamens diadelphous; pollen grain 3 pored, oblate, spheroidal; about 28 n long and 30 n m broad, pore circular to elongate, 8 to 12.5 n m, exine wall surface foveolate. Ovary with two types of trichomes, (i) thin walled having dense contents (ii) 2 to 3 celled trichome, placentation marginal; epidermal cells of style long, narrow in surface view, trichomes uniseriate multicellular and thick walled in stylar region.
Powder – Brownish-yellow, slightly bitter in taste, no characteristic odour; shows pieces of various types of trichomes, vascular tissue, epidermal cells with characteristic papillm, polygonal cells with linear striations, pollen grains, and styloid crystals of calcium oxalate; powder treated with 1N HCl followed by one drop of nitrocellulose in amylacetate becomes orange yellow under UV 365 nm and with 1N NaOH in methanol becomes, yellowish-black 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 10 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 15 per cent, Appendix 2.2.6.
Water-soluble extractive Not less than 32 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 ethyl acetate : methanol : water (100 : 15 : 5) shows under UV (366 nm) fluorescent zones at Rf. 0.17 (yellow), 0.26 (yellow), 0.53 (light brown), 0.58 (greenish yellow) and 0.63 (greenish yellow). On spraying with 5% KOH reagent spots at Rf. 0.17 (yellow), 0.26 (yellow), 0.58 (green) and 0.63 (green).
CONSTITUENTS – Coumarins and glycosides, cumaranone glycosides, butrin, isobutrin, monospermoside, isomonospermoside, carbomethoxy-3, 6-dioxo-5-hydro-1, 2, 4-triazine, coreopsin, isocoreopsin.
PROPERTIES AND ACTION
Rasa : Madhura, Katu, Tikta, Kasaya
Guna : Laghu, Ruksa, Sara
Virya : Sita
Vipaka : Madhura
Karma : Dipana, Kaphahara, Kusthaghna, Mutrala, Pittahara, Rakta Stambhana, Sandhaniya, Trsnasamaka, Dahaprasamana, Grahi
IMPORTANT FORMULATIONS – Kunkumadi Taila, Vana Bhasma (Jarana (b))
THERAPEUTIC USES – Arsa, Daha, Grahani, Gulma, Kandu, Kustha, Mutrakrcchra, Netrasukra, Pliharoga, Raktapitta, Raktavikara, Vatarakta, Trsna, Krmi, Pittabhisyanda
DOSE – 3-6 g.
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