ROHISA (Whole Plant)
Rohisa consists of dried leaf, stem and root of Cymbopogon martinii (Roxb.) Wats. (Fam. Poacem) a perennial, sweet scented grass, 1.5 to 3.5 m high, occurs wild in dry localities and cultivated in many parts of India.
SYNONYMS
Sanskrit : —
Assamese : —
Bengali : Agam Ghaas, Agiyaa Ghaas
English : Rosha Grass, Rusa grass
Gujrati : Rondso, Ronsdo
Hindi : Rohis, Roosaa, Roosaaghaas, Mirchagandha
Kannada : Dunllu, Harehullu
Kashmiri : —
Malayalam : Sambhaarppullu
Marathi : Rohish gavat
Oriya : —
Punjabi : Agya ghass
Tamil : Kaavattampillu, Munkipul, Chooraippul
Telugu : Kaamakchhi – Kassuvu
Urdu : —
DESCRIPTION
a) Macroscopic
Root – Short, stout and woody; roots fibrous; many culms arise from root stumps.
Culm – Erect, terete, smooth shiny, upto 6 mm in dia., internodes 5 to 16 cm long, solid.
Leaf – Blades linear-lanceolate or lanceolate tapering to long filiform acuminate point, cordate and amplexicaul at base, upto 50 cm long and 3.5 cm broad; upper leaves are smaller, leaf surface glabrous, margin scabrid; midrib prominent and protruded on the lower surface; leaf sheath shorter than the internodes, glabrous, striate, auriculate, tight and clasping the culm, ligules membranous, 2 to 3 cm long.
Inflorescence – Spathate panicle, compound, upto 30 cm long; primary axis bears 2 or 3 branches at each node, these end in a spatheole which bears a pair of racemes, spatheole
1.8 mm long become reddish at maturity; racemes 1.5-2.0 cm long become subsessile or shortly pedicelled, lower raceme base and lower most pedicel swollen; sessile spikelet about 3.5 mm long, lower glume 1 mm wide, ovate, with deep median groove, broadly winged, 2 nerved; awn 12 to 18 mm long; pedicellate spikelet about 4 mm long, glabrous; lower glume lanceolate, 8 nerved, flower hermaphrodite or male, stamens-3, anthers 1 or 2 mm long, style 2, stigma pilose.
b) Microscopic
Root – T.S. shows thin walled epiblema with unicellular root hairs; cortex composed of thin walled, parenchymatous cells; large air chambers present in the cortex; endodermis single layered and pericycle two cell layered; central vascular strand has outer 2 or 3 layers of sclerenchymatous cells followed by 3 to 5 cells deep zones of thin walled phloem with a row of circular cavities of 12 to 25 n diam.; 5 to 10 cell layer thick zone encloses xylem vessels; which are 35 to 50 n in diam.; pith cells thick walled and devoid of any cell contents.
Stem – T.S. shows thick cuticle; epidermis devoid of any appendages; hypodermis 6 to 10 cells deep and composed of sclerenchymatous cells; vascular bundles scattered throughout the ground tissue with a row of smaller vascular bundles in the hypodermis; cells of ground tissue thin walled, parenchymatous; vascular bundles present in the ground tissue enclosed by 2 or 3 layers of sclerenchymatous cells.
Leaf – T.S. shows isobilateral structure, with a spongy mesophyll between; outline showing a slightly concave upper surface and a convex lower surface; midrib protruded towards lower side; cells of upper epidermis interrupted by the presence of bulliform or motor cells; lower epidermal cells are more uniform in size and smaller; stomata present on both surfaces, characteristically placed in a straight line between veins, mesophyll consists of chlorenchymatous cells placed radially around smaller vascular bundles; bundle sheath present around smaller vascular bundles, on either side of the midrib vascular bundle; group of sclerenchymatous fibres are found and may extend upto bundle sheath; vascular bundle of midrib usually has two conspicuous metaxylem vessels. Lower epidermis can be distinguished from the upper epidermis by its having more number of stomata, smaller epidermal cells and presence of microhairs and papillm; stomata of the lower epidermis – oval, mostly with low dome shaped long cells present between the veins; long cells of lower epidermis possess 1 or 2 papillm, while papillm are absent on the long cells of upper epidermis; short cells over the veins in rows of more than 5 cells and may be in pairs; silica bodies abundant over the veins mostly dumbbell shaped, occasionally cross-shaped, narrow and crenate; prickle and micro hairs present; micro hairs two celled, observed only on lower epidermis; the basal cell of micro hairs is wide as compared to distal cell; distal cell tapers to an acutely pointed apex.
Powder – Brown, fibrous, free flowing, shows debris from leaves showing characteristic graminaceous stomata, silica bodies, and micro hairs; also contains pitted parenchyma and fiber.
IDENTITY, PURITY AND STRENGTH
Foreign matter Not more than 2 per cent, Appendix 2.2.2.
Total Ash Not more than 14 per cent, Appendix 2.2.3.
Acid-insoluble ash Not more than 7 per cent, Appendix 2.2.4.
Alcohol-soluble extractive Not less than 5 per cent, Appendix 2.2.6.
Water-soluble extractive Not less than 7 per cent, Appendix 2.2.7.
Essential oil Not less than 0.2 per cent, Appendix 2.2.10
T.L.C.
T.L.C. of essential oil on silica gel ‘G’ plate using hexane : ethyl acetate (90:10) shows seven spots at Rf 0.25, 0.38, 0.47, 0.57, 0.64, 0.71 and 0.78 on spraying with Vanillin-Sulphuric acid reagent and heating the plate for 15 minutes at 110oC.
CONSTITUENTS – Essential oil (0.5 percent) containing terpenes such as geraniol, geranyl acetate, citronellol, linalool, geranyl butyrate, myrcene,α- and β-pinene.
PROPERTIES AND ACTION
Rasa : Katu, Tikta
Guna : Laghu, Ruksa, Tiksna
Virya : Usna
Vipaka : Katu
Karma : Pittahara, Kaphavatasamaka, Balagrahahara, Pumstvaghna
IMPORTANT FORMULATIONS – Bala Taila, Masabaladi Kvatha Curna
THERAPEUTIC USES – Sula, Apasmara, Aruci, Hrdroga, Jvara, Kasa, Kustha, Prameha, Raktapitta, Pinasa, Kaphajvara, Kantha Roga, Katisula, Vrscika-Visa
DOSE – 10-20 g.
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