SVARNAPATRI
Svarnapatri consists of dried leaves of Cassia angustifolia Vahl (Fam. Leguminosm), a small shrub, 60-75 cm high, found throughout the year, cultivated largely in Southern India, especially in districts of Tinnevelly, Madurai and Tiruchirapally and has also been introduced in Mysore, fully grown, thick bluish colour leaves stripped off by hand, collected and dried in shade for 7-10 days, till assume a yellowish-green colour, graded and then packed into large bales.
SYNONYMS
Sanskrit : Madani
Assamese : Sonamukhi
Bengali : Svamamukhi, Sonapata
English : Indian Senna. Tinnevelly Senna
Gujrati : Mindhiaval, Sonamukhi
Hindi : Sanaya, Hindisana
Kannada : Nelavarika, Sonamukhi, Nelaavare, Nelavarike, Nela Aanriake
Kashmiri : Sna
Malayalam : Sunnamukhi, Nilavaka, Chinnukki, Adapatiyan
Marathi : Sonamukhi
Oriya : Sunamukhi
Punjabi : Sannamakhi, Sanapati, Sarnapatta
Tamil : Nilapponnai, Avarai
Telugu : Sunamukhi
Urdu : Sena, Barg-e-Sana
DESCRIPTION
a) Macroscopic
Leaflets, 2.5-6 cm long and 7-15 mm wide at centre, pale yellowish-green, elongated lanceolate, slightly asymmetric at base, margins entire, fiat apex acute with a sharp spine, both surfaces smooth with sparse trichomes, odour, faint but distinctive, taste mucilagenous and disagreeable but not distinctly bitter.
b) Microscopic
Transverse section of leaflet through midrib shows an isobilateral structure, epidermal cells, straight walled containing mucilage, both surfaces bear scattered, unicellular hair, often conical, curved near base, thick-walled, non-lignified, warty cuticle, stomata, paracytic, numerous on both surfaces, mesophyll consists of upper and lower palisade layers with spongy layer in between, palisade cells of upper surface longer than those of lower surface the latter having wavy anticlinal walls, prismaatic crystals of calcium oxalate present on larger veins and clusters of calcium oxalate crystals distributed throughout the palisade and spongy tissues, midrib biconvex, bundles of midrib and larger veins, incompletely surrounded by a zone pericyclic fibres and a crystal sheath of parenchymatous cells containing prismatic crystals of calcium oxalate.
IDENTITY, PURITY AND STRENGTH
Foreign matter Not more than 1 per cent, Appendix 2.2.2.
Total Ash Not more than 14 per cent, Appendix 2.2.3.
Acid-insoluble ash Not more than 2 per cent, Appendix 2.2.4.
Alcohol-soluble extractive Not less than 3 per cent, Appendix 2.2.6.
Water-soluble extractive Not less than 25 per cent, Appendix 2.2.7.
CONSTITUENTS – Anthraquinone, glucoside, flavonoids, steroids and resin.
PROPERTIES AND ACTION
Rasa : Katu, Tikta, Kasaya
Guna : Laghu, Ruksa, Tiksna
Virya : Usna
Vipaka : Katu
Karma : Recana
IMPORTANT FORMULATIONS – Pancasakara Curna, Sarivadyasava
THERAPEUTIC USES – Udararoga, Vibandha
DOSE – 0.5-2 g of the drug in powder form.
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