VASA

Vasa consists of fresh, dried, mature leaves of Adhatoda vasica Nees (Fam. Acanthacem), a sub-herbaceous bush, found throughout the year in plains and sub- Himalayan tracts in India, ascending upto 1200m, flowers during February-March and also at the end of rainy season, leaves stripped off from older stems and dried in drying sheds.

SYNONYMS

Sanskrit : Vrsa, Atarusa, Vasaka
Assamese : Titabahak, Bahak, Vachaka
Bengali : Baksa, Vasaka
English : Vasaka
Gujrati : Aduso, Ardusi, Adulso
Hindi : Aduss, Arusa
Kannada : Adsale, Adusoge, Atarusha, Adsole, Adasale
Kashmiri : Vasa
Malayalam : Attalataka m, Atalotakam
Marathi : Vasa, Adulsa
Oriya : Basanga
Punjabi : Bhekar, Vansa, Arusa
Tamil : Vasambu, Adathodai
Telugu : Addasaramu
Urdu : Adusa, Basa

DESCRIPTION

a) Macroscopic

Leaves, 10-30 cm long and 3-10 cm broad, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, slightly acuminate, base tapering, petiolate, petioles 2-8 cm long, exstipulite, glabrescent, 8-10 pairs of lateral vein bearing few hairs, dried leaves dull brown above, light greyish brown below, odour, characteristic, taste, bitter.

b) Microscopic

Transverse section of leaf shows, dorsiventral surface with 2 layers of palisade cells, in surface view, epidermal cells sinuous with anomocytic stomata on both surfaces, more numerous on the lower, clothing trichomes few, 1-3, rarely upto 5 celled, thinwalled, uniseriate, upto 500 n and glandular trichomes with nicellular stalk and 4 celled head measuring, 25-36 n in diameter in surface view, cystoliths in mesophyll layers, elongated and cigar shaped, acicular and prismatic forms of calcium oxalate crystals present in mesophyll , palisade ratio, 5-6, 5-8.5, stomatal index, 10.8-14.2-18.1 for lower surface.

IDENTITY, PURITY AND STRENGTH

Foreign matter Not more than 2 per cent, Appendix 2.2.2.
Total Ash Not more than 21 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 3 per cent, Appendix 2.2.6.
Water-soluble extractive Not less than 22 per cent, Appendix 2.2.7.

CONSTITUENTS – Alkaloids and essential oil.

PROPERTIES AND ACTION

Rasa : Tikta, Kasaya
Guna : Laghu
Virya : Sita
Vipaka : Katu
Karma : Hrdya., Kaphapittahara, Raktasangrahika, Kasaghna

IMPORTANT FORMULATIONS – Vasakasava, Vasavaleha

THERAPEUTIC USES – Svasa, Kamala, Kasa, Ksaya, Kustha, Prameha, Raktapitta

DOSE – 10-20 ml of the juice of fresh leaves.
10-20 g of the dried drug for decoction.

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