VISAMUSTHI (Seed)
Visamushti consists of dried seed of Strychnos nux-vomica Linn. (Fam. Fabacem), a tree, upto a height of 9 to 15 m found throughout tropical parts of the country upto 360 m
altitude in the moist deciduous forest. Seed is poisonous and can produce ill effects.
SYNONYMS
Sanskrit : Karaskara, Visatindu, Kakatinduka
Assamese : Ajraki, Habbul gurab, Kucila
Bengali : Kuchila
English : Poison-nut tree, Nux vomica
Gujrati : Konchala, Jher Kochla, Kuchla, Zer Kochalu
Hindi : Kuchala, Kuchila, Bish tendu
Kannada : Kanjihemushti, Manjira, Hemmushti, Ittongi, Kasarkayi
Kashmiri : —
Malayalam : Kajjl, Kanniram
Marathi : Kajra, Kuchla
Oriya : —
Punjabi : Kuchla
Tamil : Yettimaram, Kakotee, Ettikottai, Ettikkai
Telugu : Mushti, Mushini
Urdu : Azaraqi, Kuchla
DESCRIPTION
a) Macroscopic
Seeds greenish-grey to grey, extremely hard, silky to touch with a satiny sheen; disc-shaped, almost flat, umbonate but a few seeds somewhat irregularly bent, 10 to 30 mm in diameter, 4 to 6 mm thick, margin rounded or depressed; when cut open, endosperm found to be horny, having a central cavity in which the embryo is situated with two small, thin, cordate, leafy cotyledons with 5 to 7 veins and a terete radicle; odourless.
b) Microscopic
Seed shows single layered epidermis, each epidermal cell elongated externally to form closely appresed trichomes, lignified, comprising of pitted bulbous base and a thick-walled narrowly elongated, projection; trichome slightly bent beyond the base, with about ten strongly lignified ribs of thickenings; inner testa composed of collapsed parenchymatous cells with yellowish-brown contents; outermost layer of endosperm consists of palisade-like cells while the inner layers have thick-walled, cellulosic polyhedral cells, showing plasmodesmata; endosperm cells also contain oil, and aleurone grams.
Powder – Greenish-grey; shows narrowly elongated and slightly bent thick-walled, lignified trichomes with bulbous base without ramification, thin-walled, parenchymatous cells filled with yellowish-brown content, oil globules and aleurone grains.
IDENTITY, PURITY AND STRENGTH
Foreign matter Not more than 1 per cent, Appendix 2.2.2.
Total Ash Not more than 2 per cent, Appendix 2.2.3.
Acid-insoluble ash Not more than 0.2 per cent, Appendix 2.2.4.
Alcohol-soluble extractive Not less than 4 per cent, Appendix 2.2.6.
Water-soluble extractive Not less than 12 per cent, Appendix 2.2.7.
Assay Not less than 1.2 per cent of strychnine
ASSAY
Weigh accurately about 109 in fine powder, add 100 ml of a 33 per cent v/v mixture of chloroform in solvent ether and set aside for ten minutes. Add 5 ml of dilute ammonia solution and shake continuously for six hours. Transfer to a continuous extraction apparatus with more of the same solvent mixture and extract for two hours. Filter the solvent extract, washing the filter with solvent ether and extract with successive quantities of 20 ml, 20 ml , 10 ml and 10 ml of 1N sulphuric acid, until complete extraction of the alkaloids is effected. Combine the acid extracts and make alkaline with dilute ammonia solution. Extract with successive quantities of 20 ml, 20 ml ml and 10 ml of chloroform until complete extraction of the alkaloids is effected. Evaporate the chloroform, add 5 ml of alcohol and evaporate to dryness. Dissolve the residue in a mixture of 15 ml of a 3 per cent w/v solution of sulphuric acid and 2 ml of nitric acid, add a few crystals of sodium nitrite and set aside at 18oC for thirty minutes. Transfer to a separator containing 20 ml of solution of sodium hydroxide, shake for two minutes and then shake with 20 ml of chloroform, separate the chloroform solution, wash it with 5 ml of solution of sodium hydroxide and then with two quantities each of 10 ml of water. Continue the extraction with successive quantities of 10 ml of chloroform, until complete extraction of the alkaloids is effected, washing each chloroform solution separately with the 5 ml of solution of sodium hydroxide and with the two quantities of water, which were used for washing the first chloroform solution. Titrate the second wash with 0.1 N sulphuric acid using solution of methyl orange as indicator if more than 0.1 ml is required, wash the combined chloroform solutions with further quantities, each of 10 ml of water until on titration not more than 0.1 ml of 0.1 N sulphuric acid is required. Remove the chloroform, add 5 ml of alcohol, evaporate, and dry for thirty minutes, at 100oC. Dissolve the residue in 10 ml of 0.1 N sulphuric acid and titrate the excess of acid with 0.1 N sodium hydroxide, using solution of methlyl orange as indicator. Each ml of 0.1 N sulphuric acid is equivalent to 0.03344 g of strychinine, multiply the result by 1.02 to correct for loss of strychinine.
T.L.C.
T.L.C. of alcoholic extract on Silica gel ‘G’ using Toluene: Ethylacetate: Diethylamine (70:20:10) shows on spraying with Dragendorff reagent followed by 5% Methanolic-Sulphuric acid two orange spots at Rf. 0.44 and 0.65 corresponding to that of brucine and strychnine.
CONSTITUENTS – Alkaloids, Indole Alkaloids, Strychnine & Brucine, Monoterpenoid Glycoside (Loganin), α, β -Colubrine, Vomicine.
PROPERTIES AND ACTION
Rasa : Katu, Tikta
Guna : Laghu, Ruksa, Tiksna
Virya : Usna
Vipaka : Katu
Karma : Grahi, Madakaraka, Vatalam, Kaphanasaka, Pittanasaka, Raktadosa Nasaka, Vranasodhana, Parama Vedanahara, Agnireta, Rujahara, Jantunasana
IMPORTANT FORMULATIONS – Krmimudgara Rasa, Visatinduka Taila, Mahavisagarbha Taila, Agnitundi Vati, Ekangavira Rasa, Visatinduka Vati, Navajivana Rasa
THERAPEUTIC USES – Agnimandya, Arsa, Ardita, Kandu, Klaibya, Visucika, Vrana, Paksaghata, Nadi Daurbalya, Kushha, Grdhrasi
DOSE – 60-125 mg powder of the shodhita drug.