| Latin Names |
English Names |
Sanskrit Names |
Hindi Names |
Aconitum bisma
(Buch. - Ham.) Rapaics (Ranunculaceae) /
A. palmatum D. Don
|
Crowfoot |
Prativisha |
Bakhma |
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 History
In the writing in english on Indian Drugs, it
appears to have almost escaped attention. Dr. Buchanan, in
his account of the Kingdom of Nepal enumerates four kinds of
Bakh, of which Bakhma is one, and describes it as a powerful
bitter. With pepper, it is the remedy for pains in bowels,
diarrhea and vomiting. It is regarded as a valuable tonic
and digestive.
Habitat
It grows in the alpine
Himalayas of Sikkim, Nepal and the adjoining parts of
southern Tibet; between altitudes of 3,000m and 4,800 m.
Morphology Description (Habit) |
It is a biennial raw herb with tuberous and paired roots. The
mother root is often dry and cylindrical and the daughter
root varies from shortly conical to long cylindrical. Its
external surface is somewhat smooth and light brown. The
leaves are orbicular-cordate to reniform with a very wide
shallow sinus. Flowers are greenish blue in few-flowered
panicles. The follicles are 2.5-3.0 cm long. The seeds are
blackish, obovoid, obscurely winged along the raphe and
transversely lamellate.
Principal Constituents
The roots contain five diterpene alkaloids, viz. Palmatisine,
Vakognavine (C34H37NO10),
Vakatisine (C22H34NO2Cl),
Vakatisinine (C22H33NO4)
and Vakati (C22H33NO2).
Toxicology
The alkaloids identified from the plants are non-toxic1.
Indications
The root is intensely bitter like quinine and is used in
combination with Long Pepper (Piper longum) for pain in the
bowels, diarrhea, and vomiting.
References
- Anonymous, 1998, Wealth Asia CD-ROM, CSIR, New Delhi.
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