Jatamansi- Nordostachys jatamansi
Ayurveda classifies this drug under “samjna sthapana” group.
It can be called the “tranquiliser” among the ayurvedic drugs.
Family : Valeriaceae
Scientific name : Nordostachys jatamansi
Vernacular names in India
Sanskrit : jatamansi, bhootajata, jatila, tapaswini,
sulomasha, nalitha, krushna jata, mishika, mishi
Hindi : jatamansi, khalchada
Bengali : jatamansi
Tamil : jatamachi
Telugu : jatamamshi
English : Jatamansi, Spikenard, Musk-root plant
Distribution : It is seen in Himalayas. It grows as a wild
plant in Kashmir, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan.
Botanical description :
Nardostachys
jatamansi is a flowering plant of the Valerian family that grows in the eastern Himalayas,
primarily in a belt through Kumaon,Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan. The plant grows to about 1 m in height
and has pink, bell-shaped flowers. It is found in the altitude of about
3000–5000 meters. Rhizomes (underground stems) can be crushed and distilled into an intensely
aromatic amber-colored essential oil, which is very thick in consistency. Nard oil is
used as a perfume, an incense, a sedative, and
an herbal medicine said to fight insomnia, birth difficulties, and other minor ailments.
Historical use :
Nardostachys
jatamansi may have been used as an ingredient in the
incense known as spikenard,
although lavender has also been suggested as a candidate for the spikenard of classical
times.
Chemical constituents :
Action _ Used as a substitute for
Valerian. Tranquilizer, sedative,
hypotensive. Used for the treatment
of epilepsy, hysteria, convulsive
affections, palpitation of heart and
in intestinal colic. A decoction
of powdered roots is prescribed
as a home remedy for high
blood pressure. It is used in
dysmenorrhoea for pain relief and
smooth menstrual flow. It is used in
hair oil for arresting hair loss and
greying
of hair.
The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India
recommends dry rhizomes in obstinate
skin diseases, erysipelas, disturbed
mental state and insomnia.
The rhizome is rich in sesquiterpenoids.
The crude drug gave an oil
(yield .% v/w), which contains dnardostachone,
valeranone and jatamansone
as the major ketonic sesquiterpenes.
The oil potentiated phenobarbital
narcosis in rats, reduced brain
serotonin content and decreased the
conditioned avoidance performance
in cats
Jatamansone was shown to exert
tranquilizing effect in mice and monkeys.
In rabbits, jatamansone was
found to impair biosynthesis of serotonin
in the brain leading to a reduction
in brain level of -hydroxytryptamine.
The degradation of serotonin
was unaffected. The mode of action
of jatamansone was thus in variance
with that of reserpine which has direct
action on the cell to liberate serotonin.
On the other hand, the alcoholic
extract of the roots of Indian Nard
caused an overall increase in the levels
of central monamines, -hydroxy
indole acetic acid and the inhibitory
amino acids, gamma-aminobutyric
acid, norepinephrine, dopamine and
serotonin
in rat brain
In a clinical trial on hyperkinetic
children, jatamansone showed significant
reduction in hyperactivity and
improvement in restlessness and aggressiveness,
almost at par with Damphetamine.
The volatile oil was found to be less
active than quinidine in several tests.
It did not counteract digitalis induced
ventricular
arrhythmias.
Jatamansone semicarbazone, a sesquiterpene
ketone, was found to possess
antiestrogenic activity.
N. jatamansi is also used in place of
Muraa (Selinum tenuifolium Wall. ex
DC.)
Ayurvedic
pharmacoepia :
Rasa :
tikta, kashaya, madhura
Guna : laghu, teeksna, snigdha
Veerya
: sheeta
Vipaka
: katu
Medicinal
uses :
मंसि स्वदु कषाय स्यत कफपित्तास्रनाशिनि
विषमारुतःरुत्बल्या त्वच्या कान्ति प्रसादिनि
Gives strength for the brain cells. Cures
diseases arising out of problems in brain. Creates sleep. It is
deepana(digestive) and pachana(burns toxins). It is diuretic in action. It is
vatanulomana ( enhances the downward movement of nerve impulses from naval area
to anal area ) and a mild laxative. It alleiviates pain and provides strength
for heart muscles. It improves blood circulation. It is cooling for the body.
In ladies it is helpful for physical debilities and for coping with
physiological imbalances that happen after menopause. It is beneficial for
hysteria, hysterio epilepsy that is commonly seen in women.
Useful parts : rhizhome, roots
Therapeutic single drug usage :
-in oedema, pain and ulcer the paste of
root of jatamansi when applied externally cures the disease
-in sannipata jwara when jatamansi is made
into a decoction with other febrifuge drugs, it cures irrelevant talk,
insomnia, increased body temperature
-in blood pressure jatamansi and leaves of
moringa when made into a decoction and drunk twice daily cures it
-it is an ingredient of jatamayadi lepam,
rakta pittaja haraja kashayam which are classical medicinal preparations
Stress modulating
antioxidant effect of Nardostachys jatamansi.
The rhizomes of
Nardostachysjatamansi, the plant commonly known as Jatamansi have been
described in Ayurveda for their soothing and sedative action on the central
nervous system. In the present study, the anti-stress effect of hydroethanolic
extract (70%) of N. jatamansi (NJE) was evaluated in reference to its
antioxidant property. Wistar rats were divided into four groups: naive,
stressed, and T-200 and T-500 stressed with oral pre-treatment of NJE 200 and
500 mg/kg, respectively. Restraint of rats in metallic chambers for 4 h at 4
degreesC was followed by sacrifice and assessment of stress-induced alterations
in biochemical parameters, incidence and severity of ulcers. Lipid peroxidation
(LPO) and NO levels in stomach and LPO, NO levels and catalase activity in
brain, plasma corticosterone level and adrenal ascorbic acid were measured. In
vitro antioxidant activity of NJE was studied by measuring the free radical
scavenging activity. NJE showed potent antioxidant activity and significantly
reversed the stress-induced elevation of LPO and NO levels and decrease in
catalase activity in the brain. It inhibited the incidence of gastric
ulcerations and reversed the alterations in biochemical parameters/markers of
stress-induced gastric ulceration. NJE also significantly altered
stress-induced increase in adrenal and spleen weights and decrease in level of
ascorbic acid in adrenal gland. Elevation of plasma corticosterone level was
negated dose- dependently. The findings suggest that the NJE possesses
significant anti-stress activity, which may be due to its antioxidant activity.
Discussion :
In the
present investigation, the antioxidant properties and phenolic content of two
important indigenous drugs of India, Nardostachys
jatamansi and Selinum vaginatum, used in
neurological disorders like epilepsy, hysteria, syncope, convulsions, and
mental weakness were studied. A number of studies suggest that oxidative stress
plays an important role in the etiology of epilepsy and other neurological
disorders. Studies demonstrate that prolonged seizures acutely result in
oxidative damage to lipids, DNA, and susceptible proteins. Such mechanisms
(e.g., oxidative stress) could independently contribute to the disease
progression in addition to serving as processes that underlie neuronal injury.
It has been observed that compounds with antioxidant properties (superoxide
dismutase (SOD) mimetics, vitamin C, spin traps, and melatonin) prevent
seizure-induced pathology [12–16].
Newer antiepileptic drugs such as zonisamide possess antioxidant properties [17].
Thus therapies aimed at reducing oxidative stress may ameliorate tissue damage
and favorably alter the clinical course.
The main
purpose of this study was to evaluate these two endemic high altitude Indian
medicinal plants based on their phenolic profiles and antioxidant studies.
Since phenolic acids are well known to be potent antioxidants, the phenolic
antioxidant components present in N. jatamansi and S. vaginatum were identified. Marked difference
in their phenolic profiles was observed with N. jatamansi containing only protocatechuic and syringic
acids while chlorogenic and ferulic acids were present only in the methanolic
extract of S. vaginatum, indicating
that only benzoic acid derivatives and hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives were
present inN. jatamansi and S. vaginatum, respectively. However, a more detailed study,
employing many more derivatives belonging to the two groups of phenolic acids,
needs to be carried out before such a conclusion is finally drawn. Secondly,
both plants exhibited significant variation in their TPC and antioxidant
properties. N. jatamansi exhibited a higher TPC as well as better
antioxidant activity than S. vaginatum. The
results demonstrated that although the roots of N. jatamansi (commonly known as Bhootjataa) and S. vaginatum(Bhootkeshi)
resemble each other in their external morphological characters and
characteristic odour and are often confused with each other, S. vaginatum roots should not be used as a substitute for N. jatamansi. But, since
both of these plants, that is, N. jatamansi and S. vaginatum, have been used traditionally for the treatment
of epilepsy, seizures, hysteria, mental weakness, and so forth and because it
has been well established that oxidative stress may be both an important cause
and a consequence of seizures, it can be assumed that the activity exhibited by
them is dependent on synergistic effects exhibited by the different compounds
present in these species that may be responsible for their therapeutic uses.
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