ARKA Calotropis procera

Arka consists of dried leaves of Calotropis procera ,(Fam. Asclepiadaceae), Ayurvedic Medicine for piles and Anal Fistula ,found wild more or less throughout India.

ARKA Calotropis procera Ayurvedic Medicine for piles and Anal Fistula

Scientific classification

• Kingdom:    Plantae
• (unranked):    Angiosperms
• (unranked):    Eudicots
• (unranked):    Asterids
• Order:    Gentianales
• Family:    Asclepiadaceae
• Genus:    Calotropis
• Species:    C. procera
• Binomial name — Calotropis procera

ARKA Calotropis procera Ayurvedic Medicine for piles and Anal Fistula

SYNONYMS

• Sanskrit    :    Bhinu, Ravi, Tapana
• English    :    Madar Tree
• Gujrati      :    Aakado
• Hindi        :    Aak, Akavana, Madar
• Assamese    :    Akan, Akand
• Bengali    :    Akanda, Akone
• Kashmiri    :    Acka
• Malayalam    :    Erikku
• Marathi    :    Rui
• Oriya       :    Arakha
• Punjabi    :    Ak
• Kannada    :    Ekka, Ekkadagida, Ekkegida
• Tamil       :    Erukku, Vellerukku
• Telugu      :    Jilledu
• Urdu        :    Aak, Madar

ARKA Calotropis procera Ayurvedic Medicine for piles and Anal Fistula

DESCRIPTION  and PLACES OF ORIGIN of

• Sub-sessile, 6-15 cm by 4.5-8 cm, broadly ovate, ovate-oblong, elliptic or obovate acute, pubescent when young and glabrous on both sides on maturity.
• Lamina – dorsiventral with mesophyll differentiated into a palisade and spongy tissue, closely arranged palisade parenchyma present, spongy parenchyma tissues almost radially elongated with intercellular spaces, central cells irregular in shape,upper and lower epidermis covered externally with a thick, striated cuticle, below upper epidermis three rows of elongated,  laticifers and vascular bundles also present scattered in this region
• Midrib – transverse section through midrib shows an upper and lower single layered epidermis externally covered with thick, striated cuticle, few epidermal cells on both surfaces of leaf elongated to form un i-seriate, 2-3 celled trichomes,
• epidermal cells cubical and radially elongated, epidermis followed by 3-8 layered collenchyma on both lower and upper surfaces, stele crescent shaped composed of bicollateral and open vascular bundle, xylem consists mostly of vessels and tracheids, a strip of cambium present between xylem and phloem tissues,parenchymatous cells thin-walled, isodiametric to circular with intercellular spaces present in ground tissue,  laticifers also present in the phloem and parenchymatous zone.

Chemical properties

• These belong to the same chemical family as similar chemicals found in foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea).
• The milky sap contains a complex mix of chemicals, some of which are steroidal heart poisons known as “cardiac aglycones”.
• The steroidal component includes an hydroxyl group in the C3β position, a second attached to the C14 carbon, a C/D-cis ring junction and an α,β-unsaturated-γ-lactone in the C17 position.
• These can be a C19-aldehyde in place of the more usual methyl group in this position as well as additional hydroxyl functions and sometimes epoxide structures.
• The features described are those required for toxicity but in addition there can be other substitutions into the steroid nucleus.
• In the plants, the steroidal component is commonly attached via a glycosidic link to a 2-desoxy or a 2,6-didesoxy sugar molecule.
• CONSTITUENTS  –  Glycoside (Calotropin)

PROPERTIES AND ACTION

• Rasa         :    Katu, Tikta
• Guna         :    Laghu, Sara, Snigdha
• Virya     :    Ushan
• Vipaka     :    Katu

Function or Karma      :

• Vatahar,
• Dipana,
• Krmighna,
• Vra¸ahara,
• Vishaghna,
• vedanahar,
• visahara

IMPORTANT FORMULATIONS  –

• Arka Lavana
• Kshar (kshar sutra)
• kshar sutra (pilse)

THERAPEUTIC Medicinal USES

• sotha,
• Kandu,
• Kustha,
• Vrana,
• Krmiroga,
• Gulma,
• Pliharoga,
• Arsa,

DOSE Ayurveda drugs –   –

• 250-750 mg of the drug in powder form