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| Latin Name |
English Name |
Sanskrit Name |
Hindi Names |
Asparagus racemosus
Willd (Liliaceae)
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Asparagus |
Shatavari |
Satavar,
Satmuli |
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| History |
Asparagus
racemosus and A.sarmentosus are the 'Satavari' and
'Maha-satavari' of the 'Nighantas'. The tubers are candied and
eaten as a sweetmeat. The fresh juice of the root is given with
honey as a demulcent in bilious dyspepsia or diarrhea. It is
a constituent in the preparation of medicated oils for external
application in nervous and rheumatic affections and urinary
troubles.
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| Habitat |
Found through
out tropical Africa, Java, Australia, India, Sri Lanka and southern
parts of China. In India it is found in plains to 4,000 ft high,
in tropical, sub-tropical dry and deciduous forests and in the
Himalayas.
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| Morphology
Description (Habit) |
It is an under-shrub,
climbs up to 1-3 m high, with stout and creeping root stock. The root
occurs in clusters or fascicle at the base of the stem with succulent
and tuberous rootlets. The stem is scandent, woody, triquetrous, striate,
terete and climbing. The young stem is delicate, brittle and smooth.
The spines are long, sub-recurved or straight. Cladodes are in tufts
of 2-6 in a node, slender, finely acuminate, falcate divaricate. The
flowers, solitary or fascicles, simple or branched racemes of 3 cm
long. The pedicel is slender and jointed in the middle. Perianth lobes
white, fragrant and 3 mm in length. The anthers minute and purple.
The berry globular or obscurely 3 lobbed, purple-reddish, seeds hard
with brittle testa.
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| Principal
Constituents |
Apart
from saponins, the material contains alkaloids, proteins, starch,
tannin, mucilage and diosgenin. The type of saponin varies with the
geographical distribution of the species. Plants found in south India
have saponin-A4 fraction but not in north Indian samples1.
Steroid saponin, shatavarin - is the major glycoside with 3 glucose
and rhamnose moieties attached to sarsasapogenin, whereas shatavarin-IV
has 2 glucose and one rhamnose moieties with sarsasapogenin. Vanillin,
coniferin and sarsasaponin were also identified from the roots. The
plant contains triterpene saponins - Shatavarin I - IV, which are
phytoestrogen compounds.
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| Pharmacology |
Alcoholic
extract has anti-oxytocic activity, saponin-glycoside (A4) produced
a specific and competitive block of the pitocin-induced contraction
of rat, guinea pig and rabbit uteri in vitro and in situ.
It also blocked the spontaneous uterine motility. Also found that
the hypotensive action of syntocinin in cat was unaffected by previous
administration of saponin A42. Root extracts increase the
weight of mammary glands in post-partum and estrogens-primed rats
and uterine weight in estrogens-primed group3. It also
has galactogogue action in buffaloes4. It increased the
force and rate of contraction in isolated frog's heart, but in higher
doses it caused cardiac arrest5. Both aerial parts and
roots have amylase and lipase activities6. Aerial parts
have anticancer activity in human epidermal carcinoma of the nasopharynx7.
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| Clinical
studies |
It is proved that
it increases milk production in lactating women.
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| Toxicology |
There is no report
of toxic and adverse effects on use of this plant but Asparagus
officinalis is an allergenic plant8.
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| Indications |
The roots have oleaginous,
cooling, antispasmodic, indigestible, appetizer, alliterative, stomach,
tonic, aphrodisiac, galactagogue, astringent, antidiarrhoeatic, antidysenteric,
laxative properties and is useful in tumors, inflamations, diseases
of blood and eye, throat complaints, tuberculosis, leprosy, epilepsy,
night blindness and kidney troubles.
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