Kurchi

1. KURCHI

2. SYNONYMS Bengali:- Kurchi Gujrati :- Kadacchal Hindi:- Kaureya kurchi Kannada:- Kodasige,Halagatti gida,Halagatti mara Malayalam:- Kadagapala Marathi:- Kudasal Sanskrit:- Kutaja Tamil:- Krukkalami-palsi Telugu:- kodisapala

3. BIOLOGICAL SOURCE It is the dried stem bark of Holarrhena antidysentrica / Holarrhena pubescens belonging to the family Apocynacece . it is collected from 8 to 10 years old plant and freed from attached wood and peeled into small pieces. It should contain NOT LESS THAN 2 % of total alkaloids of kurchi

4. GEOGRAPHICAL SOURCE Kurchi is indigenous to India and found throught India and in the parts ascending upto 1000 meters in Himalayan region It is also found in the parts of Orissa Assam Uttar Pradesh Maharashtra

5. ORGANOLEPTIC CHARACTERS

6. MACROSCOPIC CHARACTERS Condition:- Dry Shape :- Longitudinally RECURVED pieces Size :- Variable Outer surface :- It is longitudinally wrinkled and bears horizontal lenticels Inner surface :- Brownish rough and with irregular transverse cracks Fracture :- Short and granular Light yellow wood may be seen attached occasionally

7. POWDER MICROSCOPY PHYSICAL EVALUATION STATE:- Powdered crystalline COLOUR:- Yellowish brown ODOUR:- No odour, faint, characteristic TASTE:- Acrid and bitter

8. MICROSCOPIC EVALUATION

9. CORK CELLS Thin walled few colorless and few are with yellowish brown matter

10. STONE CELLS / SCLERIDS Rectangular to oval in shape, walls striated, pitted and lignified. surrounded by sheath of parenchymatous cells containing calcium oxalate crystals.

11. MEDULLARY RAYS Phloem parenchyma traverse the medullary rays at right angles through such pieces are not seen many in number

12. CALCIUM OXALATE CRYSTALS Present in the form of prisms scattered all over in the powder

13. STARCH GRAINS Few in number, simple grains

14. CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS Kurchi bark contains steroidal alkaloid up to about 1.8 to 4.5% They are C 21 group of steroidal alkaloids The active alkaloids are conessine( kurchicine ),norconessine,isoconessine, dioxyconessine, conessimine, holarrhimine, holarrhidine, kurchalosssine, kurchessine and regholarrhenines Conessine is also present in root bark along with some other steroidal alkaloids The other alkaloids of conanine series have been reported from the bark In addition to alkaloids kurchi contains gums, resins, tannins, lupeal and beta- sitosterol

15. CONESSINE

16. NORCONESSINE

17. ISOCONESSINE

18. CONESSIMINE

19. HOLARRHIDINE

20. CHEMICAL TESTS SALKOWSKI REACTION:- To 20 ml of extract add 2ml of chloroform and 2ml of concentrated sulphuric acid shake well. chloroform layer appears red and acid layer shows greenish yellow fluorescence. Indicates the presence of steroidal moiety LIBERMANN-BURCHARD REACTION:- Mix 2ml of extract with chloroform add 1-2ml of acetic anhydride and 2drops of concentrated sulphuric acid from sides of the test tube. First red then blue and finally green color appears. Indicates the presence of steroidal moiety

21. Contd ……. LIBERMANN’S REACTION:- Mix 3ml extract with 3ml acetic anhydride heat and cool, add few drops of concentrated sulphuric acid. Blue color appears. Indicates the presence of steroidal moiety

22. THERAPEUTIC USES Kurchi bark is antiprotozoal in activity and used to treat amoebic dysentery Kurchi bark is considered to be stomachic, astringent, tonic, anti-dysenteric, febrifuge and anthelmintic The dried bark is rubbed over the body in dropsy Conessine is highly active against Entamoeba histolytica A traditional preparation of kurchi bark i.e. “kutajarishta” is commonly used specially for chronic amoebiasis The preparation of kurchine bismuth iodide which contains 23 to 27% total alkaloid is used as anti dysenteric

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