Botanical name : Aconitum heterophyllum Wall
Family : Ranunculaceae
SANSKRIT SYNONYMS
Ativishaa, Arunaa, Visha, Shuklakanda, Bhangura, Ghunapriya, Ghunavallabha, Kaashmira, Shishubhaishajya, Vishwaa.
AYURVEDIC PROPERTIES
Rasa : Tikta, Kashaya
Guna : Lakhu, Rooksha
Virya : Ushna
PLANT NAME IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
English : Atis root, Aconite
Hindi : Atis
Malayalam : Atividayam
Distribution : Cultivated at Manali and Rahla in Himachal Pradesh. Also found in north western Himalayas at altitudes ranging from 2000 to 4000 m.
PLANT DESCRIPTION
An erect stemmed herbaceous plant grow upto 55 cm in height. Leaves more or less heteromorphous, varying shape and size; flowers in leafy panicle, blue or violet; fruits follicles, 16-18 mm long; seeds obpyramidal, blackish brown, angles more or less winged. Roots tuberous, whitish or grey, smooth, cross-section pure white in which 2-6 blackish vascular supplies are seen arranged in a discontinuous ring, cylindric-oblong or conic, upto 2.5 cm long and 0.5 - 1.5 cm thick; breaks very easily and tastes very bitter
MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
Plant pacifies vitiated kapha and vata, dysentery, diarrhoea, stomach disorders, fever malarial fever, vomiting, helminthiasis, haemorrhoids, haemorrhages, internal inflammatory conditions and general debility. Usefull in children’s diseases.
Useful part : Root (Rhizome)
CHEMICAL CONTENTS
The roots yield 0.79% of total alkaloids, of which atisin is 0.4%. Atisine is much less toxic than aconitine and pseudoaconitine. The plant possesses potent immunostimulant properties.
Dosage : Root - 0.6 - 2.08 g. (API)
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