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Justicia adhatoda L. (Acanthaceae)

(Syns.: Adhatoda vasica Nees.; A. pubescens Moench.; A. zeylanica Medik.; Dianthera latifolia Salisb)

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Handbook of 200 Medicinal Plants

Abstract

It is a small tree or a large bushy shrub, found in India and Sri Lanka. The shrub has considerable reputation all over India as an expectorant, antispasmodic and alterative, and is largely prescribed in chest affections associated with cough, asthma, dyspnea, emphysema, and hectic fever. Leaves possess aromatic, antiseptic, insecticidal, expectorant and hemostatic properties, and are recommended to lessen throat inflammation, to reduce cough, to lessen gingival inflammation, and to arrest bleeding from the mouth, nose, rectum and urinary tract. In the Nighanthas it is described to remove phlegm, bile and impurities of the blood; a remedy for asthma, cough, fever, vomiting, gonorrhea, leprosy and phthisis. Sanskrit writers call it Vasaka , Vansa , Sinha-mukhi (lion-mouthed ), Sinha-parni (lion-leaved), and Atarŭsha. In Hindu Materia Medica, there was a saying ‘that no man suffering from phthisis need despair as long as the Vasaka plant exists.’ In Unani medicine, four varieties based on the color of the flowers have been described. Black variety is bitter and tangy; used for the treatment of phlegmatic inflammations, colic, leprosy and wounds. White variety is glossy, bitter and sweetish-tangy; used for the treatment of teeth and hair, leprosy, blood and phlegm impurity. Red variety is bitter and hot; used for bilious colic, cough and asthma. Yellow variety is hot, bitter and astringent; used for digestive weakness and blood impurity. Six different quinazoline alkaloids, vasicoline, vasicolinone, vasicinone, vasicine, adhatodine and anisotine have been isolated from the leaves. Oral administration of the extract shows antitussive activity, similar to codeine, against irritant aerosol-induced cough in guinea pigs. Antitubercular activity of the plant extracts and vasicine derivatives was observed by various authors. Aqueous leaf extract and alkaloids, vasicine acetate and 2-acetyl benzylamine, were active against sensitive and MDR strains of M. tuberculosis. Application of leaf extract and massage of inflammed gums by patients suffering from pyorrhea produced a significant and consistent improvement in inflammation and bleeding.

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  1. Stockton, CA, USA

    Shahid Akbar

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Akbar, S. (2020). Justicia adhatoda L. (Acanthaceae). In: Handbook of 200 Medicinal Plants. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16807-0_114

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