Herbal Drugs obtained from Roots and Underground parts

Herbal Drugs obtained from Roots and Underground parts

Nature gives us too much essential products. Now let you know about herbal drugs that are obtained from roots and underground parts of a plant

1. Valerian

The dried rhizome and roots of the garden heliotrope (Valeriana officinalis) are the source of this drug. This plant, a native of Eurasia, has long been cultivated in the United States as an ornamental species. The active principle is as essential oil which is used to relieve nervous afflictions, such as pain, coughing, and hysteria.

2. Aconite

Aconite is obtained from the tuberous roots of the monkshood. Although this familiar garden plant has long been known as a poison, its use in medicine is comparatively recent. The plant is a native of the Alps, Pyrenees, and other mountainous regions of Europe and Asia. It is widely cultivated in temperate countries both as an ornamental and as a drug plant. The commercial supply comes chiefly from Europe. Formerly the leaves and flowering shoots were utilized, but at the present time only the roots are official. These are collected in the autumn and dried. Aconitine is the most important of the several alkaloids that are present. Aconite is used externally for neuralgia and rheumatism, and internally to relieve fever and pain.

3. Rhubarb

Rheum officinale and H. Pahnatuni, native shrubs of China and Tibet, are the sources of the drug rhubarb. These plants look much like the garden rhubarb but grow to a greater size. They are extensively cultivated in China. The rhizomes and roots are dug and cut into short pieces or slices. These are threaded on a string and dried in the Sun or in kilns. Rhubarb is used as a tonic and laxative and for indigestion.

4. Podophyllum

The roots and rhizomes of the mandrake or May apple (podophyllum peltatum) yield the drug podophyllum, which has long been used by the country peoples of the eastern United States as an emetic and cathartic. The plant occurs throughout the Eastern states and Canada, but the commercial supply comes from the southern Appalachians. Mandrake is cultivated to some extent.

5. Senega

The senega snakeroot or milkwort (Polygala Senega), a small herbaceous perennial of Eastern North America, is the source of a glucosidal drug, which is obtained from the dried roots. Its common name is derived from the fact that the Senega or Seneca Indians used the plant as a cure for snake bites.

6. Squills

A white variety of the sea onion or squill (Urginea maritime) is the source of this drug. The plant is a native of the sea coasts of the Mediterranean and is also cultivated to some extent. The bulbs are dug up, and the outer scales removed. The fleshy inner scales are then sliced and dried. Several glucosides are present. The drug is used as an expectorant and stimulant.

7. Jalap

This resinous drug is obtained from the tuberous roots of Exogonium Purga, a twining, morning-glory-like vine of the rich woodlands of eastern Mexico. The roots are collected and dried over fires. Jalap is used as a purgative.

8. Ipecac

Small shrublike plants of the moist rich forests of Latin America are the source of this well- known drug. Several species are utilized, but the official material consists of the dried rhizome and roots of Cephaelis Ipecacuanha.

9. Licorice

Licorice has been known from remote times. The licorice plant (glycyrrhiza glabra) is a perennial herb that grows wild in Southern Europe and Western and Central Asia. It is also cultivated in many places within this area. Licorice is used in medicine as a demuleent and expectorant and to disguise the taste of nauseous preparations. Mlost of the supply, however, is used as a flavouring material in the tobacco and candy industries and in the manufacture of shoe polish.

10. Goldenseal

Goldenseal (Hydrastis Canadensis), formerly common in the rich woods of the Eastern North America, was a favourite remedy of the Indians and the early settlers. The plant is now cultivated in the Pacific Northwest and North Carolina for it has almost been exterminated as a wild plant by drug collectors. The roots and rhizomes contain several alkaloids. Goldenseal is used as a tonic and for the treatment of catarrh and other inflamed mucous membranes.

11. Colchicum

Colchicum root is the dried corm of the meadow saffron (Colchicum autumnole), a perennial tulip like herb of Europe and Northern Africa. The active principle is an alkaloid, colchicitie, which is used in the treatment of rheumatism and gout. The fresh roots are also used to some extent and seeds as well. Colchicines used in modern genetics to produce doubling of chromosomes.

12. Gentian

‘Gentiana lutea’, a tall perennial herb with conspicuous orange – yellow flowers, is the source of gentian root or bitterroot. The plant is very common in the Alps and other mountains of Europe. The rhizomes and roots are dug in the fall, sliced, and dried. They contain several glucosides, which are valuable as a tonic for they can be used with iron salts.

13. Ginseng

Ginseng is one of the most important drugs in China, where it, is considered to be a cure for a great variety of diseases. The true ginseng, a plant of Eastern Asia, was at first the only source of the drug. The demand has been so great, however, that quantities of the American ginseng have been used in recent years. This plant of the eastern woodlands has been almost exterminated by collectors and it is now being cultivated. Some ginseng is used in the United States as a stimulant, and stomachic.

 

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