Paňca Ksīra Vrksa (Ficus Species
Used in Ayurvedic Medicine)
Dr.
Amrit Pal Singh, BAMS; PGDMB; MD (Alternative
Medicine),
Herbal
Address for correspondence:
House No: 2101 Phase-7,
Mohali-160062.
Email
amritpal2101@yahoo.com
Abstract
Paňca Ksīra Vrksa is
significant part of Āyurvedic
pharmacy. Milky-latex of five trees is included in this group. The plants
mentioned in this group have diverse pharmacological actions. Basically they
are astringent and are useful in treating bleeding. This may be pharmacological
basis of inclusion of medicinal plants like Ficus bengalensis L. in the
treatment of vaginal diseases (yoni roga in Āyurveda) like menorrhagia
and dysfunctional uterine bleeding. In addition they have vulnerary and galactagouge properties as per Āyurveda (although it needs
scientific validation). Modern investigations have thrown on hypotensive, hypoglycemic and hepatoprotective
properties of extracts of these plants. The article reviews Āyurvedic dynamics and modern investigations of constituents of Paňca Ksīra Vrksa.
Key
words: Paňca
Ksīra Vrksa/Āyurveda/ Ficus bengalensis/ Moraceae
Introduction
Paňca Ksīra Vrksa is group of five trees belonging to genus Ficus. It includes nyagrodha, udumbura, aśvattha, pariśa and plaksa. All these plants are used in Āyurveda as astringent medicines. Paňca Ksīra Vrksa refers to tress having milky latex. Just as milky latex of above mentioned trees is used in medicine, bark and leaves also find application in medicine.
Scientific
names of Paňca Ksīra Vrksa
Nyagrodha = Ficus bengalensis L.
Udumbura = Ficus glomerata
Roxb.
Aśvattha= Ficus religiosa L.
Pariśa= Ficus arnottiana (Miq.) Miq.
Plaksa = Ficus lacor Buch.-Ham.
All these
plants are members of family Moraceae.
Āyurvedic dynamics of Paňca Ksīra Vrksa
Action on Tridośa (Vāta, Pitta and Kapha): Pacifies Pitta and Kapha.
Vīrya (potency): Cold.
Karma (specific action): Galactagouge.
Therapeutics: Diseases of the vagina, ulcer and diseases of blood element. Paňca Ksīra Vrksa promotes union of fractured bones.
Nyagrodha (Ficus bengalensis L.)
Syn: Ficus
indica L.
Āyurvedic synonyms: Jatala, nyagrodha, rohina, avrohī, vitapī, rakatphala, skandaruhā, mandalī, mahāchchya, yakśavasa, yakshatarū, padrohina, nīla, kshiri, shipharuha, bahupāda and vanaspatī.
Family: Moraceae.
English name: Banyan tree.
Hindi
name: Bargad.
Location: Native to
Botany: Large evergreen tree with spreading branches, sending down to the ground many aerial roots, which afterwards develop into separate trunks. Leaves coriaceous, 10-20x5-12.5 cm, ovate to elliptic, cordate or rounded base, shining above. Fruit globose, with male, female and gall flowers.
Chemical composition: The stem bark contains ß-sitosterol, a-D-glucose and meso- inositol. The leaves contain petunidin di-glycoside and quercentin 3-galactoside. The fruits contain cyanidin rhamnoglycoside and polysaccharides. Three ketones (20-tetratriacontene-2-one, 6-heptatriacontene-10-one, pentatriacontan-5-one and two other compounds, beta-sitosterol-alpha-D-glucose and meso-inositol) have been isolated from the stem bark (Subramanian and Misra, 2005).
Actions: Tonic, sweet
and astringent in taste, cold in potency, pacifies Kapha and Pitta.
Therapeutics: Fever,
burning sensation, thirst, ulcer and edema. The milky latex is used externally for the treatment of neuralgia,
bruises, toothache, rheumatism and lumbago. Warmed leaves are applied as
cataplasm to abscess. The seeds are cooling and tonic.
Phytoactivity: Glycoside of leucopelargonidin isolated from the bark of Ficus bengalensis has significant hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic and serum insulin raising effects (Cherian and Augusti, 1993). Flavonoids (leucopelargonin and leucocyanin derivatives and quercetin) isolated from the bark of Ficus bengalensis have antiatherogenic, hypocholesterolemic and antioxidant effects (Daniel, et al., 2003).
Parts used: Bark, root-fibers, leaves, seeds and milky juice.
Udumbura (Ficus glomerata Roxb.)
Syn: Ficus racemosa L.,
Ficus goolereea Roxb., Covellia glomerata (Roxb.) Miq.
Āyurvedic synonyms: Kśiravrksa, hemdugdhā, sadāphala, kālaskanda, yagyayogyā,
yagyeya, supratiśtitha,
śitvalka, jantuphala, puśpaśunya, pavitraka, saumyā and śitphala.
Family: Moraceae.
English name: Cluster fig.
Hindi
name: Gular.
Location: Throughout
Botany: A middle-sized
or large tree with smooth, reddish-brown bark. Leaves
alternate, ovate or elliptic-lanceolate, glabrous.
Flowers unisexual enclosed in receptacles. Fruits on
the trunk and larger branches in bunches, yellow orange coloured
syconium.
Chemical composition:
Cellulose, tannin, and lignin.
Actions: Unripe fruit is astringent in taste. Ripe fruit is sweet in
taste and cold in potency.
Therapeutics: Bleeding
diathesis, apoplexy, burning sensation and thirst.
Phytoactivity: Hypolipidemic (Agarwal and Chauhan, 1988) and antibacterial: leaf-extract (Mandal, Saha and Pal, 2000).
Parts used: Root, root-bark, leaves fruit, milky-juice and galls.
Aśvattha (Ficus religiosa L.)
Āyurvedic synonyms: Kśiravrksa, hemdugdhā, sadāphala, kālaskanda, yagyayogyā,
yagyeya, supratiśtitha,
śitvalka, jantuphala, puśpaśunya, pavitraka, saumyā and śitphala.
Family: Moraceae.
English name: Pipal tree.
Hindi
name: Peepal.
Location:
Sub-Himalayan forests,
Botany: A medium sized, glabrous tree.
Leaves: 10-15x10-12 cm, ovate-round,
entire, coriaceous, shining, apex long tailed. Fruit:
receptacles sessile, paired, smooth, depressed, globose,
dark purple when ripe.
Chemical composition:
Tannin.
Actions: Sweet and astringent in taste, cold in potency, pacifies Kapha and Pitta.
Therapeutics: Cures
blood diseases, burning sensation. Ripe fruit rapidly cures diseases of the
vagina. Ripe fruit acts as cardiac tonic and is cold in potency. It cures
bleeding diathesis, poisoning, pain, burning sensation, vomiting, edema and
anorexia.
Phytoactivity: Hypolipidemic (Agarwal and Chauhan, 1988).
Parts used: Bark, fruit, seeds and leaves.
Pariśa (Ficus arnottiana (Miq.) Miq.)
Āyurvedic synonyms: Kapītana, kśirī, suparśava, kamandalu, śringī, barośakhī, gardbhanda, kapītaka, dridprorha, plavaka, plavanga and mahābalā.
Family: Moraceae.
English name:
Hindi
name: Paras pipal.
Location:
Botany: Tree.
Chemical composition:
Tannins.
Actions: Pungent and astringent in taste and cold in potency,
Therapeutics: Blood diseases,
apoplexy, vertigo and delirium.
Plaksa (Ficus lacor Buch.-Ham.)
Syn: Ficus virens Aiton
Āyurvedic synonyms: Hasvaplaksa, suśitā, śitaviryaka,
pundra, mahāvrohā,
hasvaparna, pimprī, bhidura and manglachaya.
Family: Moraceae.
Hindi name: Pakar.
Location:
Botany: A large spreading evergreen tree low-crowned
thick shady tree, 35 to 40 feet high with greenish-grey smooth bark, sending
down aerial roots. Leaves are alternate, narrow, and abruptly acuminate. Fruit
when ripe are white.
Chemical composition:
α amyrin, β amyrin,
lupeol, sitosterol, stigmasterol and campesterol.
Actions: Pungent and astringent in taste and cold in potency,
Therapeutics: Blood
diseases, apoplexy, vertigo and delirium.
Parts used: Stem bark.
Kākodumbarikā (Ficus hispida L.f.)
Syn: Ficus heterostyla Merrill; Ficus oppositifolia Willd.
Āyurvedic synonyms: Phalgu, malapu and citrabhesaja.
Family: Moraceae.
Hindi name: Daduri.
Location: Throughout
Botany: Dioecious tree, 3–18 m high with milky latex, hollow branches; bark grey
and peling off. Leaves opposite, ovate or ovate-oblong, serrate or entire,
acuminate. Flowers pyriform and yellow.
Chemical composition: Saponin and tannin.
Actions: Unripe fruit is astringent in
taste. Ripe fruit is sweet in taste and cold in potency. Ingestion of the dried
unripe fruit and application of powder to the skin produced a lowered minimal erythema dose by irradiation with an ultraviolet lamp (Ansari et al., 1975).
Therapeutics: Bleeding
diathesis, apoplexy, burning sensation and thirst.
Phytoactivity: Methanolic leaf-extract: hepatoprotective (Mandal, et al., 2000) and leaf-extract: anti-diarrhoeal (Mandal and Kumar, 2002) and ethanol extract of bark: hypoglycemic (Ghosh, et al., 2004).
Parts used: Bark, fruit and milk.
Note: Some Āyurvedic physicians use śirīsa (Albizzia lebbeck Benth. Fabaceae) and vetasa (Salix caprea L. Saliaceae) in place of pāriśa.
Kākodumbarikā is not constituent of Paňca Ksīra Vrksa. It has been included on account of member of family Moraceae.
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by