Vijaysaar (Asana)

Biological Source

Asana consists of heart-wood of Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb. (Family - Leguminosae), a moderate to large sized, deciduous tree, upto 30 m high and 2.5 m in girth, with straight clear bole, found mostly throughout Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh Bihar and Orissa.

Synonyms

Sanskrit : Bijaka, Pitasara, Asanaka, Bijasara

Assam : Aajar

Bengali : Piyasala, Pitasala

English : Indian Kino Tree

Gujrati : Biyo

Hindi : Vijayasara, Bija

Kannada : Bijasara, Asana

Kashmiri : Lal Chandeur

Malayalam : Venga

Marathi : Bibala

Oriya : Piashala

Punjabi : Chandan Lal, Channanlal

Tamil : Vengai

Telugu : Yegi, Vegisa

Urdu : Bijasar

Description

A) Macroscopic

Drug occurs as irregular pieces in variable size and thickness, golden yellowishbrown with darker streaks, on soaking In water gives yellow colour solution with blue fluorescence strong, tough, very hard, moderately heavy, fracture, difficult to break but brittle, taste, astringent.

B) Microscopic

Transverse section shows alternating bands of larger and smaller polygonal cells consisting of tracheids, fibre tracheids, xylem parenchyma and traversed by xylem rays, numerous xylem vessels distributed throughout, in singles or in groups of 2-3, showing tyloses filled with tannin, in isolated preparations, vessels, drum or barrel shaped with well-marked perforation rims and bordered pits, tracheids numerous, long, thick-walled with tapering ends and simple pits, fibre tracheids elongated, thick-walled with narrow lumen and simple pits, xylem parenchyma rectangular with simple pits, paratracheal, surrounding vessels, xylem rays uni-to-biseriate, 3-5-7 cells high, prismatic crystals of calcium oxalate present in crystal fibres, starch absent.

C) Powder

Brown to chocolate colour, under microscope shows vessels with bordered pits, fibre tracheids, tracheids, fragments of xylem rays and few crystal fibres, starch absent.

Identity, Purity and Strength

Foreign matter : - Not more than 2 per cent,

Total Ash :- Not more than 2 per cent,

Acid-insoluble ash :- Not more than 0.5 per cent,

Alcohol-soluble extractive :- Not less than 7 per cent,

Water-soluble extractive :- Not less than 5 per cent,

Active Constituents

Alkaloids and resin.

Properties and Action

Rasa :- Katu, Tikta, Kasaya

Guna :- Laghu, Ruksa

Virya :- Usna

Vipaka :- Katu

Karma :- Kusthaghna, Rasayana, Kaphapittasamaka, Galadosaghna, Kesya, Tvaccya, Stambhana, Raktasodhana.

Important Formulations

Nyagrodhadi Churna, Asanabilvadi Taila

Therapeutic Uses

Krmiroga, Kustha, Prameha, Pandu, Medodosa

Dose

50-100 g of the drug for decoction.