Rasayana Traditional Herbal Medicines for Modern Times Each volume in this series provides academia, health sciences and the herbal medicines industry with in-depth coverage of the herbal remedies for infectious diseases, certain medical conditions or the plant medicines of a particular country. Edited by Dr Roland Hardman Volume 1 Shengmai San, edited by Kam-Ming Ko Volume 2 Rasayana, by H.S. Puri Rasayana Ayurvedic herbs for longevity and rejuvenation H.S. Puri First published 2003 by Taylor & Francis 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Taylor & Francis Inc, 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Taylor & Francis is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003. © 2003 Taylor & Francis All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Every effort has been made to ensure that the advice and information in this book is true and accurate at the time of going to press. However, neither the publisher nor the authors can accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. In the case of drug administration, any medical procedure or the use of technical equipment mentioned within this book, you are strongly advised to consult the manufacturer’s guidelines. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record has been requested ISBN 0-203-21656-3 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-27277-3 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-415-28489-9(Print Edition) Contents Foreword viii Preface to the series xii Preface xv 1 Introduction 1 2 What are Rasayana? 4 3 Tridosha 10 4 Rasayana preparations 13 5 Aak (Calotropis spp.) 16 6 Akrakara (Anacyclus pyrethrum) 20 7 Amalaki (Phyllanthus emblica) 22 8 Anantmul (Hemidesmus indicus) 43 9 Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) 46 10 Badam (Prunus amygdalus) 59 11 Bala (Sida spp.) 64 12 Banslochan 71 13 Bhalatak (Semecarpus anacardium) 74 14 Bhringraj (Eclipta prostrata) 80 15 Bhuiamla (Phyllanthus spp.) 86 16 Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri) 94 17 Chitrak (Plumbago zeylanica) 98 18 Chuara (Phoenix dactylifera) 102 19 Draksha (Vitis vinifera) 105 20 Gaduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) 107 21 Gokshru (Tribulus terrestris) 116 vi Contents 22 Guggal (Commiphora wightii) 124 23 Haritaki (Terminalia chebula) 135 24 Hing (Ferula foetida) 141 25 Jaiphal and Javitri (Myristica fragrans) 144 26 Kabab Chini (Piper cubeba) 147 27 Kalmegh (Andrographis paniculata) 151 28 Kawanch (Mucuna pruriens) 157 29 Keshar (Crocus sativus) 164 30 Kikar (Acacia nilotica) 170 31 Kuchla (Strychnos nux vomica) 175 32 Kulanjan (Alpinia galanga) 180 33 Kutaki (Picrorhiza kurrooa) 184 34 Kuth (Saussurea Spp.) 190 35 Malakangani (Celastrus paniculatus) 196 36 Mandukparni (Centella asiatica) 200 37 Mundi (Sphaeranthus indicus) 209 38 Musli (Curculigo orchioides) 212 39 Neem (Azadirachta indica) 215 40 Peepali (Piper longum) 219 41 Punernava (Boerhavia diffusa) 227 42 Pushkarmul (Inula racemosa) 233 43 Salai Guggal (Boswellia serrata) 237 44 Salep (Orchis latifolia) 242 45 Semal Musli (Bombax ceiba) 247 46 Shankhpushpi (Convolvulus pluricaulis) 250 47 Shatawari (Asparagus racemosus) 255 48 Som Ras (Amanita muscaria) 262 49 Sonth (Zingiber officinale) 265 50 Talamkhana (Hygrophila spinosa) 270 51 Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum) 272 52 Vacha (Acorus calamus) 281 53 Vata Vriksh (Ficus spp.) 289 Contents vii 54 Vatsnabh (Aconitum spp.) 295 55 Vibhitaki (Terminalia bellirica) 299 56 Vidari Kand (Pueraria tuberosa) 303 57 Vidhara (Argyreia speciosa) 309 58 Some Rasayana formulations 312 Index 337 Foreword Ayurveda, the Ancient Science of Hindus and Indians, dates back about 7000 years. It has eight branches, one of which is Rasayana Tantra. The word rasayana literally means the path that rasa takes (rasa: the primordial tissue or plasma; ayana: path) (Charaka). It is also considered as the science which restores youth, alleviates suffering (diseases) and bestows longevity (Sushruta). It is believed in Ayurveda, that the quali- ties of the rasa-dhatu influence the health of other dhatus (tissues) of the body. Hence, any medicine that improves the quality of rasa are called as rasayanas, resulting in the strengthening or promoting of the qualities and health of all tissues of the body. These rasayana plants are said to possess the following properties: – Prevent ageing – Re-establish youth – Strengthen life – Strengthen brain and mind – Prevent disease – Promote healthy longevity Rasayana Tantra appears to have been practiced as an independent clinical discip- line primarily as a positive health medicine. With the passage of time this important branch of knowledge has ceased to be in practice (except the knowledge and use of a few herbs) in its appropriate form. Comprehensive efforts are needed to revive this useful discipline for the welfare of humanity at large. The ability to adapt to a given habitat is a distinctive feature of all living organ- isms. Any type of demand (external or internal) in this habitat elicits either a specific or non-specific response (Selye,1983). This non-specific response to any demand has been defined as stress and the demand as stressor by Hans Selye. As per his description there are three stages of response to any given situation of stress, which together constitute the general adaptation syndrome (GAS) (Selye,1946), the stages being a) alarm reaction b) resistance and c) exhaustion. Thus, the ability to develop resistance and to maintain it is crucial for coping with a variety of stressors encountered in human life. The desire to control the coping mechanisms has led to the origin of the science of adaptation. The branch of Ayurveda which deals with the science of adaptation is called Rasayana Tantra. Ayurveda may not coin the term adaptogen, but those practices, or substances / herbs / medicines which help a person cope with his day to day stresses are known in Ayurveda as Rasayanas. Modern research has proved that herbs listed as Rasayanas possess adaptogenic properties as well (Dahanukar, 1986.). All of the above imply that they improve and increase the resistance of the body. The scientific studies carried out on most of the rasayana herbs showed that these Foreword ix plants non-specifically activated the reticuloendothelial system (RES) and other com- ponents of the immune system as well (Dahanukar, 1986). Knowing that the central nervous system, endocrine system and the immune system participate in intense cross- talk (Ader et al., 1990; Glaser and Kiecolt-Glaser, 1994), it was easy to hypothesize that by acting on the immune system these rasayanas could exert broad-based effects by initiating a massive cascade of events involving various neurotransmitters, hor- mones and amines of the stress response cycle. With the emerging science of ecogenetics, it is becoming evident that genetic predisposition can alter responses to the external environment. However, at present most of the data is on diseases, which manifest in genetically predisposed persons on exposure to the external stressors. Can rasayanas (or adaptogens or immunomodulators) influence genetic control and favour the maintenance of homeostasis in stressful situ- ations? The research on Amruta (Tinospora cordifolia) opens up a new vision in this direction, as early experiments have shown that it increases the bone marrow proliferat- ive fractions leading to leucocytosis. A slight increase in dose reverses this process and inducing apoptosis, and this apparent paradox was believed to be because of its effect on c-myc, a gene that causes both proliferation as well as induces apoptosis depending on the environment. These are some of the recent advances seen in the field of rasayana drugs. Looking at it it appears that rasayana herbs act as: – an adaptogen – an immunostimulant – an immunomodulater – pro-host probiotic – anti-mutagenic But Ayurveda has much more in it to be included under rasayana therapy. Looking at only a few herbs will be doing an injustice to the holistic approach of Ayurveda, hence a brief description of Rasayana Tantra may be necessary here. According to Ayurvedic concept rasayana therapy simultaneously affects the body and the mind and bring about physical and psychic improvement. This therapy prevents the effects of early ageing, develops intelligence and increases the body- resistance against diseases. Rasayana means vitalizing / rejuvenating. In the words of Charaka with a rasayana, one obtains longevity, regains youth, vitality and vigour, gets a sharp memory, intellect and freedom from diseases, gets a lustrous complexion and the strength of a horse. Sushruta is more specific, describing a rasayana as one which, is anti-ageing, increases life-span, promotes intelligence and memory and increases resistance to disease. Any drug, diet or conduct that leads to the replenishment of the dhatus and enlivens the body and mind is rasayana. Rasayana not only rejuvenates the body and mind, it also prevents disease. There are a number of drugs/materials described which possess the qualities of maintaining health, prolonging life and warding off diseases. They are all grouped as rasayana in Ayurveda. A close look at the concept of rasayana of Ayurveda and various research findings on rasayana suggests that rasayana therapy/ drug may have its effect on our ojas, immunity, resistance, etc. Hence the followingpoints related to the concept of resistance, immunity as described in Ayurveda may be useful: 1. The qualitative, quantitative and functional balance of the body-elements main- tains strength which, in general, causes resistance to diseases. Raktam (Blood) has