ISSN: 0976-5921 International Journal of Ayurvedic Medicine, 2010, 1(2), 81-88 REVIEW OF PLANTS USED AS KSHAR OF FAMILY PIPERACEAE Gupta V*, Meena AK 1, Krishna CM 3, Rao MM 1, Sannd R 1, Singh H 1, Panda P 1, Padhi MM2 and Ramesh Babu2 1National Institute of Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Research, Patiala-147001, Punjab 2Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha, Janakpuri, Delhi-110058 3National Institute of Indian Medical Heritage, Hyderabad, India Abstract Many herbal remedies individually or in combination have been recommended in various medical treatises for the cure of different diseases. Kshara is a kind of medication described in Ayurveda Texts for the management of various disorders. The genus Piper L. is estimated to contain over 1000 species which are distributed mainly in tropical regions of the world. This review mainly focuses on the plants of family Piperaceae that are used in Kshar so that more research work is carried out in the direction of standardization, therapeutic level determination of Kshar plants. Keywords: Kshar, Piper, Piperaceae, Herbal remedies INTRODUCTION Drug Used The word Kshara is derived from Many drugs have been advised by the root Kshar, means to melt away or to Sushruta and other Ayurvedic texts for the perish. Acharya Sushruta defines as the preparation of Kshara (Ghanekar 1998, material which destroys or cleans the Sharma et al. 1995) excessive/the morbid doshas (Kshyaranat Method of Preparation Kshyananat va Kshara). According to the According to the three types of preparation we can consider it to be caustic Ksharas are prepared on the basis of their materials, obtained from the ashes after strength. Mild - Mridu, Moderate - distillation and are mostly alkaline in Madhyama, Strong - Tikshna nature. The general procedure can be According to the administration it is of two narrated as - 'Mridu' Bhașmīkaraņa types (conversion to ash) Adding to water (1:6 1. Paniya Kshara (for internal Medication) ratio) Filtration (21 times) Distillation 2. Pratisaraniya Kshara (external (boiling the ksarajala still all water application) evaporates) collection (process called The Paniya Kshara is mostly used lixiviation) 'Madhyama' Here the for the treatment of diseases like artificial procedure is same some extra powders of poison, abdominal lump, indigestion, Katasarkara Bhasma sarkara Ksheerapaka, calculus etc. The Pratisaraniya Ksara is Samkhanabhi( gravels of lime and used to apply on tumors, piles, fistula in ash,oyester-shell & core of conch-shell) ano, skin diseases etc (Shukla et al. 1994, are added to the boiling ksharajala before Sharma et al. 1995) distilling it. 'Tikshna' Similar to madhyama kshara here added is the powders of drugs like Chitraka, danti, * Corresponding Author: vacha etc. inplace of the lime stones Vikas Gupta, National Institute of Ayurvedic (Ghanekar 1998, Shukla et al. 1994, Pharmaceutical Research, Patiala, India. E-Mail: [email protected] Sharma et al. 1995). Tel: 09914933022 81 Gupta V et al., Review of Plants Used as Kshar of Family Piperaceae Family- Piperaceae chemicals against different pathogenic The genus Piper L. is estimated to species of microorganisms (Umit et al., contain over 1000 species which are 2009). Piperamides extracted from P. distributed mainly in tropical regions of nigrum had shown insecticidal activities the world. Several species have great (Scott et al., 2005; Boff et al., 2006). β- economic and cultural importance and are caryophyllene extracted from P. nigrum used as foods, medicines, stimulants, showed anesthetic activity (Santra et al., antiseptics and antioxidants (Arunrat et al. 2005). Nerolidol is a very famous 2006). There are three important plants secondary metabolite of P. nigrum, used to used in Kshar Sutra from family control mites. Another important piperaceae are P. nigrum Linn., Piper component of pepper volatile oil is pipene, cubeba Linn., Piper longum Linn. which is a famous odorants (Jayalekshmy (Kirtikar and Basu, 1935; Warrier et al. et al., 2003). Black-pepper is anti- 2006; Yoganarasimhan and Chelladuri microbial (Dorman and Deans, 2000), anti- 2000) mutagenic (EI-Hamas et al., 2003), a free- 1. P. nigrum Linn. radical scavenger (Gulcin, 2005; Saxena et P. nigrum is the most important al., 2007), immuno-modulator, anti-tumor cultivated species due to its economic (Sunila and Kuttan, 2004), anti-depressant value (Bhat et al., 1995). Geographically, (Lee et al., 2005), anti-apoptotic (Pathak it is confined to Western-Ghats of South and Khandelwal, 2007), anti-metastatic India (Nair et al., 2003). However, some (Pradeep and Kuttan, 2002), anti-thyroid reports of cultivation from Malaysia, (Panda and Kar, 2003), hepatoprotective Indonesia, Brazil, Sri-Lanka and West (Koul and Kapil, 1993), immunostimulator Indies are also available (Backer et al., (Pathak and Khandelwal, 2009), anti- 1963). P. nigrum had been found in vast diarrheal and anti-spasmodic (Bajad et al., altitudinal regions and showed great 2001). Black-pepper was reported to treat adaptability to a wide range of pulmonary diseases (Ravindran, 2000), environmental conditions which led to fever, cold, colic disorder and gastric inter-species diversity (Howard, 1973). conditions (Parmar et al., 1997: Kumar et “Black-pepper” as its generalized name is al., 2007). Recently, anti-spermatogenic due to the colour of the peppercorn. It is and infertility effect in mice were reported considered as the “king of spices” due to by Mishra and Singh (2009). The its trade in the international market following biologically important (Srinivasan, 2007; Mathew et al., 2001). phytochemicals have been extracted from Black-pepper is widely used in cooking P. nigrum plants: alkaloids, amides, and processing of food and perfumery propenyphenols, lignans, neolignans, (Philip et al., 1992; Bhat et al., 1995). Its terpenes, steroid, kawapyrones, quality is judged by its odour and piperolides, chalcones, dihydrochalcones, pungency (Kay, 1970). Piperine is an brachyamide (Kiuchi et al., 1988), active component in P. nigrum and dihydropipericide (Miyakado et al., 1980), contributes to its pungency (Tripathi et al. 3,4-dihydroxy-6(N-ethyamine), benzamide 1996). P. nigrum is reputed in the local (Bandyopadhyay et al., 1990), (2E , 4E)- system of medicine of India, Latin Neicosadienoyl pereridine (Kiuchi et al., America and West-Indies for its 1988), N-transferuloyltryamine, N- multidimensional medicinal properties formylpiperidine (Stohr et al., 2001), (Scott et al., 2008). Secondary metabolites guineensine (Kiuchi et al., 1988), (2E , from P. nigrum play defensive role against 4E)-N-5[(4- Hydroxyphenyle)- infections by microbes, insects and pentadienoyl] piperidine, (2E,4E)- animals (Lupina and Crrips, 1987). Efforts Nisobutyldecadienamide), (2E,4E)-N- have been made in screening these isobutyleicosadienamide (Bano et al., 82 ISSN: 0976-5921 International Journal of Ayurvedic Medicine, 2010, 1(2), 81-88 1991), (2E,4E,8Z)-Nisobutyl- important group of secondary metabolites eicosatrienamide, (2E,4E)- that are also assumed to contribute to the Nisobutyloctadienamide (Nakatani et al., biological activity. Some of these lignans 1980), piperamide, piperamine (Kiuchi et showed inhibitory activity against al., 1988), piperettine (Orjala et al., 2003), cytochrome P450 enzymes that are pipericide (Miyakado et al., 1980), involved in the metabolism of all currently piperine, piperolein, trichostachine, used drugs (Usia et al., 2005a, 2005b). sarmentine, sarmentosine, tricholein, Yatein, hinokinin, cubebin, retrofractamide (Kiuchi et al., 1988). dihydrocubebin have been reported to have Concentration of alkaloids in fruits of P. antifeedant activity against a number of nigrum ranges from 4 to 5% (Dev and stored product insects. This activity is Koul, 1997). Pino et al., 2003 observed comparable to podophyllotoxin (Harmatha that the major components of the essential and Nawrot, 2002). Hinokinin has been oil obtained from the aerial parts of P. reported to have anti-inflammatory and nigrum were gluulol, _-pinene, _- analgesic effect. Because of the structural caryophyllene and _-terpinene. Piperine relationship, hinokinin can be synthesized was the first amide to be isolated from using cubebin as precursor (Da Silva et al. piper species. Piperine the major active 2005). Cubebin has been shown to possess principle of black pepper, is closely related anti-inflamatory, analgesic and in structure to the known natural trypanocidal activities (Borsato et al., carcinogens-safrole, estragole and 2000, Bastos et al., 2001, De Souza et al., methylengenol which are also widely 2005). Yatein is also an interesting lignan distributed in spices and plant oils (Ames, due to its biological activity and its 1983). function as a biosynthetic precursor of 2. Piper cubeba Linn. deoxypodophyllotoxin and Piper cubeba (in Indonesia known podophyllotoxin that are well known for as kemukus), is a plant, native to Java and their anticancer properties. Methanol and Borneo that produces spicy berries (cubeb water extract of P. cubeba berries have berries). It is now also cultivated in several been shown to display an inhibitory effect other tropical areas, including East Africa. against the hepatitis C virus (Hussein et In Indonesia P. cubeba is valued as a al., 2000). Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, medicinal plant (Eisei 1995, anti-allergic and analgesic activities of P. Sastroamidjojo, 2001). Only three groups cubeba have been studied using of secondary metabolites have been chemically-induced edema and