Rauvolfia serpentine: History, Classification, Distribution, Morphological Features and Uses
Rauwolfia serpentina is said to appear in Sanskrit as an Ayurvedic medicine named Sarpgandha and Chandra. Sarpgandha, snakes smell or repellant refers to the use as an antidote for Snake-bite. Sen and Bose in 1931 reported the Rauwolfia serpentina valuable and safe in the treatment of High blood pressure “almost to a precision not found possible with any other drug, Eastern or western”. In 1949 Vakil concluded that, after extensive trials of various hypotensive remedies in several thousand cases of hypertension, in both private and hospital practice during the previous ten years, He found Rauwolfia serpentina to be the most successful drug and maintain a definite place in medicine because Rauwolfia serpentina lowered both systolic and diastolic blood pressure and It was non-toxic, with only mild toxic effects.