guduci :

Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia), also known as amrit, is one of the most valued herbs in the Ayurvedic pharmacy. It is one of the non-controversial drug used in Ayurvedic medicine. It is Grãhi, Väta hara,Dipaniya,Kapha-Raktahara and Vibandhahara , Medhya Rasayãnas

HISTORICAL AND MYTHOLOGICAL REVIEW:

The sacred origin of guduchi is described in the Indian epic, The Ramayana and the sacred text of the Durga Saptshati. Vaidya Ramakant Mishra recounts the myth of guduchi from The Ramayana saying that guduchi began growing on Earth from the hands of Lord Indra. Lord Rama made a special prayer to Lord Indra asking Indra to resurrect all the monkeys and bears from his army that had died during the war with the rakshasa (demon), Ravana. Upon hearing the wish from Rama, Lord Indra granted Rama the boon and sprinkled nectar from the heavens to resurrect the animals. As the nectarous drops fell upon the bodies of the dead monkeys and bears, they suddenly came back to life. The nectarous drops that fell on the Earth formed the sacred guduchi plant.

Taxonomical Classification

Kingdom: Plantae - Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta - Vascular plants
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Menispermaceae
Genus: Tinospora
Species: T.cordifolia

Allied species:

Tinospora crisps ( in Assam)

Tinospora Malabar ice ( in coastal belt)

Tinospora sudarshana (Bengal)

VERNACULAR NAMES

Sanskrit: Guduchi,amritha, cinnodbhava
English: Heartleaf moonseed
Hindi: Giloy, gurach, gulvel
Urdu: gurch, guluncha
Telugu: Tippa-teega
Bengali: Guloncho
Marathi: Guduchi
Konkani: amritvel
Oriya: guluchi
Gujarathi: galac, garo
Tamil: shindilakodi
Malayalam: chittamruthu
Kannada: amrita balli
Punjabi: Gllow
Assamese: hoguni
Nepal: Gurjo
Sinhalese: Rasakinda

Varities:

Padma guduchi/ kanda guduchi ( Tinospora sinensis)

Synonyms

Synonyms in Ayurveda: guduci, madhuparnika, chinnodbhava, amrita, vishalya, cakralakshana, tandrika, jvaranashi, amrita, chinnaruha

Guduchi- one which protects from nigooda vyadhis
Madhuparni- having madura vipaka
Amrita- acts as amrita for patient, grows even after cutting
Vishalya - which removes mana shalya
Chinna, Chinnodbhava ,Chinnaruha- grows even after cutting
Chakrangi , Chakralakshanika -T.S of stem shows wheel like appearance
Tantrika- which is having fibre ie thread for suturing
Chandrahaasi- half moon shaped seeds
Kundalini,Bhoothagni- used in psychological disorders
Jvaranaashi- used in jvara
Jeevanthi- gives Jeeva
Cheera

Rasa: Kashaya Tikta
Guna: Guru Snigdha
Veerya: Ushna
Vipaka: Maduram
Karma: Jwarahara-useful in fever, Kaphahara Pittahara Vatahara

It is a good rasayana drug

Cultivation:

It grows well in almost any type of soils and under varying climatic conditions.The plant is cultivated by stem cutting in the month of May-June. It requires some support preferably Neem and Mango trees, such plants are supposed to possess better medicinal values.

Propogation:

Propogaton of the plant is through stem cuttings.

Harvesting:

Mature plants are collected, cut into small pieces and dried in shade.

Phytochemistry:

Columbin, tinosporaside, jatrorhizine, palmatine, berberine, tembeterine, tinocordifolioside, phenylpropene disaccharides, choline, tinosporic acid, tinosporal, and tinosporon have been isolated from Tinospora cordifolia..

Parts used for medicinal purpose

Flower, Fruit, Leaves, Root, Stem, ,

Dosage:

kwatha- 50 to 100 ml

choorna-3to 6 masha

satva- 1 to 2 g

Purification:

Nil

Substitute:

Nil

Adultrants:

Nil

Controversy:

non-controversial drug

Commercial value:

Dried stem is commercially traded for its medicinal values.

Morphology:

Large succulent climbing shrubs or deciduous vines about 15-25 m long. Stem striate, with scattered lenticels which are often 4 fid, fleshy, puberulous and green when young, later membranous and glabrous, with long aerial roots. Leaves simple, alternate, broadly ovate, orbicular or subrotund, 7-16 x 4.5-12 cm across, base subcordate or abruptly truncate, margin entire, apex suddenly acutely acuminate, chartaceous, membranous, thin, green, sparingly pubescent above, paler pilose with glandular patches beneath, strong basal veins 5-7, impressed above and prominent beneath, lateral veins 1-2 pairs, veinlets fine and close, petiole puberulous, about 4-12 cm long. Inflorescence axillary on old leafless stems, slender, pseudo-racemose cymes, usually appearing when the deciduous plant is leafless, about 3-12 cm long, pedunculate. Flowers unisexual, greenish yellow, pedicellate. Male flowers, pedicels slender, glabrous about 3-4 mm long, sepals 6, in 2 series, inner series larger, elliptic, apex obtuse, about 3-5 x 2-5 mm long, outer series smaller, about 1-1.5 mm long, free, imbricate, ovate, apex obtuse, petals 6, free, rhomboidal-ovate, 3-5 x 1-3 cm across, stamens 6, free, filaments clavate, about 3 mm long, anthers loculed, subextrorse, obliquely or longitudinally dehisced. Female flowers, pedicels about 4-10 mm long, sepals and petals similar as in male flowers, staminodes 6 about 1 mm long, carpels 3, ellipsoid, about 1.5-2 mm long, glabrous, style short, stigma lobed. Fruits drupes, obovoid or ellipsoid, glabrous, shining, bright orange or scarlet red when ripe, about 8-15 mm across, carpophores about 2-3 mm long, stalks about 8-10 mm long, pericarp thin, style scar subterminal, endocarp bony, very thin, subrotund or broadly elliptic about 7-9 x 5-6 mm across, tuberculate with small aperture. Seeds curved, endospermic, cotyledons flattened, radicle short.

Geographical distribution:

The plant occurs throughout tropical regions of India extending from Kumaon to Assam and Myanmar, Bihar, Konkan to Sri Lanka. It is a large climber which grows over the highest trees in the forests and throws out aerial roots which reach the length of 10 metres, though not thicker than pack-thread.

Global distribution - Srilanka, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

ECOLOGICAL ASPECT:

Endophytic fungi regarded as a fascinating group of organisms colonize the living, internal tissues of their host (usually higher plants) without causing any harmful effects. A recent study has shown that 29 endophytes belonging to different taxa were present in the samples collected from T. cordifolia.

Extracts of the endophytic fungus Nigrospora sphaerica obtained from T. cordifolia were found to have insecticidal properties against the Oriental leafworm moth (Spodoptera litura), a polyphagous pest.

Plant conservation:

Not in conserved list.

It is found growing wild in the tropical forest.

General Use:

Alleviate allergies and symptoms of hay fever.
Ease arthritis, gout, rheumatic disorders, and inflammation.
Treat chronic skin disorders such as psoriasis or eczema.
Help with hepatitis and jaundice (helps protect the liver from exposure to toxins)
Boost the immune system.

Therapeutic Uses:

swarasa- best rasayana

swarasa in vishama jwara

swarasa with madhu or sharkara in empty stomach-in kamala

guduchi rasayana-sthanya shodhana

swarasa with madhu- in prameha

Systemic Use:

in jara vyadhis. jwara,kushta ,aruchi,panduchadi,kamala, hridroga,klaibya, arshas, vatarakta, daha, prameha, dourbalya, krimi, kasa etc

Administration:

swarasa- best rasayana

swarasa in vishama jwara

swarasa with madhu or sharkara in empty stomach-in kamala

guduchi rasayana-sthanya shodhana

swarasa with madhu- in prameha

Pharmacological:

Antidiabetic activity

Osteoprotective activity

Antiinflammatory and analgesic activity

Hepatoprotective activity

Cognition activity

Antioxidant activity

antimicrobial activity

Immunomodulatory activity

Wound healing activity

Anticancer activity

Effects n central nervous system

Clinical trials:

Preclinical studies with rats for cholestasis showed that guduchi was effective in ameliorating cholestasis-induced immunosuppression .

Research:

Studies have shown that guduchi deleted the carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced immunosuppression and increased the functional capacities of peritoneal macrophages. In vitro studies with (1,4)-α-D-glucan (RR1), a phytochemical of guduchi, showed it to possess immunostimulatory properties.

Even the unpurified plant extracts (although the main component was BBR) of the Giloy plant (Tinospora cordifolia) were powerful enough to counter an established in vivo model of Parkinson’s disease .

Precautions:

Although studies have shown no significant adverse side effects,

Guduchi may be slightly constipating if taken for long periods by those prone to sluggish bowels. Guduchi can cause gastrointestinal upset when taken in large doses for long periods of time. Guduchi may lower blood glucose levels. Hnce people with Diabetes should take tthis herb only under medical supervision.

Its usage in pregnancy should be monitored under strict medical supervision

Toxicity studies:

Not known

Use in other system of medicine:

One study published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology concluded that guduchi had immunomodulatory effects, confirming the Ayurvedic view of guduchi as a rasayana and immune-booster.15 Another study compared the anti-stress effects of guduchi and gotu kola in comparison to diazepam. Ethanol extracts of guduchi and gotu kola showed "significant anti-stress activity", especially in comparison to the pharmaceutical, diazepam.16 In a study published in Immunopharmacology and Immunotoxicology, guduchi was found to have anti-tumor properties. According to the study, an alcohol extraction of guduchi was shown to activate tumor-associated macrophages (white blood cells that eat cancer cells).

Ayurveda describes guduchi as being useful in conditions of hepatitis and jaundice due to its ability to detoxify the liver. In a clinical trial, liver toxicity was induced in rats, followed by the administration of an alcohol extract of guduchi. The extract protected the livers of the rats, showing that guduchi has clinically significant hepatoprotective properties.

Guduchi was found to be useful in the treatment of allergic rhinitis, an allergic condition characterized by sneezing, mucus discharge from the nose, sinus congestion, and related symptoms. The study showed that guduchi gave significant relief to the allergic symptoms.

A study published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology showed the efficacy of guduchi in treating diabetes mellitus by lowering blood glucose levels and brain lipids in diabetic rats, concluding that guduchi extract has hypoglycaemic and hypolipidaemic effects.

Another study tested the rejuvenative potential of guduchi, examining the ability of guduchi (and ashwagandha) to reduce oxidative stress in human volunteers. The results of the study showed that both herbs are potent antioxidants that may also prevent premature aging.

Modern research has found that guduchi also has gastroprotective properties. Epoxy clerodane diterpene, a compound in guduchi, was isolated and given to rats with gastric ulcer. The compound reduced the gastic ulcer "by reinforcement of defensive elements and diminishing the offensive elements

CONCLUSION:

Guduchi has been revered in nearly all of the ancient Ayurvedic texts and modern treatises: Caraka Samhita, Astanga Hrdayam, Astanga Samgraha, Sushruta Samhita, Bhav Prakash, and Indian Materia Medica to name a few. In modern medical research, there is an abundance of studies and scientific evaluation on the astoundingly diverse pharmacological effects of this sacred herb. Guduchi appears to be experiencing a modern renaissance, as Western medicine begins to recognize its vast potential in both preventive and clinical medicine. Truly, guduchi is the amrit of Ayurveda, the medicinal nectar that is deeply needed and most relevant in these modern times.

Ayurvedic Formulations:

Common Ayurvedic Formulations of guduci with their Indications
Pothin Dravakam - Attin Brath is a general medicine to increase strength, vitality and stamina.
Hyponidd

KEY WORDS: Tinospora cordifolia