amarvalli :

This plant species is common in the Indian Subcontinent. This parasitic plant species is a leafless twined sprawling thin vine that grows over a host plant. This species capable of producing numerous branches which can cover the host plant within a very short period of time and suck life out of the host plant. Flowers are small, bell shaped and white in colour with yellow filaments. Fruits and seeds are produced from the flower. This species is used in producing traditional medicines for the treatment of headache, labour pain, bone fracture, fever, rheumatism etc

HISTORICAL AND MYTHOLOGICAL REVIEW:

1. Raj Nighantu

The synonyms akashvalli, khavalli, asprsha, vyomvallika are mentioned. The synonym of Akash co-joint with valli (climber) word makes the synonym “akashavalli”. Akashvalli has madhur rasa (sweet taste). It is pittashamak (cholagogue), rasayana (rejuvenative), balavardhak (strengthen body) and has the proper;es of divyaausadhies

2. Bhavprakash Nighantu

Saints says that synonyms of Aakashballi is Amarballri, so akashballi, khaballi, amarballri are the names of Amerbel. It is tikta (bitter) and kashaya (astringent), malasangrhahak (stool binder), pischil (sticky), netraroganashak (eye disorders), jathragnibardhak (appetizer), hridya (cardiotonic) and destroys the pitta (bile), kapha (cough) and aam (undigestive food) .

3. Nighantu Adarsh

The plant is distributed with the name of aakashbel and amarbel. It is found on some trees and mentioned under karpurtwakadi varga. Both Cassytha filiformis and Cuscuta reflexa are morphologically same and identified only with the help of its fruit. It is balya (strengthen body), keshya (hair strengthening), vranropan (wound healer) and vrishya (aphrodisiac) .

4. Shankar Nighantu

The synonyms are akasvalli, amerbel, akashbel and aaloklata. Its taste is bitter, yellow colored with white flower. The dose is 1 to12 masa. The properties are pichil (sticky), netrarog nashak (eye disorders), jathragnibardhak (appetizer) and hridya (cardiotonic). It spreads over Ber and Aadu trees. It is a rootless climber so it is called as Akashbel

Taxonomical Classification

Kingdom: Plantae - Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta - Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta - Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons
Order: Solanales
Family: Convolvulaceae - Morning-glory family
Genus: Cuscuta
Species: Cuscuta reflexa

Allied species:

Cuscuta campestris
C. japonica
C . chinensis

VERNACULAR NAMES

Sanskrit: Akasavalli,Amaravalli,Khavalli
English: dodder , hell weed, devil’s gut, and beggar weed, strangle tare, scald weed, dodder of thyme, greater dodder, and lesser dodder.
Hindi: अमर बेल Amar Bel , आकाश बेल Akashbel
Urdu: Akashbel
Telugu: Sitamma Pogunalu
Bengali: Akashbel , Swarna Lata
Marathi: निर्मली Nirmali
Oriya: Kolanirmuli
Gujarathi: Akaswel, Amarbel
Tamil: Verillakothan, Kodiyagundal
Malayalam: Moodillathali, Akasagarudakodi, Akasavalli, Akasathamara
Kannada: ಡಾಡರ್ ಪ್ಲಾಂಟ್ Ḍāḍar plāṇṭ , akashaballi
Punjabi: Zarbut
Sindhi: ಡಾಡರ್ ಪ್ಲಾಂಟ್ Ḍāḍar plāṇṭ
Arabic: Afitmun,Kasus
Spanish: planta de dodder
Assamese: Rabonor-nari, Amarlati, Honboronia-lata, Akashi-lata, Halodhiya-lata
Japanese: 飼料植物 Shiryō shokubutsu
Chinese: 大花菟丝子 da hua tu si zi
French: Cuscute
German: Dodder Pflanze
Burma: dodder hcaatrone
Nepal: डोडर पौडेल Ḍōḍara pauḍēla
Persian: Tukhme Kasoos, Zajmool
Sinhalese: aga mula nethi
Greek: βυθού vythoú

Varities:

Classical Categorization

Bhavaprakasha - Guduchyadi varga
Raja nighantu - Guduchyadi varga
Kaiyyadeva nighantu - Oushadhi varga

Definition

Cuscuta reflexa has no reference in Vedic and Samhita kala. It was originated from Nighantus.

1. Raj Nighantu

2. Bhavprakash Nighantu

3. Nighantu Adarsh

4. Shankar Nighantu

Synonyms

Synonyms in Ayurveda: amarvalli, amaravela, khavalli, akashvalli, dusparsha, vyomvallika, svarnalata, nirmuli, akashvel

This parasitic herbaceous plant climbs over the shrubs and trees. It is common throughout India, abundant in Bengal plains. It has no root under the ground, but only grows as a parasitic twinner on other plants, and hence called akaswel (skytwinner)

swarnalatha - the plant is golden
nirmuli - plant do not have proper root
vyomavallika, vyomavalli, khavalli, amaravalli - the plant has a long like

Rasa: Kashaya Katu Madhura Tikta
Guna: Laghu Picchila Ruksha
Veerya: Sheetha
Vipaka: Katu
Karma: Hridya Kaphahara Krimighna Pittahara

The seeds have a bitter bad taste; sedative, emmenagogue, diuretic; useful in disease of the liver and spleen, quartan fever, chronic fevers, griping, hiccough: purify the blood and cleanse the bowels; the infusion is given in ophthalmia, the decoction in biliousness as a purgative . The stem is used as a purgative. The plant juice was given in combination with other purgative decoction

Cultivation:

This is a parasitic species that is devoid of leaves, roots or chlorophyll and so is totally dependant upon its host. It must be grown next to the host plant, which it penetrates with suckers in order to obtain nutriment

Propogation:

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn, by lodging it among the stems of a host plant that is being grown in a pot in the greenhouse

Harvesting:

Flowers and fruits: November to March

Phytochemistry:

Kaempferol ,Kaempferol – 3- O-glucoside (Astragalin),Myricetin,Myricetin glucoside, Quercetin ,Quercetin -3-O- glucoside, Kaempferol -3- O-galactoside , Quercetin -3-O- galactoside, Isorhamnetol, Azaleatin Cuscutalin, Cuscutin, Linolenic acid, Linoleic acid, Oleic acid , Stearic acid, Palmitic acid , Amarbelin , Beta sitosterol , Bergenine ,Dulcitol, Myricetin, Myricetin glucoside , Luteolin,Coumarin, Maragenin, n-Pentacosane , n-Heptacosane, Cusctutamine , n-Octacosane, n-Nonacosane ,n-Triacontane ,n-Hentriacontane ,1- Triacontane, Cuscutoside-A, Cuscutoside-B, Arbutin Chlorogenic acid, Caffiec acid, p-Coumaric acid , Stigmasterol , Avenasterol, Campesterol, Matrine , Saphoronal , Methylcytisine ,Cus-1,Cus – 2 ,3,5 Dicaffeoyl quinic acid, 4,5 Dicaffeoyl quinic acid, Laceeroic acid Australiside A, Cuscutic acid A, Cuscutic acid B, Cuscutic acid C, Cuscutic acid D, Hydroxyoleanane , 6,7,8- Trimethoxy -2H-1-benzopyran-2-one Lupeol, Alpha – Amyrin, Beta – Amyrin, Alpha Amyrin Acetate, Beta Amyrin Acetate , Oleanolic acetate , Oleanolic acid ,Sesamin ,Trihydroxy auran, Daucosterol, Propenamide ,7-Propenamide, 6,7-Dimethoxy-2H-1-benzopyran-2-one ,Ethyl 3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-2-propeonate 3-2-Propenol,2-3-5-dihydroxy-7-0-beta-D-glucopyranoside -4H-1-benzopyran-4-one.

PHARMACOLOGY:

Important Formulation

Akashvalli arka

Parts used for medicinal purpose

Stem, Whole plant, ,

Dosage:

1. Whole Herb 3.000g - 5.000g

2. 3 to 7 g powder.

3. Swaras 10 - 20 ml

Antidote:

not available

Substitute:

Hemiparasite Cassytha filiformis

Adultrants:

Cuscuta chinensis

Controversy:

Cuscuta reflexa and Cassyatha filiformis is not mentioned in the Vrddhatrayi. Later writers have included it. Both are parasitic, yellow in color and exactly resemble each other and create controversy. But both are belongs to different families and identifies with the help of flowers and fruits. Both plants are separately growing on the fences or on the trees1

Commercial value:

parasitic climber

Morphology:

Stem: - It is very long, rather stout, closely twining, branched, glabrous, pale greenish yellow, sometimes dotted with red.

Flower: - Solitary or in umbellate clusters of 2-4 or in short racemes, pedicels short, glabrous, usually curved (rarely 0), bracts 1.5 mm. long ovate, oblong, obtuse, fleshy. Calyx divided almost to the base. Lobes are 3mm long, slightly unequal, broadly ovate, obtuse, glabrous and fleshy. Corolla white, tube 6-8 by 4mm, almost cylindrical, lobes 2.5-3mm. long, deltoid, acute, reflexed, scale almost at the base of the corolla, tube large, oblong, subquadrate or somewhat ovate, fimbriate and in curved at the apex. Stamens in the throat of the corolla tube, filaments scarcely any, anther about ½ exserted beyond the top of corolla tube. Ovary is ovoid; style simple, very short and thick; stigma 2, distinct, large, thick and fleshy, 1.5 mm long, ovoid. Capsules 6-8 mm in diameter, depressed-globose, glabrous, circumscissile near the base.

Seed: - Seeds 2-4, large, black and glabrous

Histology:

The TS of stem

The stem is an ascending axis of the plant developed from the plumule. It consists of nodes, internodes, and buds and it gives rise to branches, leaves and flowers. The stem may be aerial, subaerial, and underground. Depending upon the presence of mechanical tissues, the stem may be weak, herbaceous or woody. The primary stem shows the following structure: epidermis, cortex, medullary rays, medulla and a vascular system taking the form of a dicotyostele. The TS exhibited the cortex contained Cortex 5–6 layers with articulated laticifers. Including Hypodermis and General cortex. Hypodermis Just below the epidermis. There are 2–3 layers of collenchymatous cells larger in size than epidermis. The epidermis composed of a single layer of compactly arranged cells and bear stomata. General cortex 2–3 layers of radially elongated thin walled parenchymatous cells. There are conspicuous intracellular spaces in it, These are bicollateral, conjoint, open and arranged in a ring. Each bundle consists of xylem, phloem, and cambium. Xylem Xylem of vessels with simple end-walls, partially developed. The smaller vessels constituting the protoxylem and the bigger ones constituting the metaxylem lies away from the centre. The protoxylem consists of annular, spiral and scalariform vessels, and the metaxylem of reticulate and pitted vessels.

Phloem Without intraxylary phloem. Cambium It consists of 2–3 layers of thin walled and rectangular, and is arranged in radial rows. Medullary rays Few layers of fairly big polygonal or readily elongated parenchymatous cell packed with yellow-brown masses (pigments).

Pith Large, thin walled, lignified big polygonal, rounded parenchymatous cells with intracellular space.

Geographical distribution:

India, China, E.Asia and Afghanisthan

ECOLOGICAL ASPECT:

Parasitic on Desmodium spp, Rubus spp and Viburnum spp at 1700 - 2900 metres in Kashmir. It is also found on Zizyphus jujube and Vitex negundo and has been known to kill these plants

Plant conservation:

Vulnerable NCS 2012

General Use:

Cuscuta plant is used for treating constipation, the liver, spleen diseases, diarrhea, inflammation etc. Cuscuta is alterative, purgative, carminative and anthelmintic. The plant also has Anti-fertility effect.

Therapeutic Uses:

It is indicated in Jaundice, Insanity, paralysis, lumbago, itching, vomiting, chronic ulcers, Melancholia, Epilepsy, Hiccup, Inflammations, Headache, Incubus Nightmare, Chronic Persistent Fevers, Muscular Pain, Atrabilious Affections, Phlegmatic Humours, Spleen Debility, Joints Pain, Intestinal Disorders, Orchitis, Protracted Fevers, Liver Induration, Irritative Condition of Brain.

Systemic Use:

The Indication of stem of Aftimoon (Cuscuta reflexa Roxb.) is bilious disorders.

The Indications of seed of Aftimoon (Cuscuta reflexa Roxb.) are spleen disorders, chronic fever, hepatic disorders, ophthalmia, quartan fever, hiccupand griping.

Administration:

Enlargement of the spleen, the liver complaints, constipation, flatulence: Prepare decoction of Amarbel. Drink 50 ml of this once a day.

Piles (bleeding, non-bleeding): Extract 10 ml juice of Amarbel. Mix this with 3 gram Maricha churna and take every morning:

Excessive abdominal gas: Boil the plant and tie on the abdominal region.

Itching: Apply paste of Amarbel on the affected skin area.

Wound: Grind Amarbel. Mix with Sunthi and Ghee. Topically apply on the affected area.

Hair fall, Dandruff: Prepare paste of cuscuta. Mix some sesame oil and apply in hairs for curing hair fall. Crush and boil Cuscuta 50 grams in one liter water. Wash hair with this water.

Pharmacological:

The pharmacological Actions of the plant (Cuscuta reflexa Roxb.) are Alterative, Analgesic, Anthelmintic, Anti-atrabilious, Blood Purifier, Carminative, Demulcent, Deobstruent, Diaphoretic, Diuretic, Emmenagogue, Expectorant, Febrifuge, Purgative, Resolvent and Sedative. Fruit is especially alterative, stem is purgative and seeds are carminative and anodyne.

Clinical trials:

1. Catterjee D, Sahu RK, Jha A and Dwivedi J: Evaluation of Antitumor Activity of Cuscuta reflexa Roxb (Cuscutaceae) Against Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma in Swiss Albino Mice. Trop J Pharm Res 2011; 10: 448-453.
2. Kumar A, Rani S and Sagwal S: Recent Review on Plant Molecular Biology, Phytophysiology, Phytochemistry and Ethonopharmacology of Cuscuta reflexa Roxb. A Wonderful Parasitic Plant. IRJP 2012; 3: 30-38.
3. Inamdar FB, Oswal RJ, Chorage TV and Garje k: In vitro antimicrobial activity of Cuscuta reflexa Roxb.. IRJP 2011; 2: 214- 216.
4. Balakrishnam BR, Sangameswaran B and Bhaskar VH: Effect of methanol of Cuscuta reflexa aerial parts on hepatotoxicity induced by antitubercular drugs in rats. International Journal of Applied Research in Natural Products 2010; 3: 18-22.

Research:

CUSCUTA REFLEXA ROXB a parasitic plant in ayurveda by SHARMA SHIKHA,KAUR AMRINDER
Borole SP, Oswal RJ, Antre RV, Kshirsagar SS and Bagul YR: Evaluation of anti-epileptic activity of Cuscuta reflexa Roxb.. Research Journal of Pharmaceutical Biological and Chemical Sciences 2011; 2: 657-663.

Precautions:

Pregnancy and breast-feeding: Not enough is known about the use of dodder during pregnancy and breast-feeding. Stay on the safe side and avoid use.

Toxicity studies:

There isnt enough information available to know if dodder is safe. Dodder might cause stomach pain in some people.

Use in other system of medicine:

Contemporary Chinese herbalists use Cuscuta in formulas to treat a range of conditions, including: impotence premature ejaculation ,sperm leakage ,frequent urination ,ringing in the ears ,lower back pain ,sore knees ,white discharge from the vagina (leucorrhea) ,dry eyes ,blurred vision ,tired eyes. Cuscuta is one of nine herbs included in the manufacture of Equiguard, a Chinese herbal medicine recommended for kidney and prostate disorders. Research performed at New York Medical College indicates that the combination of ingredients in Equiguard may well be effective in the treatment of prostate cancer. The preparation inhibited the growth of cancer cells, increased the rate of self-destruction (apoptosis) of cancer cells, and prevented the surviving cells from forming colonies.

CONCLUSION:

Cuscuta reflexa Roxb. is a twining parasite and makes a tangled mass covering the host plants. It is called in Akasvalli in Tamil. This plant stem and seeds have highly important medicinal values. Some research studies say those Indian tribes and other traditional communities are used this plant as purgative, carminatives and external application for skin diseases. Stem decoction is used for constipation and liver complaints. In vitro studies showed that the Cuscuta stem extraction had antiviral and anti cancerous activities.

Photos of amarvalli -

Cuscuta reflexa Roxb creeper cuscuta plant

: Courtesy: https://08511630493324166816.googlegroups.com/attach/d00ec3eb9f449f0a/Cuscuta%20reflexa%20(1).JPG?part=0.1&view=1&vt=ANaJVrFtgci53fPMszGVWKwgHwj3n8n0JVQ85gi-zkXNcnw3RmeqsoQUNttue5qKCtYcKFck0PhbnFjGySKaGk26Y6oZ6xCFYjC0MlePsM7yB7x3fMddPZE

: Courtesy: https://sv.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuscuta_reflexa#/media/Fil%3ACuscuta_Reflexa_Roxb_-_%E0%B4%AE%E0%B5%82%E0%B4%9F%E0%B4%BF%E0%B4%B2%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B2%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%B3%E0%B4%BF_01.JPG