Strychnos nux-vomica
Strychnos nux-vomica
Organoleptic Characters:
Colour: Ash gray or greenish-grey.
Odour: None.
Taste: Intensely bitter.
Size: Seeds are 10–30 mm in diameter and 4–6 mm in thickness.
Shape: The seeds are disc-shaped, somewhat flat, irregularly bent and concave. The margin of the seeds is rounded, covered with hair radiating from the center.
Constituents:
Nux-vomica seeds contain 1.5–5% of bitter indole alkaloids.
Chief constituents of Nux-vomica are strychnine and brucine.
While vomicine, colubrine, pseudostrychnine, and strychnine are also present.
Seeds also contain 3% of fat.
Chlorogenic acid is present in the seed which is turned to green caffeic acid when exposed to air.
The seeds contain an important glycoside loganoside, 5% in the pulp of the fruit, which on hydrolysis yields loganin.
Uses:
Due to its bitter taste, Nux-vomica is used as a bitter stomachic and tonic.
It is a stimulant to the central nervous system.
It increases blood pressure and is recommended in certain forms of cardiac failure.
Adulterant:
Strychnos nux-blanda(Includes chemical structure diagram of Strychnine/Brucine core skeleton)
