73. Rasna (Lf.

)
RËSNË (Leal)
R¡sn¡ consists of dried leaf of Pluchea lanceolata Oliver & Hiern.(Fam. Asteraceae);
an annual, ashy and pubescent, undershrub having spreading roots extending to several metres;
it grows abundantly in sandy soils in upper Gangetic plain and Rajasthan. It flowers during
cold season.
SYNONYMS
Sanskrit : Suvah¡, Sugandh¡, Yukt¡
Assamese : Rasnapat
Bengali : Rasna
English : --
Gujrati : --
Hindi : Rayasan, Rayasana, Rasna
Kannada : Rasna, Dumme-Rasna
Kashmiri : --
Malayalam : --
Marathi : Rasna, Rayasana
Oriya : --
Punjabi : Reshae
Tamil : --
Telugu : Sanna Rashtramu
Urdu : Rauasan, Rasna

DESCRIPTION

a) Macroscopic
Leaves simple, 3-5 cm long, 0.6-2 cm broad; sessile, obtuse, lanceolate to ovate-
lanceolate; margin entire or toothed around the apex, unequal at base; both surfaces
pubescent, distinct small hairs more prominent near veins; texture, brittle, papery; odour,

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characteristic; taste, astringent and slightly bitter.

b) Microscopic
Leaf-
Midrib - shows single layered epidermis covered by thick, striated cuticle; collenchyma 2-5
layered towards xylem, 1-3 layered towards phloem; beneath collenchyma 2-5 layers of
parenchyma present on both sides; central portion occupied by a large vascular bundle,
xylem facing towards upper and phloem towards lower epidermis; vascular bundle
surrounded by sclerenchymatous sheath appearing as a cap above and below; vascular
bundle consists of wide phloem, a thin cambium and xylem; phloem consists of phloem
parenchyma and a few phloem fibres; xylem consists of tracheids, vessels and xylem
parenchyma; vessels arranged radially; parenchyma and palisade cells of leaf contain oil
globules, scattered rosette crystals of calcium oxalate are both in lamina and midrib.
Lamina - shows isobilateral structure with palisade occurring in upper and lower mesophyll
regions; epidermal cells tangentially elongated, covered by thick, striated cuticle; uniseriate,
unbranched covering trichomes 2-3 cells long, present on both surfaces, basal cell short and
slightly swollen, apical cells long; stomata, anisocytic and anomocytic present on both
surfaces but more on lower surface; palisade tissue 2 or 3 layered on both sides, composed
of radially elongated, thin-walled cells; spongy parenchyma composed of thin-walled,
circular to elliptical, parenchymatous cells containing abundant chloroplasts with prominent
intercellular spaces; a number of small veins, surrounded by a sclerenchymatous sheath
present in mesophyll; vascular tissue much reduced and represented by a few phloem and
xylem elements; average value of stomatal index on upper surface 14-24 and on lower
surface 20-24; palisade ratio not more than 5; average value of vein islet number 27.
Powder - Light green; shows fragments of parenchyma, palisade cells, pointed 2-5 celled
trichomes, a few oil globules and rosette crystals of calcium oxalate.

IDENTITY, PURITY AND STRENGTH

Foreign matter Not more than 2 per cent, Appendix 2.2.2.

Total Ash Not more than 22 per cent, Appendix 2.2.3.
Acid-insoluble ash Not more than 7 per cent, Appendix 2.2.4.

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Alcohol-soluble extractive Not less than 8 per cent, Appendix 2.2.6.
Water-soluble extractive Not less than 23 per cent, Appendix 2.2.7.

T.L.C.
T.L.C. of the alcoholic extract on Silica gel 'G' plate using n-Butanol : Acetic acid:
Water (4:1:5) shows in visible light three spots at Rf. 0.37, 0.71 and 0.82 (all grey). Under
U.V. (366 nm) three fluorescent zones are visible at Rf. 0.27, 0.71 and 0.82 (all dark
brown). On exposure to Iodine vapour seven spots appear at . Rf. 0.08, 0.37, 0.62, 0.67,
0.71, 0.82 and 0.92 (all yellow). On spraying with 5% Methanolic-Sulphuric acid reagent
and heating the plate for about ten minutes at 110°C eight spots appear at Rf. 0.08 (greyish
brown), 0.17 (violet), 0.37 (brown), 0.62 (violet), 0.67, 0.71, 0.82 (all greyish brown) and
0.92 (violet).

CONSTITUENTS - Flavonoids - Quercetin and Isorhamnetin

PROPERTIES AND ACTION

Rasa : Tikta
Gu¸a : Guru
V¢rya : UÀ¸a
Vip¡ka : Ka¶u
Karma : Kaphav¡tahara, Ëmap¡cana

IMPORTANT FORMULATIONS - Da¿am£l¡riÀ¶a, Devad¡rv¡riÀ¶a, K¡rp¡s¡sthy¡di Taila,

R¡sn¡di Kv¡tha C£r¸a, R¡snaira¸·¡di Kv¡tha C£r¸a

THERAPEUTIC USES - áotha, V¡tavy¡dhi, áv¡sa, K¡sa, Jvara, Udararoga, Sidhma,

Ë·hyav¡ta, Ëmav¡ta, V¡tarakta

DOSE - 25-50 g (Decoction).

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