GUNJA

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Contents

INTRODUCTION

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

TYPES

RASA PANCHAKA

DOSAGE

USEFULL PART

KARMA

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION

TOXICITY

MANAGEMENT

POST MORTEM APPEARENCE

TREATMENT

MEDICO LEGAL ASPECTS

SHODHANA

YOGAS

Introduction

The seeds of plant are deadly but looks most

beautiful.

Sushrutha acharya had mentioned it under the

mula visha.

As per Modern it is included under the Organic

Irritant Poison.

It has two different varieties mainly svetha and

raktha.

Gunja is one among the Upa-visha in ayu

literature.

Plant Taxonomy

Kingdom:Plantae

Division: Angiosperms

Class:Rosids

Order:Fabales

Family:Fabaceae

Genus:Abrus

Species:Precatorius

B N: Abrus precatorius

Synonyms

Kakananti

Raktika

Gunja

Angaravalli

Kakachinja

Krushnala

Chakrashalya

Shitapaaki

Vernacular Names

Assamese : Latumoni

Bengali : Kunch; Koonch

Gujarati : Gumchi; Chanothi

Hindi : Ratti; Gaungchi; Gunchi; Gunja

Kannada : Gulaganji (ಗುಲಗಂಜಿ)

Kashmiri : Shangir

Malayalam : Kunni; Kunnikkuru

Marathi : Gunj (ग ुंज)

Oriya : Kaincha

Punjabi : Mulati,Ratak,Labrigunchi

Sanskrit : Gunja (ग ुंजा) Tamil : Gundumani; Kunthamani

Telugu : Gurivinda

International

Persian : Gunchi; Chashami-Khurosa

Nepali : Ratigedi (रातिगेडी)English : Abrus or Indian liquorice root.

Morphology

It is a perennial climber . Growing upto 2 to 3

inches in length.

Habitat : It is found through out the India

Leaves

Compound leaves having 10 to 15 pairs of

narrow leaflets

Pinnate-leafleted leaves

Flowers

Its flowers are rose to purple in color,

growing at the end of a stalk

Fruits

The fruits are short pods in shape

Seeds

The seeds are egg shaped bright, scarlet colours

with large black spot at one end

Length – 8mm long ,6mm broad

Weigh- about 105 mg.

Seeds are available in different colour

Types

According to B.P

Svetha

Raktha

According to D.N

Svetha

Raktha

According to R.N

Shwetha

Rakta

Krisna

Harita

According to modern.

White

Red

Rasa Panchaka

Acc to

Diff

Acharyas

Rasa Guna Virya Vipaka

Adarsha

nighantu

Tikta

Kashaya

-- Ushna Katu

Kaideva

Nigantu

Tikta

Kashaya

-- Ushna --

D.N.

Nighantu

sangraha

Tikta

Madhur

a Tikta

Ruksha

--

Ushna

--

--

--

Thearapeutic Dosage

Root & leaf powder :1 to 3 gms

Seed powder : 60 to 170 mg

Useful parts

Root

Leaf

Seed

Karma

Kaphavata shamaka

Keshya

Kusta

Timira

Kandugna

Mukhapaka

Chakshushya

Shukrala

Twachya

Chemical Composition

Root and Leaf:

glycyrrhizin,

isoflavanquinones,

abrusquinone A, B & C.

Roots also contain precol, abrol, abrasine and

precasine.

Seed: Poisonous, principal constituents being

'abrin';

It also contains hypaphorine, two steroidsone oily

crystalline- β-sitosterol,

stigmasterol,

5 B-cholanic acid,

abricin, abridin, cholesterol,

lectins and toxic proteins.

Toxicity

It is included under the Upa Visha.

The abrin poisons effect is similar to viperine

snake venom.

Fatal Dose : 90 to 120 mg of abrin

:one to two seeds

Fatal period : 24 to 72 hr

Signs and Symptoms of

poisoning

Symptoms includes

Abdominal pain

Nausea

Vomiting

Diarrhea

Hemorrhagic

Cardio vascular Failure

Management

Decontamination

Anti Abrin should be give

Supportive measures

Post mortem Appearance

Congestion of GI tract and viscera

If injected ,local signs of inflammation can

be seen

Medico legal Aspects

Most of the cases arise out of accidental

ingestion of the attractive seeds by

children's, Seeds must be crushed or

chewed for its harmful effects.

A few homicidal cases are reported by

injecting with needles.

The seeds are used as an abortifacient and

as arrow poison.

Gunja Suchi Prayoga

Cattle poisoning : This is the primary use of the

poison. The seeds are taken out, powdered and

made into a thin paste . To this added Opium and

Dhatura and Onion. They make into spikes of

average 1 inch length, when dried in sun they are

ready to use. These are pierced into the skin of

animal. An intense cellulites develops and killing

the animals with in 24 hr.

Shodhana

Seeds are purified by boiling in Kanjika or

milk for 3 hours.

Yogas

Gunjadi Tailam.

Gunjabhadra Rasa.

Bibiliography

Dravya guna vignyana by prof P V sharma.

Raja Nighantu

Nighantu Adarsha

Dhanvantari Nighantu

Nighantu Sangraha

Kaideva nighantu

Agada tantra by dr.shekhar namburi

Forensic medicine and toxicology