Karkatashringi (Gall.)
KARKATASRINGI
Karkaasringi consists of gall-like excrescences formed by insects on the leaves, petioles and branches of the plant Pistacia chinensia Burgo, Pistacia integerrima Stew. ex Brandis, Rhus succedanea Linn. (Fam. Anacardiaceae) during autumn season, growing on the steps of Western Himalayas from Indus to Kumaon at an altitude of 350-2400 m, often cultivated in Punjab plains.
SYNONYMS
Sanskrit : sringi, Vishini, Karkata
Assamese : Kakiasrngi
Bengali : Kankda Shringi
English : Crab’s claw
Gujrati : Kakada shing, Kakada singi
Hindi : Kakadasingi, Kakarasingi, Gheekadava
Kannada : Kakadasingi, Karkatakasringi
Kashmiri : Kakkar, Kamaladina
Malayalam : Karkatasringi
Marathi : Kakadshingi
Oriya : Kakadashrungi, Kakadashringi
Punjabi : Kakar, Kakarsingi
Tamil : Karkata singi
Telugu : Kakarsingi, Karkatakashrungi
Urdu : Kakrasinghi
DESCRIPTION
a) Macroscopic
Dried galls hard, hollow, horn-like, thin-walled, generally cylindrical, tapering at both the ends, greyish brown externally and reddish brown internally, size varies from 2.5-30.0 cm or more, each gall contains numerous dead insects, odour, terebinthine, taste of powdered galls, strongly astringent and slightly bitter.
b) Microscopic
Transverse section of gall shows the collapsed epidermis on both the sides, epidermal cells thin-walled, tangentially elongated, ground tissues thin-walled and oval or circular, the outer two layers tangentially elongated while between vascular bundles radially elongated, outer few layers and some of cells of ground tissue filled with yellowish brown contents, vascular bundle scattered throughout the ground tissues in two rows, consist of phloem accompanied by a large tannin sac in each vascular bundle.
Powder-Powder greyish brown, under microscope, shows orange yellow colour isolated or associated fragments of xylem vessels and ground tissues.
CONSTITUENTS – Essential oil, tannins and resinous matters.
PROPERTIES AND ACTION
Rasa : Tikta, Kashiya
Guna : Guru
Virya : Ushna
Vipaka : Katu
Karma : Kasahara, Kaphavitahara, Urdhvavitajit, Hikkinigrahana
IMPORTANT FORMULATIONS – Bilacaturbhadriki Churna
THERAPEUTIC USES – Aruci, svisa, Chhardi(vomiting), Hikki, Jvara, Kasa, Kshaya
DOSE – 3-6 g of the drug in powder form.
