THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF RAUWOLFIA SERPENTINA: PHYTOCHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS, BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS, AND CLINICAL EVIDENCE
AbstractRauwolfia serpentina is a traditional medicine used by Indians for a long time. Because of its serpentine shape, the drug is known as Sarpgandha. Despite having more than 50 alkaloids, the primary alkaloid in Rauwolfia serpentina is reserpine. Reserpine, even at lower doses, is an effective antihypertensive. Rauwolfia serpentina has a wide variety of medicinal uses, including lowering blood pressure and protecting the liver, but it also has sedative, antipsychotic, antidiarrheal, and anticancer (in breast) effects, among many others. The herb Rauwolfia serpentina contains all four of the main indole alkaloids, but we’re mainly interested in the root-concentrated active alkaloid reserpine here because of its role in the plant’s antihypertensive effects. In order for reserpine to have an antihypertensive effect, it needs to be administered at a much lower level. At higher doses, it can cause serious adverse effects such as drowsiness, depression, anxiety, nausea, bradycardia, bronchospasm, and withdrawal psychosis.
Article Information
1
1-12
1291 KB
149
English
IJP
Anubhav Dubey *, Vinay Kumar Patel, Vikram Kumar Sahu, Sribatsa Lanchhana Dash and Amit Mishra
Maharana Pratap College of Pharmacy Kothi, Mandhana, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India.
anubhavdwivedi803@gmail.com
29 December 2025
27 January 2026
28 January 2026
10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.IJP.13(1).1-12
31 January 2026
Download