Literary review of Parijata ( Nyctanthus arbor-tristis Linn . ) an Herbal Medicament with Special Reference to Ayurveda and Botanical Literatures

Parijata (Nyctanthus arbortristis Linn.) commonly known as night jasmine, a wonderful plant is described in Ayurveda with it’s enormous medicinal value. It is mostly found in sub tropical Himalayas of Nepal and southern parts of India and widely cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical regions in all over the world. Other than Parijata it is popularly known as Har-shinghar. Different parts of this plant are used for various medical purposes. It’s leaves have broad spectrum medicinal use such as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic and anti-helmentic effect. The descriptions of habitat, morphology, etymology, traditional pharmacology, therapeutic use etc. are richly found in Ayurvedic literatures. Scientific classification, family and genus characters, vernacular names, habitat and habit, ethno-botanical use, pharmacological activities, chemical constituents, cultivation and propagation etc. are also described in this literary study. Authors are hopeful, the article will help the researchers of Ayurveda as well as in other field of bio-medical sciences to explore more about the said plant for the benefit of society.


INTRODUCTION
Ayurveda, worlds' most ancient healing heritage uses the plant kingdom since it's inception both for diet and medicines as when required.Ancient Acharyas have felt enormous therapeutic potentiality of each and every plant on being their judicious use 1 .Among millions of plants and their different species, Parijata is having therapeutic predominance in certain disease conditions like chronic fever and worm infestations 5 .Literary review of the said plant may explore further therapeutic quality and may facilitate cross disciplinary research for the benefit of public in larger extent.
Nyctanthus arbor-tristis Linn., belonging to the family Oleaceae, is a fabulous plant having high medicinal value.It is commonly known as harsinghar in Hindi, Parijata in Sanskrit and night jasmine in English.It is widely distributed in sub-Himalayan regions and southwards to Godavari and is predominantly native to southern Asia 2 .The geographical distribution of the plant extends from northern Pakistan and southern Nepal through northern India and south east to Thailand and also in other parts of the world 3 .Due to it's high therapeutic value now a day it is a matter of interest for research in bio-medical science to explore more accurate therapeutic index, in terms of active principles that could be the marker compound of the plant.Broad spectrum medical use of the plant and it's different parts are described in various Ayurvedic literatures.Many samhitas and nighantus are describing about the nomenclature, morphology and different actions of plants as oushadhi (medicine) in detail.The complete pharmacognostical study of drug such as origin of the drug, common name, scientific nomenclature, and family, geographical distribution along with cultivation, collection, and propagation are also the part of current drug review write up.Details of macroscopic, microscopic characters of discussed plant material with chemical composition may facilitate the interdisciplinary research in this regard.

Mythological Origin of Parijata:-4
Mythological story reveals that, the drug Parijata is a heavenly tree brought to earth by Lord Krishna.A quarrel over it ensued between Satyabhama and Rukmini, Krishna's wives.But Krishna planted the tree in Satyabhama's courtyard in a way, that when the tree flowered, the flowers fell in Rukmini's courtyard.

Description of Parijata in different Ayurvedic literatures
In different ancient literatures Parijata is described under different verga.Regarding the etymology, synonyms, morphological description, therapeutic use there are enormous descriptions found in all most all samhitas and nighantus.

Traditional pharmacological properties (rasa, guna, virya and vipaka)
Traditional pharmacological properties of Parijata like rasa, guna, virya and vipaka are described in different literatures such as.

Therapeutic Use
Different Acharyas have described different use of Parijata.Also it is used as an ingredient of many compound formulations.The details of it's use according to different texts are given below.

Used part, dose and dosaghnata
Usually leaf, root, flower and seed of Parijata are used in different dosage form, like juice, powder, decoction etc. for various diseases conditions.It is specifically used to pacify the diseases occurring due to vitiation of vata and kapha.

Dose of Parijata is different as per the different dosage form like:-10
• For swarasa (juice):-10-20 ml • For churna (powder):-1-3 gm • For kwatha (decoction):-50-100 ml Use of specific dosage form of Parijata in different disease condition:- 11 The general use of the study drug is described in table No… Other than these uses there are some specific use of different dosage form of Parijata with change in anupana (vehicle), are mentioned below.The tender leaves of Parijata, Ardraka swarasa (ginger juice) and madhu (honey) along with loha bhasma is beneficial is case of Pandu (anemia).

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In Bhava prakasha nighantu the intake of ksheera (cow's milk), ghrita (cow's ghee) and sharkara (sugar) are used as anupana (vehicle) during the intake of certain preparations made up of Parijata.

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In Bhavaprakasha nighantu the churna prepared out of bark along with betel leaves, 3 to 4 times in a day, is indicated in case of kasa (cough) and swasha (breathless ness/ bronchial tree diseases).
• In Bhavaprakasha nighantu the kalka (paste) prepared out of seeds rubbed in water is applied over the affected area in case of hair loss.

Description of Parijata in modern era and in botanical literatures
Ayurvedic literatures written in modern era such as………….. were also describing Parijata with it's different aspects like group, synonyms, plant description and morphology, flowering season, traditional pharmacological properties, used parts, dose and therapeutic use.The descriptions are very much similar with ancient and medieval era as described earlier hence it is not elaborated more.

Botanical description
Because of the bio-medical importance of the said drug it is a matter of interest for the researchers of basic sciences like chemistry, botany etc. hence available botanical descriptions are tried to explore.
Various texts like, Indian medicinal plants, Indian Materia Medica, Wealth of India etc. are reviewed for the description of the drug which is as follows.Chemical Constituents:- 15 Following chemical constituents are found in Parijata D-Mannitol.

Table: 3 shows the therapeutic use of Parijata
Mannitol is an organic compound.Mannitol is used clinically to reduce acutely raised intracranial pressure and used as an osmotic diuretic agent and a w e a k r e n a l v a s o d i l a t o r .

Tannin
Tannins are astringent, bitter plant polyphenols that either bind and precipitate or shrink proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids.

Linoleic Acid
Linoleic acid is an unsaturated omega-6 fatty acid.It is a colorless liquid.Linoleic acid is beneficial in Cystic fibrosis, Cancer Prevention, Dermatitis and Diabetes.Research activities prove that linoleic acid acts as anti-inflammatory, acne reductive, and moisture retentive properties when applied topically on the skin.It is used in treatment of bronchitis and also as an antidote to snake bite.

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In India, Indonesia (Java) and Malaysia, the flowers are used medicinally to provoke menstruation.

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The bark of this tree is used in eye diseases, ulcers and as expectorant.Bark decoction is used for bleeding gums.

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The fresh leaves are also used for the preparation of homoeopathic medicines.

Different other commercial uses of the plant:-19
• The plant is cultivated for its fragrant flowers, useful to prepare different perfume and dyes.
Locally the dye is also used for dyeing cotton cloth and as a cheap substitute for saffron in coloring the robes of Buddhist priests.

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For dyeing, fabrics are immersed in a decoction of the corolla tubes.They impart a beautiful orange, yellow or golden colour like saffron, but the colour is easily washed out, and will fade rapidly in the sun.To make the colour more permanent, lime juice or alum is added to the dye bath.Then the colour is moderately resistant to light, soap, alkali and acid.

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The bark may be used as a tanning material and the leaves are used for polishing the ivory also used like sandpaper to polish wood.

DISCUSSION
Parijata has been used for different medical as well as domestic purposes since more than hundred years.Due to it's broad spectrum use in health management it is described in all most all ancient literatures regarding it's identification, morphology, sources, availability, dose and therapeutic use.For exploring it's therapeutic and bio-medical utility the current botanical and other contemporary literatures are also reviewed and very useful materials are found such as chemical constituents, scientific classification and morphology, habit and habitat, therapeutic and commercial use etc. the plant is well tolerated in large range of climatic conditions hence the plant extends from northern Pakistan and southern Nepal through northern India and south east to Thailand and also in other parts of the world.As per the traditional pharmacology, due to tikta rasa, ushna virya and laghu guna it is used in kapa vitiated diseases.Due to ushna virya it is used in vata diseases.Also due to tikta rasa it causes pacifying of the amadosa and excess jathara-pitta (gastric acids), in turn body temperature is reduced.Due to it's serrated edge of it's leaf, leaves are used as anu-shastra in Sushruta Samhita.It is observed that leaves are mostly used for medicinal purposes in comparison to other parts of the plant.Due to tikta rasa and ushan virya leaves are the drug of choice in chronic fever.Corolla is mostly used for commercial purposes in comparison to other parts of the plant.On chemical and phyto-chemical analysis it is found that, the plant contains many active principles as well as different bio-markers.B-Sitosterol, nyctanthic acid, tannic acid, lenoliec acid, D-mannitol and oleic acids are richly found in leaves, may be responsible for it's high therapeutic efficacy.Multi active ingredients present in different parts of the plant may be the cause of it's broad spectrum therapeutic use.It is proven that lenoleic acid have anti-inflammatory effect.Over all Parijata is a very important herbal medicine now and then.