Alstonia scholaris
Botanica Name:
Alstonia scholaris
Nepali Name: Chatiwan
English Name: Dita
Sanskrit Name: Saptaparna
Description
The tree grows from 40 to 50 feet high, has a furrowed trunk,
oblong stalked leaves up to 6 inches long and 4 inches wide,
dispersed in four to six whorls round the stem, their upper
side glossy, under side white, nerves running at right angles
to the mid-rib. The bark is almost odourless and very bitter,
in commerce it is found in irregular fragments 1/8 to 1/2
inch thick, texture spongy, fracture coarse and short, outside
layer rough uneven fissured brownish grey and sometimes
blackish spots; inside layer bright buff, transverse section
shows a number of small medullary rays in inner layer.
Distribution:
upto 3000 feet.
Part Used: The bark.
Phytochemical properties:
It contains three alkaloids, Ditamine, Echitamine or Ditaine,
and Echitenines, and several fatty and resinous substances-
the second is the strongest base and resembles ammonia in
chemical characters.
Medicinal properties:
The bark is used for its tonic bitter and astringent properties;
it is particularly useful for chronic diarrhoea and dysentery,
indigestion and typhoid. It acts as galactogogue, stomachic,
laxative and liver tonic.
Dosage
Decoction: 40-80 gm
Powdered bark: 2 to 4 grains.
Ayurvedic preparations:
Saptachhadi kwath, saptaparnasattwadi wati.
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