Senega consists of dried roots and rootstocks of Polygala senega Linn., belonging to family Polygalaceae.
SENEGA
Synonyms
Snake Root, Senegae Radix, Seneca. Milkwort, Mountain Flax,
Rattlesnake Root, Radix Senegae, Senega Root.
Biological Source
Senega consists of dried roots and rootstocks of Polygala senega Linn., belonging to family Polygalaceae.
Geographical Source
Grows throughout central and western North America and
Canada.
History
The name of the genus, Polygala,
means ‘much milk,’ alluding to its own profuse secretions and their effects.
‘Senega’ is derived from the Seneca tribe of North American Indians, among
whom the plant was used as a remedy for snake bites.
Cultivation and Collection
It is a perennial growing to 0.3 m by 0.3 m. Prefers a
moderately fertile moisture-retentive well-drained soil, succeeding in full sun
if the soil remains moist throughout the growing season, otherwise it is best
in semishade. It is propagated by seeds or cuttings. Seeds are sown in spring
or autumn in a cold frame. When the seedlings are large enough to handle, they
are kept in individual pots and grown them on in the green house for their
first winter. They are transplanted in late spring or early summer, after the
last expected frosts.
The roots should be gathered when the leaves are dead, and
before the first frost. Roots are dug out and the aerial stems attached to them
are removed. From carelessness in collection other roots are often found mixed
with it, but not for intentional adulteration. However some stem bases persist
in the drug. Roots are washed and dried.
Characteristics
The root, varying in colour from light yellowish grey to
brownish grey, and in size from the thickness of a straw to that of the little
finger, has as its distinguishing mark a projecting line, along its concave
side. It is usually twisted, sometimes almost spiral, and has at its upper end
a thick, irregular, knotty crown, showing traces of numerous, wiry stems. It
breaks with a short fracture, the wood often showing an abnormal appearance,
since one or two wedge-shaped portions may be replaced by parenchymatous
tissue, as if a segment of wood had been cut out. The keels are due to the
development of the bast, and not to any abnormality in the wood. It taste sweet
first and then turns to acrid and have characteristic odour.
Chemical Constituents
The root contains triterpenoid saponins. The active
principle, contained in the bark, is Senegin. It is a white powder easily
soluble in hot water and alcohol, forming a soapy emulsion when mixed with
boiling water.
Senega contains 8–10% of a mixture of at least eight
different saponins. The main saponin is senegin, which on hydrolysis yields
presenegenin, glucose, galactose, rhamnose and xylose. The root contains
polygalic acid, virgineic acid, pectic and tannic acids, yellow, bitter,
colouring matter, cerin, fixed oil, gum, albumen, woody fibre, salts, alumina,
silica, magnesia and iron.
Uses
The root promotes the clearing of phlegm from the bronchial
tubes. It is antidote, cathartic, diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic, expectorant,
sialagogue and stimulant. It was used by the North American Indians in the
treatment of snake bites and has been found used in the treatment of various
respiratory problems including pleurisy and pneumonia.
Allied Drugs
Polygala
senega var. latifolia. (Northern senega), collected
in the northwestern States, is
considerably larger than the usual variety (Western senega), and darker in
colour; it shows the keel less distinctly, but it has a very acrid taste.
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