Cissus quadrangularis
Family : Vitaceae
Sanskrit Name : Asthisrinkhala, Chaturdhara, Vajralatha
Origin: Southern and eastern Africa, Arabia to India
Common names of Cissus quadrangularis:
Tamil : pirandai
English: Veld grape, Veldt grape, Winged
treebine •
Succulent vine with tendrils, fleshy
3-lobed leaves and quandrangular 4-winged stem and grape-shaped leaves 2 inches
long (5 cm). The flowers are also typical of the grape family are greenish
white and come at the end of the summer. A good basket plant. A tendril climber
with stout fleshy quadrangular stem. It is used to help heal broken bones. so
call asthisamharaka (which avoids the destruction of the bones). Also
properties have been attributed to treat osteoporosis, asthma and cough and the
external hemorrhoids and Gonococcus.
Chemical Constituents and Components
: Main
chemical constituents are tetracyclic triterpenoids, onocer-7-ene-3alpha, 21
beta-diol and onocer-7-ene-3beta, 21 alpha-diol and two steriodal principles I
and II, alpha-sitosterol, delta-amyrin
As a rich source of carotenoids, triterpenoids and
ascorbic acid it has potential for medical effects, including
"gastroprotective activity" in conjunction with NSAID therapy and in
"lipid metabolism and oxidative stress" Cissus has been
"discovered" by sports and nutritional supplement manufacturers and,
mostly based on anecdotal evidence, many claims for "weight loss" and
"muscle protective" effects are being made. issus is known to
be an ancient medical plant, with optimal healing in white tissue areas of the body
( tendons, ligaments, etc. port supplement manufactures recently purified an
extract of the plant to help increase the delivery of nutrients to soft tissue.
It also helps heal fractures by increases in new bone growth, and has been
shown to relieve arthritis and osteoarthritis when used topically as a balm.
The plant is mentioned in the ancient
systems of medicine such as Ayurveda, and is useful for treatment of bloody
diarrhoea, skin disorders, earache[ Geissler et al, 2002], haemorrhoids, irregular menstruation,
and accelerates healing of bone fracture[ Attawish,2002].
Cissus quadrangularis formulation appears to be useful in the
management of weight loss and metabolic syndrome. In Cameroon, the whole plant is used in oral re-hydration,
while in Africa and Asia the leaf, stem, and root extracts are utilized in the
management of various ailments.
Modern
research has shed light on its ability to speed bone healing by showing it acts
as a glucocorticoid antagonist (Chopra
et al,1976;1975). Since anabolic/androgenic compounds are well known to act
as antagonists to the glucocorticoid receptor as well as promote bone growth
and fracture healing, it has been postulated that Cissus possesses anabolic and/or
androgenic properties (Prasad,1963; Chopra et al, 1976). In addition to
speeding the remodeling process of the healing bone, Cissus also leads to a
much faster increase in bone tensile strength.
While the increased rate of bone healing may be of great significance to
persons suffering from chronic diseases like osteoporosis (Shirwaikar et al,2003), the antiglucocorticoid properties of Cissus
are likely of much more interest to the average bodybuilder or athlete, since
endogenous glucocorticoids, particularly cortisol, are not only catabolic to
bone, but catabolize muscle tissue as well. By exerting an anabolic,
antiglucorticoid effect cissus helps preserve muscle tissue during times of
physical and emotional stress.
Cissus is also rich in the
vitamins/antioxidants vitamin C and beta-carotene. As analyzed, Cissus quadrangularis contained ascorbic
acid 479 mg, and carotene 267 units per 100g of freshly prepared paste in
addition to calcium oxalate (Chidambara
Murthy, 2003).
The typical recommended daily
dosage of Cissus extract is between 100 and 500 mg, depending on the
concentration of the extract and the severity of symptoms. For the powder of
the dried plant, the Ayurvedic texts recommend a dosage of 3 to 6 grams to
accelerate fracture healing. Safety studies in rats showed no toxic effects at
dosages as high as 2000 mg/kg of body weight. So not only is Cissus
efficacious, it is also quite safe, in either the dried powder form or the
commercially available extract.
Cissus also possess
analgesic properties on a mg per mg basis comparable to aspirin or
anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen. Cissus quadrangularis constitutes one
of the ingredients of an Ayurvedic preparation, `Laksha Gogglu', which has been
proved to be highly effective in relieving pain, reduction of swelling and
promoting the process of healing of the simple fractures as well as in curing
the allied disorders associated with fractures (Panda,1990). The mechanism through which Cissus exerts its
analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties has not been well characterized. It
may act centrally, but the anti-inflammatory features suggest that it acts by
preventing the conversion of arachidonic acid to inflammatory prostaglandins.
Active Ingredient of extract of C.q :
Ketosterones
1.5%, Ketosterones 2% & Ketosterones 2.5%
Action:
Ketosterones:
1. It acts as antagonists to the glucocorticoid receptor and promote good bone
health.
2. It shows anabolic steroid
properties for healing of fracture.
3. It increases intramuscular creatinine levels.
4. It blocks the muscle damaging effect of cortisol and leads to the formation
of new muscles.
5. It shows significant inhibition in DPPH free radical formation, superoxide
radical production and lipid peroxide production in erythrocytes.
6. It shows sedative effect on central nervous system.
7. It protects gastric mucosa against ulceration by its antisecretory and
cytoprotective property.
8. It mobilizes fibroblast and chondroblasts to an injured tissue and enhances
regeneration.
Curing Diseases : 1. It is mainly used in
treatment of fractured bones, asthma and cardiac problems.
2. It is anthelmintic, digestive and analgesic.
3. It is useful in eye and ear diseases and in irregular menstruation.
4. It is useful in colic, leprosy, ulcers, tumours and skin diseases.
5. It is helpful in back and spine problems.
It is one of the very frequently used
herb by traditional bone setters of India. It is also used for piles, asthma,
digestive troubles, cough, and loss of appetite.Salt of pirandai can be used to
cure ulcer.
Cissus quadrangularis, a plant
that has been customarily used in the Indian subcontinent to hasten the process
of healing in bone fractures, has been studied and exploited to synthesize
calcite crystals (Ambarish, 2005). The plant extract serves as a rich
source of calcium ions, which when reacted with CO2, leads to the formation of
calcite crystals of highly irregular morphology indicating that bioorganic
molecules present in the extract modulate.
Traditional recipes for treatment of
physical and mental ailments exist in all major ancient civilizations of the
world. One such recipe popular in the Indian subcontinent involves the use of
the extract of the plant Cissus quadrangularis. The stem and root
extracts of this medicinal plant are known to possess antioxidant and
antimicrobial activity (Murthy et
al,2003) and are routinely used to accelerate the process of bonefracture healing
(Udupa and Prasad,1964;Chopra et al,
1976).
References
1) Chopra SS, Patel MR,
Awadhiya RP. Studies of Cissus quadrangularis in experimental fracture repair :
a histopathological study Indian J Med Res. 1976 Sep;64(9):1365-8
2) Chopra SS, Patel MR, Gupta
LP, Datta IC. Studies on Cissus quadrangularis in experimental fracture repair:
effect on chemical parameters in blood Indian J Med Res. 1975 Jun;63(6):824-8.
3) PRASAD GC, UDUPA KN. EFFECT OF CISSUS
QUADRANGULARIS ON THE HEALING OF CORTISONE TREATED FRACTURES. Indian J Med Res.
1963 Jul;51:667-76.
4) Shirwaikar A, Khan S,
Malini S. Antiosteoporotic effect of ethanol extract of Cissus quadrangularis
Linn. on ovariectomized rat. J Ethnopharmacol. 2003 Dec;89(2-3):245-50.
5) Combaret L, Taillandier D,
Dardevet D, Bechet D, Ralliere C, Claustre A, Grizard J, Attaix D
Glucocorticoids regulate mRNA levels for subunits of the 19 S regulatory
complex of the 26 S proteasome in fast-twitch skeletal muscles. Biochem J. 2004
Feb 15;378(Pt 1):239-46.
6) Chidambara Murthy KN,
Vanitha A, Mahadeva Swamy M, Ravishankar GA. Antioxidant and antimicrobial
activity of Cissus quadrangularis L. J Med Food. 2003 Summer;6(2):99-105.
7) Panda, J
Res Ayurv Siddha, 1990, 11, 7
8)
Ambarish Sanyal1, Absar Ahmad2 and Murali Sastry1,3,
Calcite growth in Cissus quadrangularis plant extract, a traditional
Indian bone-healing aid,RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 89, NO. 10, 25
NOVEMBER 2005 1742.
9)
Udupa, K. N. and Prasad, G. C., Further
studies on the effect of
Cissus
quadrangularis in
accelerating fracture healing. Indian J.
Med.
Res.,
1964, 52, 26–35.
10.
Chopra, S. S., Patel, M. R. and Awadhiya, R. P., Studies of Cissus
quadrangularis
in
experimental fracture repair: a histopathological
study.
Indian J. Med. Res., 1976, 64, 1365–1368.
11.Murthy,
K. N. C., Vanitha, A., Swami, M. M. and Ravishankar, G.
A.,
Antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of Cissus quadrangularis
L.
J. Med. Food, 2003, 6, 99–105
12.Kashikar
ND, George I. Antibacterial activity of Cissus quadrangularis Linn.
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J. Sci. Technol. , 2002, 24, 39.
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