Notes on Rauwolfia and ancient medical writings of India.

RESERPINE, an alkaloid ofthe plant rauwolfia, has gained an established place in the treatment of hypertension and also as a tranquillizing agent in states of tension and anxiety. The presence ofrauwolfia in Western medicine is new, and as far as the treatment ofhypertension is concerned, it was largely the published observations of Rustom Jal Vakil in the British Heart jrournal (Vakil, I949) that drew the attention of the scientific world to the value of rauwolfia. In its crude form, rauwolfia has been known in Indian materia medica for many centuries. The root and leaves are still sold by quacks in the bazaars and by medicine-men at village fairs in India today in much the same manner as in ancient times. A modern book on Indian materia medica (Nadkarni, 1954) describes age-old methods of preparation and lists uses for the decoction of rauwolfia root and the juice of its leaves. It is interesting then to look briefly at something of the background of Indian medicine. The most ancient and authoritative medical writings of India are contained in the Ayurveda ('The Science of Life'), which describes means ofkeeping health, causes of ill-health and means of curing disease. AccQrding to Hindu tradition, Brahma is said to be the Creator of the Universe, and likewise in medical literature he is described as the originator of the Ayurveda. Wilson's writings in the Oriental Magazine (Wilson, I823) quoted by Royle (1837) in 'Lectures on Materia Medica and Therapeutics at King's College, London' are the first references in the English language to the genesis of the Ayurveda. Brief accounts of the genesis of Hindu medicine have also been made by recent historians, notably Muthu (I 930), Ray (I937) and Zimmer (I 948). At first the Ayurveda was known only to Brahma. By him it was communicated to Daksha Prajapati and in turn through the Prajapati the two Aswins, or sons of Surya, the Sun, were instructed in it, and they then became the medical attendants of the gods. At this stage we cannot fail to recall the two sons of Aesculapius and their descent from Apollo. From the Aswins, Indra King of the Gods, learnt the Ayurveda. Indra was the preceptor of Dhanwantari, the Father of Hindu Medicine, who was said to have brought from the ocean, a cup of Amrita, the drink of immortality to mortals. Dhanwantari held his Ayurvedic University in Kasi (modern Benares), where he taught his disciple Susruta the surgeon, whose monumental work, the Susruta Samhita, together with another medical classic the Charaka Samkita, is contained in the Ayurveda as known