GUNJA

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Contents
INTRODUCTION
BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION
TYPES
RASA PANCHAKA
DOSAGE
USEFULL PART
KARMA
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
TOXICITY
MANAGEMENT
POST MORTEM APPEARENCE
TREATMENT
MEDICO LEGAL ASPECTS
SHODHANA
YOGAS
Introduction
The seeds of plant are deadly but looks most
beautiful.
Sushrutha acharya had mentioned it under the
mula visha.
As per Modern it is included under the Organic
Irritant Poison.
It has two different varieties mainly svetha and
raktha.
Gunja is one among the Upa-visha in ayu
literature.
Plant Taxonomy
Kingdom:Plantae
Division: Angiosperms
Class:Rosids
Order:Fabales
Family:Fabaceae
Genus:Abrus
Species:Precatorius
B N: Abrus precatorius
Synonyms
Kakananti
Raktika
Gunja
Angaravalli
Kakachinja
Krushnala
Chakrashalya
Shitapaaki
Vernacular Names
Assamese : Latumoni
Bengali : Kunch; Koonch
Gujarati : Gumchi; Chanothi
Hindi : Ratti; Gaungchi; Gunchi; Gunja
Kannada : Gulaganji ()
Kashmiri : Shangir
Malayalam : Kunni; Kunnikkuru
Marathi : Gunj (

)
Oriya : Kaincha
Punjabi : Mulati,Ratak,Labrigunchi
Sanskrit : Gunja (

)
Tamil : Gundumani; Kunthamani
Telugu : Gurivinda
International
Persian : Gunchi; Chashami-Khurosa
Nepali : Ratigedi ()
English : Abrus or Indian liquorice root.
Morphology
It is a perennial climber . Growing upto 2 to 3
inches in length.
Habitat : It is found through out the India
Leaves
Compound leaves having 10 to 15 pairs of
narrow leaflets
Pinnate-leafleted leaves
Flowers
Its flowers are rose to purple in color,
growing at the end of a stalk
Fruits
The fruits are short pods in shape
Seeds
The seeds are egg shaped bright, scarlet colours
with large black spot at one end
Length 8mm long ,6mm broad
Weigh- about 105 mg.
Seeds are available in different colour
Types
According to B.P
Svetha
Raktha
According to D.N
Svetha
Raktha
According to R.N
Shwetha
Rakta
Krisna
Harita
According to modern.
White
Red
Rasa Panchaka
Acc to
Diff
Acharyas
Rasa Guna Virya Vipaka
Adarsha
nighantu
Tikta
Kashaya
-- Ushna Katu
Kaideva
Nigantu
Tikta
Kashaya
-- Ushna --
D.N.
Nighantu
sangraha
Tikta
Madhur
a Tikta
Ruksha
--
Ushna
--
--
--
Thearapeutic Dosage
Root & leaf powder :1 to 3 gms
Seed powder : 60 to 170 mg
Useful parts
Root
Leaf
Seed
Karma
Kaphavata shamaka
Keshya
Kusta
Timira
Kandugna
Mukhapaka
Chakshushya
Shukrala
Twachya
Chemical Composition
Root and Leaf:
glycyrrhizin,
isoflavanquinones,
abrusquinone A, B & C.
Roots also contain precol, abrol, abrasine and
precasine.
Seed: Poisonous, principal constituents being
'abrin';
It also contains hypaphorine, two steroidsone oily
crystalline- -sitosterol,
stigmasterol,
5 B-cholanic acid,
abricin, abridin, cholesterol,
lectins and toxic proteins.
Toxicity
It is included under the Upa Visha.
The abrin poisons effect is similar to viperine
snake venom.
Fatal Dose : 90 to 120 mg of abrin
:one to two seeds
Fatal period : 24 to 72 hr
Signs and Symptoms of
poisoning
Symptoms includes
Abdominal pain
Nausea
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Hemorrhagic
Cardio vascular Failure
Management
Decontamination
Anti Abrin should be give
Supportive measures
Post mortem Appearance
Congestion of GI tract and viscera
If injected ,local signs of inflammation can
be seen
Medico legal Aspects
Most of the cases arise out of accidental
ingestion of the attractive seeds by
children's, Seeds must be crushed or
chewed for its harmful effects.
A few homicidal cases are reported by
injecting with needles.
The seeds are used as an abortifacient and
as arrow poison.
Gunja Suchi Prayoga
Cattle poisoning : This is the primary use of the
poison. The seeds are taken out, powdered and
made into a thin paste . To this added Opium and
Dhatura and Onion. They make into spikes of
average 1 inch length, when dried in sun they are
ready to use. These are pierced into the skin of
animal. An intense cellulites develops and killing
the animals with in 24 hr.
Shodhana
Seeds are purified by boiling in Kanjika or
milk for 3 hours.
Yogas
Gunjadi Tailam.
Gunjabhadra Rasa.
Bibiliography
Dravya guna vignyana by prof P V sharma.
Raja Nighantu
Nighantu Adarsha
Dhanvantari Nighantu
Nighantu Sangraha
Kaideva nighantu
Agada tantra by dr.shekhar namburi
Forensic medicine and toxicology