{{Short description|Species of plant}} {{Speciesbox |image = Rauvolfia serpentina 11.JPG |status = CITES_A2 |status_system = CITES |status_ref=<ref name ="CITES">{{cite web|url=http://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|publisher=Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)|year=2014|title=Appendices|access-date=2014-08-07}}</ref> |genus = Rauvolfia |species = serpentina |authority = (L.) Benth. ''ex'' Kurz<ref>{{cite web|url=https://phytochem.nal.usda.gov/phytochem/plants/show/1665?qlookup=Rauvolfia+serpentina&offset=0&max=20&et= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110050440/https://phytochem.nal.usda.gov/phytochem/plants/show/1665?qlookup=Rauvolfia+serpentina&offset=0&max=20&et= |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |title=''Rauvolfia serpentina'' |publisher=US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. 1992-2016. Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases|date=10 September 2018|access-date=25 November 2018 }}</ref> |synonyms = {{Plainlist | style = margin-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em; | *''Ophioxylon album'' <small>Gaertn.</small> *''Ophioxylon obversum'' <small>Miq.</small> *''Ophioxylon salutiferum'' <small>Salisb.</small> *''Ophioxylon serpentinum'' <small>L.</small> *''Ophioxylon trifoliatum'' <small>Gaertn.</small> *''Rauvolfia obversa'' <small>(Miq.) Baill.</small> *''Rauvolfia trifoliata'' <small>(Gaertn.) Baill.</small> }} |synonyms_ref = <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-176968 |title=The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species|publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK and Missouri Botanical Garden |access-date=12 April 2015}}</ref> }} '''''Rauvolfia serpentina''''', the '''Indian snakeroot''', '''devil pepper''', '''serpentine wood''', '''Sarpagandha''' (as known locally) or '''Chandrika''',<ref>{{PLANTS|id=RASE4|taxon=Rauvolfia serpentina|accessdate=19 October 2015}}</ref> is a species of flower in the milkweed family Apocynaceae.<ref name="drugbank">{{cite web |title=''Rauwolfia serpentina'' root |url=https://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB09363 |publisher=DrugBank, Canadian Institutes of Health Research |access-date=25 November 2018 |date=2 November 2018}}</ref> It is native to the Indian subcontinent and East Asia (from India to Indonesia).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200018451 |title=''Rauvolfia serpentina'' |author=eFloras |date= |work=Flora of China |publisher=Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA |access-date=9 April 2012}}</ref><ref>Oudhia, P. and Tripathi, R.S. (2002). Identification, cultivation and export of important medicinal plants. In Proc. National Seminar on Horticulture Development in Chhattisgarh: Vision and Vistas. Indira Gandhi Agricultural University, Raipur (India) 21-23 Jan. 2002:78-85.</ref>
''Rauvolfia'' is a perennial undershrub widely distributed in India in the sub-Himalayan regions up to {{convert|1000|m|ft}}.
'''Sarpagandha''' is used in folk medicine in India for centuries to treat a wide variety of maladies, including snake and insect bites, febrile conditions, malaria, abdominal pain, and dysentery. It was also used as a uterine stimulant, febrifuge, and cure for insanity. The plant was mentioned in Hindu manuscripts as long ago as 1000 BCE.<ref>{{cite journal|title= ''Rauwolfia in the Treatment of Hypertension'' |author=Douglas Lobay|journal= Integrative Medicine: A Clinician's Journal |date= 2015 |volume= 14 |issue= 3 |pages= 40–46 |pmid= 26770146 |pmc= 4566472 }}</ref>
==Chemical composition== ''Rauvolfia serpentina'' contains dozens of alkaloids of the indole alkaloid family, including ajmaline, ajmalicine, reserpine, and serpentine, among others.<ref name=drugbank/><ref>{{cite journal|pmid=17059683|year=2006|last1=Srivastava|first1=A.|title=Quantitative determination of reserpine, ajmaline, and ajmalicine in Rauvolfia serpentina by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography|journal=Journal of Chromatographic Science|volume=44|issue=9|pages=557–60|last2=Tripathi|first2=A. K.|last3=Pandey|first3=R.|last4=Verma|first4=R. K.|last5=Gupta|first5=M. M.|doi=10.1093/chromsci/44.9.557|doi-access=free}}</ref>
==Research== A 2016 review found that reserpine reduced systolic blood pressure (SBP) by about 8 mmHg compared to placebo, and may be as effective at reducing SBP as other front-line hypertensive drugs, although more research is needed to determine a dose-specific safety profile.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Shamon |first1=Sandy D. |last2=Perez |first2=Marco I. |date=2016-12-21 |title=Blood pressure-lowering efficacy of reserpine for primary hypertension |journal=The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews |volume=2016 |issue=12 |article-number=CD007655 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD007655.pub3 |issn=1469-493X |pmc=6464022 |pmid=27997978}}</ref>
==Potential adverse effects==
''R. serpentina'' may cause adverse effects by interacting with various prescription drugs<ref name="drugs">{{cite web |title=''Rauwolfia serpentina'' (drug interactions) |url=https://www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/rauwolfia-serpentina,rauwolfia-1x.html |publisher=Drugs.com |access-date=25 November 2018 |date=1 November 2018}}</ref> or via interference with mechanisms of mental depression or peptic ulcer.<ref name=drugs/> The reserpine in ''R. serpentina'' is associated with diverse adverse effects, including vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, headache, anxiety, or hypersensitivity reactions.<ref name=drugbank/>
==Gallery== <gallery> File:Rauvolfia serpentina in Kudayathoor.jpg|Flower Image:Rauwolfia serpentina at talkatora gardens delhi.jpg|Flowers and leaves File:Chassalia curviflora 001.jpg|Maturing flower </gallery>
==See also== * Reserpine * List of herbs with known adverse effects
==References== {{Commons category}} {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1145301}} {{Authority control}}
serpentina Category:Plants described in 1877 Category:Plants used in traditional Chinese medicine Category:Flora of tropical Asia Category:Flora of China