Arjuna is credited with several therapeutic properties, both in Ayurvedic and Unani Systems. It is considered to be tonic, astringent, cooling and is used in heart diseases, contusions, fractures, ulcers. It is also acrid and credited with styptic, febrifugal and antidysenteric peoperties. It has been considered by the Ayurvedic physicians as well as by the modern practitioners as a cardiac tonic. Vagbhata was the first to prescribe the bark in heart diseases. Later Chakradatta described it as a tonic in heart disease. Bhava Mishra, a Nighantukara recognised the bark as possessing some cooling, cardiotonic, wound healing and intoxicating effects.The bark and preparations made from it are reputed to have a marked stimulant action on the heart even today.
A fair amount of chemical work has been done on this drug. According to Hooper in 1891, the bark yields 34 percent of ash consisting almost entirely of pure calcium carbonate; the aqueous extracts contain about 23 percent of calcium salts and 16 percent of tannins. Ghosal in 1909 made a detailed chemical and pharmacological study of the bark and reported the presence of sugar, tannin, colouringmatter, a glycosidal substances, carbonates of calcium, sodium and traces of chlorides of alkali metals. The total tannin content amounted to 12 percent and the ash |
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to 30 percent. The bark was found to contain an unusually large quantities of calcium salts, about 12 percent of tannins, an organic acid with a high melting point, a phytosterol, an organic ester and some colouring matters The bark has also been investigated for active principle responsible for the long use as diuretic and tonic.
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The heart can be likened to an engine that drives the body. It uses a vast network of blood vessels to pump blood to every cell in the body. As you probably know, blood is responsible for transporting important life-giving commodities such as oxygen, nutrients, chemical messengers and infection fighters to the cells. It also carts away unneeded debris, such as carbon dioxide, urea and lactic acid, to the kidneys for disposal. Together the heart and blood vessels are called the cardiovascular system.
Stress, lack of exercise & faulty diet are commonly named as factors contributing to heart problems.
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