Abstract

A REVIEW ON VACHA: AN EFFECTIVE MEDICINAL PLANT

Ravinder Kumar*, Shruti Sharma and Simran Sharma

Abstract

Vacha (Acorus calamus) belongs to the family Acoraceae; it is a highvalue medicinal plant that grows almost all over India. It is a semievegreen perennial herb with arching tapered reed-like leaves, minute yellow-green flowers, and scented rhizomes. Medicinal usage has been reported in traditional systems of medicine, such as Ayurveda wherein the rhizome of Vacha is widely utilized for the treatment of various ailments such as epilepsy, headache, slurred speech, eye disorder, insomnia, loss of memory, etc. Its therapeutic uses are reported to be described in Ayurvedic textbooks like Charak Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, etc. Studies reveal that Vacha rhizomes contain an aromatic essential oil which has significant anticonvulsant activity. Vacha roots are efficient to treat memory loss, Alzheimer's disease, tremors, anxiety, depression, and pain disorder of neurological origin. It contains various chemical constituents; the major constituent of oil of Vacha is a phenylpropanoid called β-asarone, possess carcinogenic properties and therefore the Ayurvedic system makes use of shodhit (detoxified) Vacha in their formulations. Vacha or Sweet flag is a semi-aquatic, perennial, aromatic herb of aquatic habitats in temperate to subtemperate regions. The present work briefly documented the phytochemistry, properties and shodhana of Vacha.

Keywords: Vacha, Acorus calamus, Shodhana, ?-asarone