Adhatoda vasica (Justicia adhadota) is a shrub with lance-shaped leaves 10 to 15 centimeters in length by four wide. The leaves, flowers and bark are commonly used in Ayurvedic medicine.
Adhadota vasika commonly known as Adusa, Adulsa, Vasaka, Vasa, in English as Malabar nut. Is a medicinal plant.
The leaves of Adusa contains phytochemicals such as alkaloids, tannins, saponins, phenolics and flavonoids. The most important is vasicine, a quinazoline alkaloid. The vasicine yield of the herbage has been measured as 0.541 to 1.1% by dry weight.
Drug vasaka is obtained from dried leaves of the plant. Vasaka is mainly used in treatment of chronic bronchitis and asthma. It relieves cough and breathlessness. Leaf juice is given in the treatment of dysentery and diarrhoea.
External use: it has anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and antibacterial effects, relieves pain in case of skin lesions. It is also used as an insecticide.
Uses:
– Cough (with yellow saliva and fever)
– Chronic cough due to tuberculosis (in combination with narrowly targeted anti-tuberculosis drugs)
– Asthma (wheezing, difficulty breathing, accumulation of mucus in the bronchi)
– Upper respiratory tract infections (with fever and cough)
– Colds (with yellow discharge)
– Chronical bronchitis
– Sinusitis
– Throat irritation
– Sore throat (infectious diseases of the throat)
– Angina (swelling or inflammation of the tonsils with redness)
– Sore throat
– Excessive thirst
– Bleeding from the nose (nosebleeds) – due to excess heat
– Angina pectoris
– Heart disease (including high blood pressure)
– Mild constipation
– Dengue fever
Cautions: Adhatoda Vasica is absolutely safe when used in recommended dosages.
Pregnancy and lactation:
Vasaka preparations were studied in rats. A leaf extract with standard Vasicine alkaloid, approximately 0.85%, was used. Adusa (Adhatoda vasica) did not induce abortion in any experiment.
However, in Western science there are no known studies proving the safety of Vasak during breastfeeding and pregnancy.
At the same time Ayurvedic medicine uses Vasaka (Adusa) during pregnancy to reduce the symptoms of nausea, vomiting, acidity along with ginger. Therefore, there is reason to argue about the safety of Adusa during pregnancy and breastfeeding for short-term use.