Langali (Gloriosa superba) Linn. and its therapeutic importance in Ayurveda - a review

Abstract

Langali, a drug of herbal origin, has been used by the Ayurvedic physicians, for the management of different disease conditions. The botanical source of the plant is Gloriosa superba Linn. of the family liliaceae. It is a climber with very attractive or glorious flowers hence the name as such. The drug langali, has been categorized as one of the nine upavishas (semipoisonous) of Ayurvedic pharmacopoeias. In this article an attempt has been made to collect the information related to langali from six samhitas, seven samgraha grantha, seven nighantu and five other texts. It is observed that the drug is  used in 158 formulations, which are effective in more than 30 disease conditions among which aparapatana (removal of placenta), mudhagarbha (dead foetus), vrana (wound), agnimandya (loss of appetite), jvara (fever), grahani (Irritable bowel syndrome), kasa (cough), hikka (hiccough), kushtha (leprosy), shvitra (leucoderma), visarpa (erysipelas), arsha (piles) etc. Useful part of the plant is root with a dose of 125 - 250 mg and should be administered internally after passing through various shodhana procedures. It is used in various dosage forms such as svarasa, kvatha, lepa, varti, avaleha, taila, rasa, vati, kshara, modaka, ghruta, loha, rasakriya, churna, dhupa, nasya and udvartana.