The Paradise sikkim

Nature has been particularly generous in her gift of sylvan treasures to the state of Sikkim. Luxuriant forest, abound in all part of state and variety of medicinal plants, herbs, shrubs, Bamboo, NTFP’s and trees growing in state is truly rich. In the forest, there are number of plants whose medicinal values have been well recognized by local people as well as by different Pharmaceutical, insecticidal and perfumery sectors. But very little efforts have been made to develop the medicinal plants and NTFP’s in the past. There are many mores such plants which have not yet been recognized and they may have some potential of medicinal values to be used in various ailments.

So, I’m here again with another blog about Sikkim’s medicinal plant.

This time we will talk about, Gobre Salla 

Abies webbiana Lindl. (Pinaceae), commonly known as Talispatra in Bengali and Hindi, Talispatram in Sanskrit and Indian Silver Fir in English, is a large, tall, evergreen tree occurring in the Himalayan region from Kashmir to Assam states in India. It is also found in Afghanistan (Hindu Kush range), Tibet (China), Nepal, in Karakoram range and Bhutan at an altitude of 2500–4000 m.

 In Ayurveda, the traditional system of Indian medicine, this plant had been described for using against swasa (chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases), kasa (cough), gulma (tumor), agnimandya (hypochlorhydria), amadosha (amoebiasis), hikka (hiccup), chhardi (vomiting), krimi (helminthiasis) and mukharoga (mouth disorders). The leaves of this plant have been traditionally used for their carminative, stomachic, expectorant, decongestant, antiseptic, astringent, antihyperglycemic, female antifertility, febrifuge and anti-spasmodic properties. The decoctions of the leaves are useful orally in cases of cough, phthisis, asthma, chronic bronchitis and catarrh of the bladder and other pulmonary infections. 

Furthermore, leaves of the plant have been used traditionally for its chemotherapeutic efficacies in several ailments like rheumatism, hoarseness, chronic bronchitis and other pulmonary affections

Previous workers reported that the crude extracts of A. webbiana leaf had antibacterial, mast cell stabilizing, anxiolytic, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, antitussive and central nervous system (CNS) depressant actions. Certain chemical constituents, mainly monoterpenes (from essential oil), flavonoids, biflavonoid glycosides, phytosterols and diterpene glycosides (taxol like compounds) were isolated from A. webbiana leaf. Anti-inflammatory effect was exhibited by -pinitol, isolated from the leaf. From previous preliminary chemical investigation by the authors, it became apparent that the leaf of A. webbiana had a multitude of constituents including alkaloids. However, no work has been reported on the isolation of any alkaloid from this plant. The present paper therefore attempts to report the isolation and molecular characterization of a new alkaloid present in the leaf of A. webbiana from India.