Homeopathy medicines from loganaceae family

Dr Sreejitha

Homoeopathic Medicines made out of Loganaceae group of plants and their preparation, properties and clinical indications

The important medicinal plants belonging to this family are:
1. Brucea antidysenterica
2. Curare
3. Gelsemium
4. Hoang-nan
5. Ignatia amara
6. Nuxvomica
7. Spigelia anthelmia
8. Spigelia marilandica
9. Upas tiente
Most of these plants are highly poisonous

Individual drug picture and clinical uses

(1) Brucea anitidysenterica
Common name – Angustura falsa
Tincture and triturations are made from the bark
Active principle – alkaloid strychnine
Clinical – Headache; Gastric complaints.

Suited to hypochondriacal persons who are gloomy and melancholic. Sad and gloomy humour on waking in the morning.
Headache with heaviness and confusion. Headache usually in the evening, after having walked long in the Sunshine Shooting in the head < by waking especially in the sun and also after eating.
Acute pains in the teeth and in the gums <on drinking cold water.
Digestion is weak. Appetite poor with Ciammy taste inside the mouth. Accumulation of saliva in the mouth forcing one to spite continually. Sensation of heat and burning in the pit of the stomach. Sensation of throbbing in the pit of the stomach and over the entire abdomen. After a meal, violent beating of heart, <of headache, rumbling in abdomen and frequent small, slimy evacuations followed by fainting compelling to lie down.
Sensation of fatigue in extremities especially in the thihgs and in the loins great weariness when walking. Disposition to stretch the limbs and to yawn.
Sleepiness especially after dinner, in the evening sleep troubled with frightful, terrifying dreams.
Fever with shivering and excessive coldness<during rest.

(2) Curare
Common name – woorare, woorali, Hoorali.
Tincture is prepared from the bark of the tree.
Active Principle – Alkaloid curarine

• It is used as an arrow poison by South American Indians. It blocks the receptors, causing a flaccid paralysis of skeletal muscles without impairing sensation and consciousness. Death occurs due to paralysis of respiratory muscles. Reflex action is diminished or abolished.
• Mentally the person is depressed. With desire to be alone. Inability to think or study. Is forgetful. Feels stupid and sleepy.
• Vertigo while standing or walking Dizziness and giddiness when looking at near objects or at water. Brain feels full of fluid. Lacinating pain all over the head. Head drawn backward with stiffness of neck. Neuralgic pain radiates to neck and face especially to right side,<from vigorous movement, mastication and coughing. Feels shattered and side of head must be held.
• Heavy eyes, ptosis of right eye and black spots before vision Lancinating pains starting from ears and reaching down legs compelling the person to lie-down.
• Facial and buccal paralysis with difficulty in swallowing. Mouth and tongue drawn to right.
• Increased thirst and appetite. Sudden hunger almost to faintness>after first mouthful of food. Great thirst esp. in evening and night. Frequent and annoying hiccough.
• In diabetes mellitus with clear and frequent urine, sugar in urine, dry mouth, great thirst and appetite, great emaciation with extreme nervous weakness and debility.
• Dyspnoea from threatened paralysis of respiration on falling asleep. Distressing dyspnoea <damp weather. <ascending Chronic cough, always dry with for soreness of chest wall cough<breathing cold air, <laughing, eating, moving.
• Paralysis of extemities complete paralysis of right deltoid. Leaden heaviness of arms. Legs trembling and give way in walking.

Fever with chill creeping up the back Chill from stomach and abdomen, spreads all over Chill without thirst.

(3) Gelsemium sem pervirens
Common name – yellow jasmine/Brignonia.
Tincture is made from the bark of the plant.
Active principle – Gelsemine (mydriatic).

Centers its action up on the nervous system producing varying degree of paresis both mental and bodily. Complete relaxation, prostration and weakness of muscular system with incor-ordination. Paralysis of various groups of muscles about the eyes, throat, larynx sphincters, extremities etc. The mental prostration is signified by examination funk, stage fright. It has many complaints brought on from emotional excitement, fright and bad news. Alcoholic stimulants relieve all complaints where gels is useful.

• Dullness of mental faculties. Desires to be quite, to be left alone. Inclination to commit suicide by throwing oneself from a height.
• Vertigo spreading from the occiput. Staggering as if intoxicated when trying to move<from smoking <by sudden movement of the head & walking.
• Sick headache beginning in the occiput pain extending over the head causing bursting pain forehead and eyeballs esp of right side, <At loam, motion, light> by compression and lying with head high, sleep and vomiting> passing of copious clear urine.The muscles of the face seem to be contracted making it difficult to speak. Numbness of tongue, feels thick making speech difficult
• Paretic condition of throat with difficult deglutition. Sensation as if a foreign body were lodged in the throat. Post diphtheritic paralysis.
• Paralysis of sphincter ani, with prolapse ani. Even soft stool in passed with difficulty.
• Paralysis of sphincter of the bladder Genitals cold and relaxed.
  Spasmodic labour pains, inefficient labour pains or none at all complete atony. os widely dilated.
• Unsteady gait. Fatigue after Slightest exercise. Trembling.
• Intermittent fever, influenza. Intense chill. Chilliness, wavelike up and down back. Prostration and muscular soreness. Thirstless.

(4) Hoang – nan

• Common name – Strychnos gaultheriana/Tropical Bind – weed.
• Tincture made from dried bark
• Active principle – strychnine and brucine contains. (Greater quantity of brucine.)
• It has great reputation as remedy for leprosy, hydrophobia, snakebites and diseases of the skin. In animals poisoned with it there is tetanic convulsions beginning in the hind legs and spreading over the rest of the body
• Indicated in exhaustion with numbness and tingling in hands and feet. Also in various skin affections such as eczema, pustules, boils, leprosy, and old ulcers useful in removing the fetor and haemorhage in cancer.
• Indicated in mental lassitude and exhaustion with numbness and tingling in hands and feet
• Skin affections such as pustular eczena, boils, carbuncles, leprosy and old ulcers.
• Useful in removing fetor and haemorrhage in cancer.

(5) Ignatia amara
Common name – St. Ignatius bean.
Tincture and trituration of seeds
Active principle – Strychnine
Seeds of Ignatia contains greater proportion of strychnine than those of Nux vomica.
Ignatia produces a marked hyperaesthesia of all senses. It is one of the cheif remedies for hysteria. Especially suited to sensitive women of nervous temparament. Rapid change of mental and physical symptoms opposite to each other. Rich in contradictory symptoms. The superficial and eratic or changeable character of its symptom is the most characteristics. Useful in complaints brought on from affects of grief and worry, shocks, disappointment, tobacco etc.

(6) Nux vomica
Common name – Poison nut
Tincture and triturations are prepared from the seeds.
Active principle – strychnine and brucine
Suitable to oversensitive persons, sensitive to all impression, – noises, ordor, light etc. leading a sedentary life and those who are subjected to a great deal of mental strain. Especially suited to digestive disturbances, portal congestion and hypochondriacal states dependent upon indulgences in wine, stimulant, allopathic drugging and other vices. Has a prominent action upon central nervous system producing convulsions with consciousness.

(7) Spigelia anthelmia
Common name – pink root
Tincture prepared from dried herb.
Tincture prepared from dried herb.

Spigelia is adapted to anaemic, scrofulous subjects of a rheumatic diathesis.
Sadness and discouragement to the extent of suicidal mania. Afraid of pointed things, pins etc.
Periodic neuralgic headache, left sided <every jar, step, even straining at stool, from opening mouth.<suddenly turning the head. >rest, lying with head high and washing head with cold water.
Neuralgia of fifth cranial nerve; left sided ciliary neuralgia. Eyeballs feel too large<on moving them. Convergent squint prosopalgia left sided. Cannot bear slightest touch and motion. Periodical neuralgia from morning until sunset.
Tooth ache unbearable at night.
<cold water, open air, lying on right side
>by tobacco smoke, warmth of bed, while eating.
Excellent remedy for worm affections esp. round worms.
Rheumatic aflections of heart. pericarditis violent palpitations. Noise in chest, like that made by a spinning wheel. Organic affections of heart with rubbing, bellows sounds Stitches in heart synchronous with pulse<curving the chest forward and by sitting down.
Exopthalmic goiter with cardiac complications.

8) Spigelia marilandica

• Common name – worm grass
• Tincture – from root.
• Has a predominant action on central nervous system. It produces complete mental derangement. There will be fits of laughing and cryings, running and skipping about, wild and incoherent talk, wild, staring expression with strabismus of right eye and dilated pupil. Face will be flushed.
• Drowsiness, on attempting erect position, the patient is seized with general tremor lasting a few seconds & leaving the patient exhausted.

(9) Upas tiente
Common name – upas tree
Tincture prepared from Juice of root and bark
It is used as an arrow poison and produces tonic spasms, tetatanus and asphyxia.

• Mentally the patients are depressed and melancholic. Cold and repelling to friends Irritable and quarrelsome.
• Severe neuralgic sharp shooting pain over the forehead, temple and eye especially of left side. Parts are painful and hot to touch >open air.
• Eyes are weak as after sexual excess lids so heavy that they close involuntarily as if from irresistible drowsiness.
• Coryza with nostrils stopped up, changing every few minute, preventing sleep. smell of manure in nose.
• Painful deglutition, pain as from splinter in left side of throat making deglutition painful, as if food were prevented passing in to stomach by foreign body in oesophagus. Swallowing of fluids becomes difficult.
• Appetite totally lost Aversion to all food especially meat and eggs, the mere thought of which causes nausea. Eructation tasting of ingesta all day. Flatulency sharp colic in return>passing fetid flatus .
• Pain in the region of right kidney, during the night. Frequent urging to urinate with burning in urethra. Urine scanty and dark.
• Sexual functions are diminished coition painful and followed by great depression.
• Hangnails, itching and redness of roots of nails.
• Clonic spasms of muscle, of nape of neck or extremities; frequently repeated on the slightest irritation. Muscles relaxed completely in between.
  Fever with chilliness shivering along spine and both arms. Drawinsess.

General features
1.Over sensitiveness:-

• Nuxvomica :- Over impressionable and sensitive to all external impression-cannot bear odors, noises, light, draught, air etc. Even harmless words offend.
• GELSEMIUM: Very sensitive to external impressions. Excitement, shocks, fright, unusal ordeals etc bring about bodily ailments.
• Ignatia:- Hyperaesthesia of all senses.
• Spigelia:- Very sensitive to touch. Parts touched feels chilly; send shudder through out body. Sensitive to cold, wet stormy weather.
• Upas:- Increased sensitiveness to cold.

2. Depression of mind and great irritability:

• Gelsemium:- Extremely nervous and irritable. Every exciting news causes diarrhoea. Desires to be let alone, does not wish to be spoken to yet there is dread of being alone. Suicidal inclination wants to throw oneself from a height.
• Spigelia Marilandica:- Maniacal excitement with running and skipping, paroxysmal laughing and crying, loud and incoherent talk.
• Curare:- Depression with inabilityto think or study. Very indolent and sleepy Patient desires to be let alone.
• Upas:- Depression and melancholy. Irritability, moroseness and crossness very cold to friends.
• Spigelia anthelmia:- Sadness and discouragement to the extent of suicidal mania. Afraid of pointed things, pins etc.
• Ignatia:- Hysterical temperament predominates, melancholic with love of solitude. Changeable disposition. Alternation of foolish gaietyand tearful sadness.
• Nux Vomica: Oversensitive and hypochondriacal. Even harmless words offend. Suicidal thoughts but is afraid to die. Impulsive with insane desire to kill her husband whom she adores. Spitefull and malicious disposition. Quarrelsome, even to violence.
• Brucea:- Gloomy, melancholic, tanciturn and hypochondriacal. Sad and gloomy humour on waking in the morning

3. Paralystic action:

• Many medicines of this family has prominent action upon spinal cord. They act as depressants and has a paralysing action upon motor nerves with sparing of sensations.
• Gelsemium:- Acts on the anterior column of spinal cord producing muscular paresis. Extreme muscular weakness, prostration and inco-ordination. Paralysis of muscles of different parts of the-body of third nerve causing ptosis, diplopia, dimvision and strabismus of muscle, around mouth and pharynx causing difficulty in speech and swallowing, of larynx causing hoarseness of voice and aphonia, of extremities causing locomtor ataxia, of heart produces of sensation as if it will cease to beat if he didn’t more. In cases of poisoning, death occurs due to respiratoryparalysis from depression respiratory centre.
• Curare:- Produces motor nerve paralysis but sensations are spared. Paralysis of various parts. In eyes it produces ptosis, in face – facial and buccal paralysis with deviation to the right. Paralysis of extremities with numbness tingling and leaden heaviness.
• Upas:- Ptosis, eyelids heavy, close involuntarily from irresistible drowsiness Eyes weak as after sexual excess.
• Spigelia anthelmia:- Acronarcotic producing numbness of hands and feet. Squint from worm affections.

4. Spasmodic Affection:

• Most of them are useful in spasms convulsion, tetanus with lock jaw, chorea etc.
• Curare: Epilepsy, catalepsy There is immobility with fixed gaze on waking.
• GELSEMIUM: Convulsions occurring in children and young people of nervous excitable nature. Useful in infantile spasms where there in incessant quivering of the chin.
• Upas: Tonic-clonic spasms, tetanus, violent stitches in extensors with sudden jerking of whole body followed by clonic spasms of muscles of nape of neck and extremities. Attacks repeated spontaneously on slightest irritation. Muscle completely relaxed in between the attacks and there is great weakness after paroxysm.
• Ignatia: Hysterical spasms and convulsion especially after fright, worry, grief and also associated with difficult dentition. Epileptic convulsions with foam at mouth. Face red or alternately pale and red.
• Nux vomica: Excitability of whole nervous system with great over sensitiveness to all external impressions. Every distressing emotion brings recurrent epileptic fits. Convulsions with consciousness spasms with tetanic rigidity of nearly all muscles of the body. In between the attacks the muscles are relaxed.

5. Neuralgic Pain

• Gelsemium: Orbital neuralgia in distinct paroxysms. with intense pain over the right eye. Bruised feeling in eyes Dim vision, diplopia, ptosis and aversion to light.
• Curare: Sharp, stitching pain over right eye with ptosis and black spots before vision. Unbearable earache. With lancinating pain starting from ears and extending down to legs.
• Spigelia: Facial neuralgia-left sided involving eye, zygoma, cheek, teeth & temple cannot bear slightest touch or movement with shining swelling of affected side<from morning until sunset <motion,noise, steping etc.
• Ciliary neuralgla involving left eye. Eye feel to large with severe pressing pain on turning them. Weakness of eye with ptosis redness and photophobia.
• Spigelia marilandica: Pain in and around the right eye with sensation of stiffness of eyelids strabismus of right eye with wild staring look.
• Nuxvomica: Infra orbital neuralgia. with watering of eyes, orbital twitching <in morning> by lying in bed.

6. Fever with predominance of chill state

• Brucea: Chill every other day with shaking yawning and stretching with cold feet.
• Curare: Chill from stomach, on abdomen, chill creeping up the back and spreading all over chill without thirst.
• Nuxromica: Cold stage predominates must be covered in all stages of fever. Excessive rigor with blueness of fingernails. Burning heat of body especially of face. Yet cannot move or uncover without feeling chilly.
• Ignacia: Chill with thirst, not relieved by external heat. During fever, itching, nettle rash all over the body.
• Gelsemium: Influenza. Chillness so severe that the patient wants to be held, chill, wavelike up and down the back. Thirstless. Heat and sweat stage prolonged and exhausting. Face flushed with a besotted look and apathy regarding his illness.
• Upas: Feels chilly very easily. Shivering along spine and both arms.

7. Tobacco aggravation

• Gels: Tobacco smoking causes occipital headache. Indicated in nervous affections of cigar makers.
• Ignatia: Cannot bear tobacco in any form. Toothache and congestive headache aggravated after smoking.
• Nuxvomica: Gastric disturbances from tobacco.
• Spigelia: Toothache from smoking. Repugnance to tobacco smoke and snuff.

8. Aggravation of complaints from coffee

• Ignatia: <from coffee
• Nuxvomica: Dyspepsia from drinking strong coffee.
• Spigelia: Disike for Coffee.
• An exception is Geisemium which has > from alcoholic stimulants.

9. Genarel aggravation during summer season

• Brucea: Headache in the evening, after having walked long in sun
• Gelsemium: General depression from heat of sun. Occipital headache. spreading all over with dim vision and dizziness.
• Spigelia: Headache increasing and decreasing with the sun.
• Nuxvomica: Headache aggravated from sunshine.

10. Aggravation from change of weather

• Gelsemium: Complaints from sudden change from hot or dry to damp weather<damp, cold atmosphere.
• Spigelia: Sensitive to wet, stormy weather.
• Nuxvomica: Though sensitive to cold the general< in dry weather> in wet weather.

11. Action on cardiovascular system:

• Gelemium: Irregular beating of heart; sensation as if unless on the , go the heart will stop beating. A feeling as if it were necessary to keep in motion or else hearts action would cease to beat. Pulse soft, feeble and slow but greatly accelerated on motion.
• Spigelia anthelmia: Rheumatic carditis – pericarditis with sticking pain, palpitation and dyspnoea aggravated from movement. Angina pectoris with neuralgia extending to arms, craving for hot water which>. Dyspnoea must lie on right side with head high ,pulse weak and irregular.
• Ignatia: Cardiac hyperaesthesia, palpitation<at night and during repose.
• Nuxvomica: Palpitation<after eating, from coffee, from overexertion associated with nausea and heainess in chest.
• Upas: Severe palpitalion <after going to bed. Pulse frequent, weak and small.

12. Action upon urinary organs

• Gelsemium: Partial paralysis of bladder with retention or intermittent flow. Incontinence of nervous children profuse, clear, watery urine along with headache which> the headache.
• Nuxvomica: Irritable bladder from spasmodic sphincter. Ineffectual urging and strangury. Frequent calls, passes little and often. Renal colic with haematuria and pain extending to genitals.
• Curare: Diabetes mellitus Urine clear, frequent and contains sugar. Great emaciation, dryness of mouth and thirst during evening and night crampy pain in kidneys.
• Upas: Pain in right kidney at night. Frequent urging to urinate with burning in urethra at 8.a.m urine scanty, dark brown in colour and evacuated with great effort.

13. Action on genitalia

• Gelsemium: Dsymenorrhoea with scanty flow. Aphonia and sorethroat during menses.
• In males, genital, are‘cold and relaxed. Spermatorrhoea without erection.
• Curare: Dsymenorrhoca. Menses too early. Thick, purulent and offensive leucorrhoca.
• Ignatia: Menses black scanty or too profuse, tooearly. Suppression of menses from grief.
• Nuxvomica: Irregular menses. Too early and too long lasting. Dark blood. Dsymenorrhoea with constant urging to stool. Inefficient labour pains with frequent urging for stool and frequent urination.
• In males, impotence from sexual excess.

14. Action on digestive organs:
Gelsemium: Gastric upset from fever, sudden emotions, fright, grief, bad news, anticipation of any unusual ordeal etc. Stool loose, yellow or cream coloured. Paralysis of sphincter ani with disposition to prolapse ani.
Upas: Total loss of appetite with aversion to all food especially meat and egg. Eructation tasting of ingesta all day along.
Curare: Empty gone feeling in stomach Frequent and annoying hiccough.
Spigelia anthelmia: Inability to bear tight clothing around umbilicus. Least contact causes anguish with redness and heat of face.Hard and difficult evacuation with frequent ineffectual urging. Itching and crawling in rectum due to worm trouble.
Ignatia: All gone feeling in stomach Sinking in stomach > by taking a deep breath. Hiccough always after eating and drinking, from smoking and emotional disturbances. Aversion to ordinary diet with longing for great variety of indigestible articles. Haemorihoids with pain, haemorr hage and prolapse. Pain <during cough Pain and worse haemorrhage worse when stool is loose. Diarrhoea from fright.
Nuxvomica: Weight and pain in stomach.painful sensitiveness to least pressure. Tight clothes are insupportable. Liver engorged with stitches and soreness from alcohic excess. constipation with ineffectual urging constipation
and bleeding piles from abuse of allopothic drugs and other stimulants. Nausea and vomiting every morning with depression of spirits.

Dr.Sreejitha BHMS,MD(Hom)
Govt. Homeopathic Medical College. Calicut,Kerala