Question

The sarpagandha tree is used for which medical utility?
A) Gas and cough impurities
B) In high blood pressure
C) For heart disease
D) For skin disease

Answer 1

Hint:
Medicinal herbs or medicinal plants are those that have medicinal properties and their extracts can be used for the treatment of different diseases that can relate to different parts of the body.

Complete Step by Step Answer:
The scientific name of Sarpagandha is Rauwolfia serpentina and it is an important herb that has been used for ayurvedic and folk medicines since ages. It is a small, green, perennial, shrub that grows upto a height of 15-45 cm in the hot and humid climate within a temperature range of 10-38. It usually grows in areas that receive good monsoon rains.
The medicinal properties of the plants can be listed as follows:
The herb reduces blood pressure as it is a vasodilator.
Sarpagandha is useful against excess brain activity such as anxiety and tension.
It is also known to have been useful for gut-motility disorders.
This plant has also shown to have been active against prostate cancer.

Hence the correct answer is option B, high blood pressure.

Note:
Sarpagandha is known to lower blood pressure in different ways. Firstly it dilates the blood vessels. Secondly, reserpine, an alkaloid present in the herb is known to control brain activities which are responsible for controlling blood pressure. It also affects the activities of the autonomic nervous system by inhibiting the sympathetic nervous activities and stimulating parasympathetic activity.