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Indo-Global Research Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

July-Sept 2013 | Vol. 3 |Issue.3
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Review Article ISSN: 2249-4189

NERVILIA ARAGOANA GAUD, A TERRESTRIAL ORCHID

ELIZABETH THOMAS1, ANEESH T. P1, DELLA GRACE THOMAS2

1 Amrita School of Pharmacy, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University, AIMS Health Sciences Campus, Kochi, Kerala, India.
2 Triveni Institute of Pharmacy, Kechery, Thrissur
Email: aneeshtp@aims.amrita.edu

ABSTRACT
Medicinal plants have had a crucial role in human culture and civilization. Plants have been directly used as medicines by a majority of cultures
around the world. Many of the modern medicines are produced indirectly from medicinal plants. Nervilia aragoana Gaudichaud, a terrestrial
orchid belongs to the family Orchidaceae is an important medicinal plant used among the tribes of India. N. aragoana is found mainly in hilly
areas especially the monsoonal rain forests of India. The parts of the plant mainly used are underground rhizome and leaf. The plant contains
alkaloids, flavonoids, triterpenoids, mineral elements, amino acids. Tubers and leaves are the official parts used as drug. T he plant is cooling,
diuretic and tonic, useful in uropathy, lithiasis, colic, agalactia, mental instability, haemoptysis etc. The tuber is used as a medicine for the
treatment of epilepsy, in urinary complaints, diarrhoea and asthma.

Key words: Nervilia aragoana, medicinal plants, Orchidaceae, traditional medicine

INTRODUCTION
Man has the knowledge about the plants and their medicinal So the plant is mainly found in India, Malaysia, northern Thailand,
properties from ancient period itself. Medicinal plants have Laos, Burma, Indonesia and New Guinea [7]. It is a well-known
played a major and important role in the development of human herb in the traditional medicine and has been used to treat
culture also. Even the higher mammals are well aware of some urinary complaints, mental instability, epileptic fits, diarrhoea,
curative purpose of the medicinal plants. India is a country asthma, cough, vomiting [8]. The plant consists of flavanoids,
known for numerous varieties of species of medicinal plants and cyanogenic glycosides, tannins, alkaloids, flavanoids, steroids/
is used by a major percent of world’s population. These are used triterpenoids [5, 6, 9]. Figure 1. shows the plant N. aragoana, the
not only in developing countries but also in the developed figure 2. shows the underground rhizome of the plant and the
countries where most modern medicines are used. India is figure 3. shows the flower of the plant.
blessed with the ancient medical system called Ayurveda and also
with very valuable books like Charaka samhita, Sushruta samhita,
Ashtanga Hridayam, Ashtanga Sangraha etc [1]. Plants can be
directly used as medicine and also many of the modern medicines
are produced indirectly from medicinal plants. Due to the
increase in awareness of the side effects adverse drug reactions
and the cost factor of modern system of medicine the interest in
traditional medicine have been increased.

N. aragoana GAUD is a terrestrial orchid belongs to the family

Orchidaceae. The parts of the plant mainly used are underground
rhizome and leaf [2]. The French botanist Charles Gaudichaud Figure 1. The plant Nervilia aragoana
Beaupre (1789-1854) gave the plant the name N. aragoana in
1829 [3]. The Orchidaceae family is considered to be the most
evolved species and the largest and highly advanced botanical
family in higher plants [4]. It is a widely distributed
monocotyledonous family with a large number of terrestrial,
saprophytic and epiphytic species. The family comprises more
than 30,000 species. About 1300 species with 140 genera of
orchid species are found in India [5].

N. aragoana is a terrestrial orchid found mainly in hilly humid

shady areas of dense forests in India [2, 6]. It is mostly found in
the forest areas of Darjeeling Himalaya growing at elevations of
Figure 2. The rhizome of Nervilia aragoana
400-1000 m [4]. It is also reported to be found in McIlwraith
Range in Queensland, Australia, from 0–150 metres altitude.

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SYNONYMS OF N.ARAGOANA [10, 11, 12, 13] cm. It is broadly ovate to orbicular, and is 15-18 nerved [9].
Aplostellis aragoana (Gaudichaud-Beaupré) Ridley Inflorescence is few to many flowered and is about 30 cm tall. It
Aplostellis flabelliformis (Lindley) Ridley has an average of 5 flowers [9, 20]. Flowers are attractive
Epipactis carinata Roxburgh yellowish green in colour, drooping, shortly and pedicelate [9].
Nervilia carinata (Roxburgh) Schlechter Bracts are small, decurved, linear and lanceolate [9, 17]. The
Nervilia flabelliformis (Lindley) Tang & Wang sepals are oblanceolate, subacute, spread widely and lanceolate
Nervilia scottii (Reichenbach f.) Schlechter and have 20-25 mm length, 2-4 mm width [9, 11, 17]. Petals are
Nervilia tibetensis Rolfe similar to sepals and are narrowed down to the base and have
Nervilia yaeyamensis Hayata about 18-24 mm length, 2-2.5 mm width [17, 9]. The lip is white
Pogonia carinata (Roxburgh) Lindley or yellowish white with purplish lines and is narrowed, three
lobed and incurved at base. When expanded it has 15-18 mm
Pogonia gracilis Blume; Pogonia flabelliformis Lindley
length, 8-10 mm width near the middle, side lobes are triangular
Pogonia nervilia Blume
and has 3 mm length, midlobe is ovate to ovate-triangular having
Pogonia scottii Reichenbach f.
6-8 mm length [17, 6, 21]. The anther is short and cucullate and is
1.8- 2 mm tall. The stigma is semiorbicular and concave. Leaf
Table 1 : Common names of N. aragoana in Indian languages
appears usually after the withering of inflorescence [9]. Ovary 2-5
are as follows [12, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18]
mm long, drooping, winged on ridges. Reproduction is usually by
vegetative manner, through underground stolons [2].
LANGUAGE COMMON NAME
Sanskrit Padmacharini / Padmacarini

Hindi Sthalapadma, Sthalakamal

Tall Shield Orchid, Aragoa like Nervilia,

English One Leaf Orchid

Orilathamarai
Tamil
Malayalam Orilathamara, Kalthamara, Nilathamara

Table 2. Classification [10, 12, 13]

KINGDOM PLANTAE Figure 3. The flower of Nervilia aragoana

Division Angiospermae PHARMACOANATOMY

Root
Class Monocotyledoneae The primary vascular structure of the root is pentarch. A
Order Asparagales comparatively large pith is present. Large cells are packed in a
single layer which constitutes Epiblema and the cortex is
Family Orchidaceae parenchymatous in which large cells are present and with small
intercellular spaces [9].
Subfamily Epidendroideae
Tuber
Tribe Gastrodieae Epidermis is single layered which is characterised by thin cuticle
Sub tribe Nervilliinae and unicellular trichomes. The ground tissue is parenchymatous
which is characterized by thin walled polygonal cells, harbouring
Genus Nervilia microbial colonies. A few small and scattered vascular bundles
are present [9].
Species aragoana GAUD
Phytochemical Screening
Bhogaonkar et al reported the phytochemical profile of N.
Table 3. Ayurvedic Medicinal Properties [2] aragoana by using the common identification tests. From the
phytochemical studies it is relieved that the plant N. aragoana
Rasa Tikta, Katu contains alkaloids, flavonoids, triterpenoids, mineral elements,
amino acids. The leaf of the plant is reported to contain
Guna Lakhu flavonoids, cyanogenic glycosides, terpenoids and tannins [9, 5].

Virya Seeta Beena and Radhakrishnan also have reported various TLC
fingerprints developed by the methanolic extract of N. aragoana
by trying different mobile system combinations and spray
reagents. The same paper also reported the Phytochemical
MORPHOLOGY analysis of aqueous extract of rhizome and leaves by different
N. aragoana is a herb which grows up to 15 cm in height [2]. The chemical tests. Analysis of aqueous rhizome extract showed the
plant is perennating by underground subglobose white tubers presence of flavanoids, glycosides, sterols and tannins. And the
with 2-3 cm diameter and 3-4 noded [8, 17]. Leaf is single, analysis of aqueous leaf extract showed the presence of
petiolate, appearing after flowers, with chordate base and wavy flavanoids, glycosides and tannins. They also reported presence
margins [2, 9, 19]. Leaf is usually 6-15 cm long, more or less of alkaloids by phytochemical analysis. The fluorescent studies of
rounded, apiculate at apex and cordate at base [17]. Leaves are the aqueous extract revealed the presence of chromophore
bright green in colour with prominent radiating veins [11]. constituents. And also they reported a specific TLC fingerprint
Petiole is long having 8-20 cm length [17]. Lamina is 9-12 × 8-11 with seven characteristic bands with fluorescence [22].

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 CH3
Tohru et al have reported different fatty acids in various extracts
of the dried whole plant. The ether extract of the whole plant was CH3
analyzed by GC-MS after methylation and reported to contain H3C
fatty acids such as methyl palmitate, methyl lenolate and methyl H
lenolinate. The neutral fraction of ethereal extract was reported CH3 CH3
to contain phytol, a mixed glyceride, two crystalline substances
which constitute a mixture of triterpene alcohols. This mixture CH3
was identified to contain cycloeucalenol acetate,
dihydrocyclonervilol acetate, dihydrocycloeucalenol acetate
(after acetylation) and two triterpenes cyclonervilol and
cyclohomonervilol by GC-MS analysis [23]. The plant is also HO
reported to contain 24- Isopropenyl cholesterol [24]. The
methanolic extract was reported to contain a large amount of Stigmasterol
precipitate L-norleucine by direct comparison with an authentic
sample by means of amino acid analysis. The soluble fraction of
methanolic extract was reported to contain the same as that of USES
ethereal extract [23]. The plant N. aragoana has got many uses in traditional medicine
and also in folk medicine. Tubers and leaves are the official parts
The chemical structures of the identified constituents present in used as drug [2]. The plant is cooling, diuretic and tonic; useful in
extracts of N. aragoana reported by Tohru Kikuchi is given below uropathy, lithiasis, colic, agalactia, mental instability,
[23]: haemoptysis etc [9]. The tuber is used as a medicine for the
treatment of epilepsy, in urinary complaints, diarrhoea and
CH3 (CH2)3 (CH2 CH=CH)2 (CH2)7 COOCH3 asthma [2, 22]. The fresh tuber which is cleaned properly is
Methyl linolate believed to control hunger and thirst [9, 25]. The plant is also
used for vata, pitta, mental disease, hemiplegia, cough and
vomiting [2].
CH3 (CH2CH=CH)3 CH7 COOCH3
Methyl linolenate This plant is being used as a medicine among many tribes of
India. The tribals have developed their own pharmacopoeia of
their traditional knowledge about the medicinal uses of plants by
CH3 CH3 CH3 CH3 trial and error method. The plant is being used by the Bhilla tribe
of Maharashtra. The tuber paste is applied on forehead till relief
during headache [26]. It is reported that the tubers of the plant
are being used for the treatment of blood dysentery by the tribal
rehabitants of Amarkantak plateau, Madhya Pradesh, India. For
the treatment of blood dysentery the tribal people are using the
tuber of the plant N. aragoana and are reported to be
H3C OH
administered as paste which is mixed with 5 ml honey and taken
orally twice a day for five days [27]. The leaves of the plant can be
Phytol used as a protective medicine after child birth [25, 22, 28]. The
decoction of the leaves of this plant is used as a tonic for women
and the tuber is used as a galactogogue [9].
CH2
Antioxidant Activity
CH3
H3C It has been found that the ethyl acetate extract of the whole plant
N. aragoana exhibits good antioxidant activity. The antioxidant
CH3 activity was evaluated by TLC-DPPH method assay and also DPPH
CH3
radical, superoxide, nitric oxide, H2O2 scavenging, and reducing
power activities were carried out. The acute toxicity studies were
CH3 carried out using albino rats and have shown no morality rate.
CH3 Total phenols were reported to be 340 mg/g extract of Gallic acid
O
equivalents [29].
O
CH3 Antifungal Activity
Ethyl acetate extract of the whole plant N. aragoana was reported
Cycloeucalenol acetate to produce good anti fungal activity. The minimum inhibitory
concentration is reported as Saccharomyces cerevisiae (1.4
CH3 mg/mL) > Aspergillus niger (1.2 mg/mL) > Aspergillus fumigatus
H3C
CH3
(0.95 mg/mL) > Cryptococcus neoformans (0.75 mg/mL) [29].
CH3 CH3 CONCLUSION
N. aragoana is a beautiful and interesting terrestrial orchid found
CH3
in the monsoon tropical forests in India. It is a plant which is
H3C nearly jeopardised in many states in Kerala. And is also restricted
O the exporting of plant by the Government of India. So it is very
CH3
important to protect the plant within its nstural environment. N.
aragoana consists of alkaloids, flavonoids, triterpenoids, mineral
Dihydroeucalenol acetate elements, amino acids glycosides tannins etc. The plant is used as

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