Dear David,
I"m not sure if you're read Dr. Sarosh Wadia's experience with
Vitiligo. IT is very informative. The boook costs less than a dollar
from Bjain publishers.
Apart from Ars Sulph Flavum, he suggested the use of
Psoralea (Psoralea Corylifolia) family of remedies.
The remedy is used in herbal form in Ayurveda, apparently, for
Vitiligo/Leprosy. SO he made use of this remedy as homeopathic
speicifics. HEre is some information from Reference Works - from Ghose
HOpe this is useful.
Leela
(Babchi)
Common Names - SANSKRIT - Vakuchi; BENGALI - Late Kasturi,
Bavachi; HINDI - Babachi, Babachi; BOIMBAY - Bawachi; TAMIL - Karpo -
Karishi; TELUGU - Karu - bogi.
Natural Order - Leguminosae.
Psorales corylifolia is a common herbaceous weed which grows
throughout the whole length and breadth of the plains of India. the
seeds of this plant have been in use in the Hindu Medicine for a long
time. they are brownish black in colour, about 2mm. long and are
oblong and flattened. They are hard but not brittle, have a soft skin,
an agreeable aromatic odour and a pungent bitterish taste. No oil can
be expelled from the seeds even under high pressure. a good quality of
the seed is produced in Rajputana which can be bought in the market at
Rs. 15/ - to Rs. 20/ - per mound.
The seeds have been described by the ancient Hindu physicians as
hot and dry and according to some, cold and dry, laxative, fragrant,
stimulant and aphrodisiac. They have been specially recommended in
leprosy internally and are also applied in the form of paste or
ointment externally. the drug has been considered to be so efficacious
in this disease that it was given the name of Kusthanatism (leprosy
destroyer). In inflammatory diseases of the skin, leucoderma and
psoriasis it is given both as a local application and by the mouth.
The seeds are also used as an enthelmintic, diuretic and diaphoretic
in febrile conditions. Several species of Psoralea grow in America and
are used medicinally in that country as a stimulant and as nerves tonic.
Chemical Composition - Dymock in his Pharmacographia Indica
states that the seeds contain a colourless oil, 13.2 per cent of
extractive matter, albumen, sugar, ash 7.4 per cent and a trace of
manganese. Very little work was done on this drug until recently, when
Senbb, Chatterjee and Datta (1923) made a thorough examination of the
seeds. These authors found that the seeds contained - (1) an
unsaponifiable oil having the formula C17H24O boiling between 180 C,
and 190C, 11 to 15 mm; (2) a yellow acid substance C40H45O10 from the
alcoholic extract, (3) a methyl glucoside having a melting point of
105C. to 107C. containing four (OH) groups. They found the
unsaponified oil to be pharmacologically active and they used it with
success in cases of leucoderma and psoriasis. they did not, however,
study the essential oil present in the seeds, which was associated
with the unsaponifiable oil.
Chopra and Chatterjee (1927) studied the chemistry of the seeds.
the chief active principle is an essential oil. A fixed oil, a resin,
a traces of a substance of alkaloidal nature are also present. The
essential oil was more closely studied by these workers.
The crushed seeds were distilled in stream and the distillate
collected. the distillate was saturated with common salt when most of
the oil floated at the top and was repeatedly extracted with ether.
the ethereal extracts were collected and dried with anhydrous sodium
sulphate. On slowly evaporating the solvent a straw - coloured
essential oil having the characteristic odour of the seeds was
obtained, the yield being 0.05 per cent.
The following constants were determined: Sp. gr. at 25, 0.9072 l
refractive index 1.5025; solubility in water at 25 about 0.0197 per
cent. It was found to be optically inactive.
The essential oil when stored in a sealed tube remained unchanged
for a considerable period; the colour, however, gradually turned to a
deep brown. When placed in a desiccator over calcium chloride or
exposed to air, it crystalised in needles, probably on account of
oxidation of some of its constituents. The crystals had a sharp
cooling taste; they melted sharply at 126C. If the temperature was
further raised to 330C, they slowly turned black, showing the
decomposition of the substance at a high temperature. On cooling it
was found that well - defined needle - shaped crystalline sublimate
had deposited on the cooler parts. As the quantity of the essential
oil or our disposal was very small, it could not he fractioned in
vacus to study its constituents.
Preparation of the Oleo - resinous Extract for clinical Trials:
One pound of the powdered seed was thoroughly mixed with 1 ib. of
olive oil and the mixture was kept overnight. Next day, it was
transferred into a tincture press and the oil was expressed. About
half a pound of oil was collected and filtered through cotton wool.
the oil was diluted with fresh olive oil according to requirements.
Pharmacological Action of the Essential Oil - The oil has an
irritant effect on the skin and mucous membrane. Its action on
undifferentiated protoplasm such as paramoccium is quite marked. In 1
in 50,000 dilution of the essential oil, the paramoecis remain acute
and active for 15 minutes; after 25 minutes the movements are somewhat
slowed and some die in 40 to 45 minutes. In I in 10,000 dilution these
organisms are killed in 10 minutes. the essential oil shows a
selective activity against the skin streptococci and this in all
probability accounts for its extensive use by the Hindu physicians in
skin affections. Dilutions of 1 in 10,000 kill streptococci in 10
minutes. Against B. typhosus ((Calcutta strain) the essential oil has
no activity at all and there was growth of these bacilli in all
concentrations. The action of the essential oil on the cholera vibrio
and B.. typhosus. The following table gives the relative effects of
1.0 per cent phenol and different dilutions of the babchi essential
oil on the skin streptococci:
On voluntary muscle, the essential oil in high dilutions (1 in
50,000 to 100,000) has a distinct stimulant action. the tone of the
isolated uterus of the guinea pig or cat is decidedly increased and
the uterus may show a tonic contraction. Perfused, isolated pieces of
intestine are similarly affected and the peristaltic movements are
increased. Saturated solutions of the oil injected intravenously have
no effect on the blood - pressure. the isolated mammalian heart shows
neither stimulation nor depression. On perfusion with 1 in 5000
solution of the oil there is well - marked contraction of the
arterioles in a frog. the respiration is not affected.
Therapeutic Uses - Psoraralea corylifolia is a very ancient
remedy for leucoderma; it has been tried extensively not only by the
practitioners of the Hindu medicine but also by the followers of the
Western system. K. L. Dey strongly recommended an oleo - resinous
extract and he described the effects as follows: "After application
for some days the white patches appear to become red or vascular;
sometimes a slightly painful sensation is felt. Occasionally, small
vesicles or pimples appear and if these be allowed to remain
undisturbed, they dry up, leaving a dark spot of pigmentary matter,
which forms as it were nucleus. From this point as well as from the
margin of the patch, pigmentary matters gradually develop, which
ultimately coalesce with each other and thus the whole patch
disappears. It is also remarkable that the appearance of fresh patches
is arrested by its application." Other observation have not obtained
such good results.
Action (1926) tested a number of preparations made from Psoralea
corylifolia seeds in various skin affections at the Skin Out - patient
Department, Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine, 1 in 10,000 to 1 in
20,000 solutions of the pure essential oil were tried in some cases of
acute streptococcal dermatitis, but unfortunately they set up much
irritation and made the condition worse. A 20 per cent solution of the
purified resin in alcohol was quite ineffective in leucoderma. a 1.0
per cent solution of the essential oil in alcohol was also
unsatisfactory. The oleo - resinous extract made from the seeds was
found to be the most suitable preparation; this contains most of the
essential oil present in the seeds. This oil was applied locally to
leucodermic patches by gently rubbing once or twice daily. Patients
suffering from leucoderma are divided into two groups:
(1) The primary group: These patients do not suffer from any
other skin disease. They are sub - divided into (a) those of
syphilitic origin and (b) those of non - syphilitic origin. Some of
them suffer from E. histolytica infection and other affections of the
gastro - intestinal tract, others are free from it.
(2) The secondary group: This includes cases which are associated
with other diseases of the skin, such as ringworm, seborrhoeic
dermatitis, etc.
The oleo - resinous extract has been tried in a very large number
of cases of leucoderma of both groups, but its beneficial effects are
observed only in the non - syphilitic groups.
In the syphilitic cases it had no effect, because here in all
probability the melanoblasts are killed, as they are not visible in
the histological preparations. the effect of the essential oil is
purely local. The Hindu physicians give the powdered babchi seeds by
the mouth but this method was not tried in the treatment of
leucoderma. the beneficial effects may be due to - (1) absorption and
excretion of the oil through the skin where it produces its specific
action, (2) stimulant action on the intestinal mucosa which may cause
increased absorption of amino - acids concerned in pigment formation,
or (3) antiseptic action in the gastro intestinal tract, but this is
not borne out by our experiments. the effect of the essential oil is
purely local and, therefore, any existing concurrent affections of the
gut such as infection with E. histolytica should be treated at the
same time. the action of the oil on the skin appears to be specific.
Krogh has demonstrated that Rouget's cells lie round the capillaries.
The dnrothelium of the capillaries by itself has no contractile power
and any increase or diminution in the size of these vessels is brought
about through the agency of the processes of Rouget's cells. In the
skin the melanoblasts or pigment - producing cells lie in the vicinity
of Rouget's Cells. when the capillaries dilate Rouget's cells also
increase in size and the melanoblasts relax at the same time. During
relation of the melanoblasts their processes are extended and they
exude the pigment melanin. the main action of the essential oil
appears to be on the arterioles in the subcapillary plexuses causing
dilation and increase of plasma in this area so that the skin becomes
red and the melanoblasts are stimulated. The action on the capillaries
in the papillae is usually very slight in most individuals so that
there is no edema of the prickle cells layer (parokeratosis) and there
is no desquamation of the epithelium.
The essential oil, however, varies enormously in it effects on
different persons. With the majority (95 per cent) it causes only
redness of the leucodermic patches but in a small number (5 per cent)
there is extreme sensitiveness to the oil, so much so that blistering
may be produced. this indicates that not only is dilatation of the
blood vessels produced, but at the same time the permeability of the
capillary tufts is markedly increased so that fluid accumulates and
blisters form between the prickle cells and the capillary layer of the
skin. In yet another class of cases blistering only occurs after the
application of the oil if the skin is exposed to the direct rays of
the sun. The strength oil should, therefore, be varied in such a way
as not to allow its action to go beyond the state of redness of the
leucodermic patches: The oil being an essential oil is able to
permeate through the epidermis to the prickle cells of the lymphatics
and so it finds its way to the sub - capillary area and stimulates the
cells situated there. The advantage of this oil over other skin
irritants (compounds of mercury, salicylic acid, etc.) is that it does
not produce desquamation or any change of keratolytic nature resulting
in loss of pigment of the epidermis. So far as is known Psoralea
corylifolia is the only drug that has a dual action i. e., action on
both Rouget's cells and the melanoblastic cells of the skin. This
specific action of the oil can be readily demonstrated on the frog's
skin under a microscope. In leucoderma the melanoblastic cells are not
functioning properly and their stimulation by the oil leads them to
form and exude pigment which gradually diffuses into the decolorized
areas.
Summary: The active principle of the seeds of Psoralea
corylifolia (babchi) is an essential oil. A fixed oil and a resin
occur in large quantities but there are not pharmacologically active
substances. Traces of substances of alkaloidal nature are also
present. The essential oil has a powerful effect against the skin
streptococci. It has specific effect on the arterioles of the sub -
capillary plexuses which are dilated so that in this area plasma is
increased. The skin becomes red, the melanoblasts are stimulated
leading to pigment formation. The pigment is exuded and diffuses into
the decolorized leucodermic patches. Local applications of the oleo -
resinous extracts made from the seeds are beneficial in the treatment
of cases of leucoderma of non - syphilitic origin. If affections of
the gastro - intestinal tract such as E. histolytica infections, etc.,
are present, these should be treated at the same time.
--- In
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