Aparajita
| Section/Chapter | Herb database/Aparajita |
|---|---|
| Botanical name(s) | Clitoria ternatea L. |
| Family | Fabaceae |
| Availability | Available |
| Contributors | Team Dravyaguna |
| Year of publication | 2026 |
| Publisher | Charak Samhita Research, Training and Skill Development Centre |
| DOI | Awaited |
Clitoria ternatea L., popularly known as Aparajita, is a perennial climber with a slender, downy stem, found throughout the tropical regions of India. It is cultivated in gardens everywhere and is often found growing over hedges and thickets. The dried root is the part used medicinally.[1] In Ayurveda it is described among the drugs used for Shirovirechana (errhine therapy), Dhuma varti and Visha chikitsa (treatment of poisoning). It is a commonly used medicinal plant.
English name
Clitoria[1]
Therapeutic Use
Shula (pain), Shotha (inflammation/swelling), Kushtha (diseases of skin), Mutraroga (urinary disorders), Vrana (wounds/ulcers)[1]
Synonyms in Charak Samhita
Aparajita, Shankhapushpi, Girikarnika, Vishnukranta, Sephanda
Ayurvedic pharmacological properties
| Sr.no. | Pharmacological criteria | Properties |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taste (rasa) | Pungent (katu), Bitter (tikta), Astringent (kashaya) |
| 2 | Potency (veerya) | Cold (sheeta) |
| 3 | Post digestion effect (vipaka) | Pungent (katu) |
| 4 | Qualities (guna) | Light (laghu), Dry (ruksha) |
| 5 | Actions (karma) | Kanthya (beneficial for throat and voice), Kaphahara, Pittahara, Vatahara, Medhya (promotes intellect), Vishahara (anti-poisonous), Buddhiprada (intellect promoting), Chakshushya (beneficial for eyes) |
| 6 | Extra ordinary effect (prabhava) | -- |
Reference in Charak Samhita and its actions
| Sr.no. | Reference in Charak Samhita | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cha.Sa.Sutra Sthana 1/77 | Mulini for Sirovirechana (Errhine therapy) |
| 2 | Cha.Sa.Sutra Sthana 2/4 | Shirovirechana |
| 3 | Cha.Sa.Sutra Sthana 5/26 | Vairachanika Dhuma varti dravya |
| 4 | Cha.Sa.Chikitsa Sthana 23/95 | As an ingredient of Rishabhakadi agada |
| 5 | Cha.Sa.Chikitsa Sthana 23/195 | Used in the treatment of Darvikara damsha |
| 6 | Cha.Sa.Chikitsa Sthana 23/210 | Used in the treatment of fish poison, as a lepa prayoga |
| 7 | Cha.Sa.Chikitsa Sthana 26/69 | As an ingredient of Karpasmooladi yoga |
| 8 | Cha.Sa.Chikitsa Sthana 30/91 | As an ingredient of Pushyanuga churna |
Dose
1-3 gm of the drug in the powder form.[1]
Important Formulations
As per A.P.I.[1]
- Mishraka Sneha
- Vataraktantaka Rasa
Constituents
Tannin, starch, resin, taraxerol and taraxerone.[1]
Phytoconstituents
| Sr.no. | Class | Major compounds / Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthocyanins (ternatins) | Polyacylated anthocyanins of the blue flowers. Eight new anthocyanins (ternatins C1-C5 and D3, and preternatins A3 and C4) were isolated from the flowers.[2] |
| 2 | Flavonol glycosides | Glycosides of kaempferol, quercetin and myricetin, including malonylated forms, isolated from the petals.[3] |
| 3 | Cyclotides (cliotides) | Heat-stable cyclic cysteine-rich peptides; 15 were isolated, of which 12 (cliotide T1-T12) were novel. They occur in every plant tissue examined, including flowers, seeds and nodules.[4] |
| 4 | Triterpenoids | Taraxerol is the marker triterpenoid of the root; it was quantified at 12.4 mg/g in the hydroalcoholic root extract by an HPTLC method.[5] |
Therapeutic Efficacy: Scientific Evidence
The studies below were carried out on extracts of different parts of Clitoria ternatea (root, flower or the whole extract named in each study) in animals, in healthy volunteers or by computer modelling. They are not identical to classical Ayurvedic preparations of Aparajita and should be read as supportive evidence only.
Memory and learning (Medhya)
Neonatal rat pups (7 days old) were given an aqueous root extract (50 or 100 mg/kg body weight) by oral intubation for 30 days. Open field behaviour did not change, but retention in the passive avoidance test and spatial learning in the T-maze improved, both immediately after the treatment and 30 days later, indicating a memory-enhancing effect.[6]
Anxiolytic, antidepressant and anticonvulsant effects
A methanolic extract of Clitoria ternatea was tested in rodents. It showed nootropic activity, increased open-arm occupancy in the elevated plus maze by 160% and occupancy of the lit box by 157% (anxiolytic effect), decreased immobility in the tail suspension test (antidepressant effect), reduced stress-induced ulcers and reduced convulsions induced by pentylenetetrazol and maximum electroshock.[7]
Anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic effects (Shotha, Shula)
A methanol extract of the roots, given orally to rats, inhibited carrageenin-induced paw oedema and acetic acid-induced vascular permeability, and reduced yeast-induced fever. In mice, doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg orally markedly reduced acetic acid-induced writhing.[8]
Glycemic response
In a randomized crossover trial in 15 healthy men, a flower extract (1 g or 2 g in water) taken with 50 g sucrose suppressed the rise in plasma glucose and insulin 30 minutes after ingestion. The extract alone did not change fasting glucose or insulin. This study used the flower, not the root described by the API.[9]
Anti-venom potential (Visha)
In a computational study, 27 compounds of Clitoria ternatea were screened against phospholipase A2 of Daboia russelii venom. Only kaempferol interacted well with the catalytic site residues His48 and Asp49 and stayed stably bound in a 100 ns molecular dynamics simulation. This is an in silico finding and has not been confirmed by laboratory or clinical studies.[10]
Research gaps
Studies on the other API indications (Kushtha, Mutraroga and Vrana), human trials on root preparations, and laboratory or clinical confirmation of the anti-venom potential are not included here. Further well-designed studies using classical Aparajita preparations are needed.
Current availability
Available
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Anonymous. The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India. Department of Ayush, Ministry of Health and Family welfare, Govt. of India, New Delhi, Part I. 1999; Volume II, Monograph 5 (Aparajita): 10-11
- ↑ Terahara, N.; Toki, K.; Saito, N.; Honda, T.; Matsui, T.; Osajima, Y. (1998). "Eight new anthocyanins, ternatins C1-C5 and D3 and preternatins A3 and C4 from young Clitoria ternatea flowers". Journal of Natural Products. 61 (11): 1361–1367.
- ↑ Kazuma, K.; Noda, N.; Suzuki, M. (2003). "Malonylated flavonol glycosides from the petals of Clitoria ternatea". Phytochemistry. 62: 229–237.
- ↑ Nguyen, G. K. T.; Zhang, S.; Nguyen, N. T. K.; Nguyen, P. Q. T.; Chiu, M. S.; Hardjojo, A.; Tam, J. P. (2011). "Discovery and characterization of novel cyclotides originated from chimeric precursors consisting of albumin-1 chain a and cyclotide domains in the Fabaceae family". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 286 (27): 24275–24287.
- ↑ Kumar, V.; Mukherjee, K.; Kumar, S.; Mal, M.; Mukherjee, P. K. (2008). "Validation of HPTLC method for the analysis of taraxerol in Clitoria ternatea". Phytochemical Analysis. 19 (3): 244–250.
- ↑ Rai, K. S.; Murthy, K. D.; Karanth, K. S.; Rao, M. S. (2001). "Clitoria ternatea (Linn) root extract treatment during growth spurt period enhances learning and memory in rats". Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology. 45 (3): 305–313.
- ↑ Jain, N. N.; Ohal, C. C.; Shroff, S. K.; Bhutada, R. H.; Somani, R. S.; Kasture, V. S.; Kasture, S. B. (2003). "Clitoria ternatea and the CNS". Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior. 75 (3): 529–536.
- ↑ Devi, B. P.; Boominathan, R.; Mandal, S. C. (2003). "Anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic properties of Clitoria ternatea root". Fitoterapia. 74 (4): 345–349.
- ↑ Chusak, C.; Thilavech, T.; Henry, C. J.; Adisakwattana, S. (2018). "Acute effect of Clitoria ternatea flower beverage on glycemic response and antioxidant capacity in healthy subjects: a randomized crossover trial". BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 18: 6.
- ↑ Suveena, S.; Saraswathy, V.; Junaida, M. I.; Vinod, M. P.; Laladhas, K. P.; Nair, A. S.; Sudhakaran, P. R.; Oommen, O. V. (2023). "In silico screening of the phytochemicals present in Clitoria ternatea L. as the inhibitors of snake venom phospholipase A2 (PLA2)". Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics. 41 (16): 7874–7883.