Botanical Name

Aconitum heterophyllum

Family

Ranunculaceae.

Synonyms

Aconitum atees Royle, Aconitum cordatum Royle, Aconitum heterophyllum var. heterophyllum, Aconitum ovatum Lindl., Aconitum petiolare Royle ex Stapf.

Regional Name

English : Atis Root, Hindi : Atis, Sanskrit : Aruna, Ghunapriya, Visa, Punjabi : Atisa, Atees, Assamese : Aatich, Bengali : Ataicha, Gujrati : Ativishni Kali, Ativikhani Kali, Kannada : Ativisha, Athihage, Kashmiri : Kath, Malayalam : Atividayam, Ativitayam, Oriya : Atushi, Tamil : Atividayam, Telugu : Ativasa.

Part Used

Root.

Description

Atis is a perennial herb, native of western Himalayas and found in Garhwal, Kumaon and Kashmir at altitude between 2,500-4,000 m. Roots, ovoid-conical, tapering downwards to a print, 2.0-7.5 cm long, 0.4-1.6 cm or more thick at its upper extremity, gradually decreasing in thickness towards tapering end, externally light ash-grey, white or grey-brown, while internally starch white, external surface wrinkled marked with scars of fallen rootlet and with a rosette of scaly rudimentary leaves on top: fracture, short, starchy, showing uniform white surface, marked towards centre by 4-7 concentrically arranged yellowish-brown dots, corresponding to end of fibrovascular bundles traversing root longitudinally taste, bitter with no tingling sensation.

Phytoconstituents

Alkaloids (atisine, dihydroatisine, hetisined and heteratisine).

Ayurvedic Properties

Rasa : Katu, Tikta , Guna : Laghu, Ruksa , Virya : Usna , Vipaka : Katu , Karma : Dipana, Pacana, Sangrahika, Kaphapittahara.

Ayurvedic Applications

Krmiroga, Jvara, Kasa, Chardi, Amatisara.

Medicinal Uses

It is used in digestive problems such as dissolving and digesting undigested food. Atis is also good as a carminative; it helps in diarrhea by absorbing excess water from the body. It is also helpful in fever especially viral fevers, IBS, Piles, Haemorrhoids and dysentery.