Abstract

The root of the Rauwolfia serpentina Benth (N. O. Apocyanaciae) has been in use in India for hundreds of years for a host of unrelated ailments. Since 1949, after the English publication of a clinical report by the author on Rauwolfia serpentina therapy in fifty cases of essential hypertension, the plant has gained universal acclamation as a useful therapeutic weapon in high blood pressure states. The whole subject of Rauwolfia serpentina therapy in hypertension has been reviewed up to the present time, including discussions on the history of the plant, its various species and types, nomenclature, geographic distribution, chemistry, pharmacologic actions and clinical studies, reported on the subject from all over the world.