Ignatia amara
Schwabe India
The Schwabe India Editorial Team is comprised of senior medical consultants, pharmaceutical scientists, and homoeopathic doctors at Dr. Willmar Schwabe India, upholding strict standards of medical accuracy, safety, and German pharmaceutical heritage across all published healthcare guides.
Author: Praveen Saxena , Snigdha Suman Dalua
Ignatia amara, botanically known as Strychnos ignatii, is a small, woody, erect tree native to Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippine Islands and parts of China. This tree is distinguished by its opposite branching, petiolate and ovate leaves, which are about 12.5-18 cm long and emit a jasmine like fragrance from their numerous white, long flowers arranged in small axillary panicles. The tree bears pear shaped fruits containing 20-24 almond-like seeds that are blackish-grey or brown with a hard, translucent, and tough 1 shell that is difficult to split. The biochemical composition of Ignatia is notably rich in alkaloids such as strychnine and brucine, similar to but more concentrated than those found in Nux vomica. Additionally, it contains a volatile principle, extractive substances, gum, resin, coloring matter, a fixed oil, and bassorine, making it a complex herbal entity recognized by both the Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia of India and the Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United 2 States.
