About Aristolochia indica L.
Aristolochia indica L., known as Garudakkodi or Eswaramooli in native languages, is a creeper plant that occurs in Southern India and Sri Lanka; in Sri Lanka, it is also called 'sapsada'. This species is critical to the survival of the southern birdwing, common birdwing, crimson rose, and common rose butterflies. It climbs trees to reach heights of several metres, covering tree branches with thick foliage, and is commonly found on forest floors and rocky hillslopes. It flowers once per year to produce seeds, and can also be propagated from roots. The plant has a number of historical medicinal uses. This plant contains aristolochic acid, a carcinogen that also occurs in many other species of Aristolochia and Asarum, all belonging to the plant family Aristolochiaceae. Aristolochic acid is an approximately 1:1 mixture of two forms, aristolochic acid I and aristolochic acid II. In addition to being carcinogenic, aristolochic acid is highly nephrotoxic, and may be a causative agent of Balkan nephropathy. Despite these well-documented health dangers, aristolochic acid still sometimes appears in herbal remedies, including weight loss remedies. This contamination usually happens when innocuous herbs are incorrectly substituted with Aristolochia species. The alcoholic extract of Aristolochia indica L. is more toxic than its water extract.
