Aconite Herb Information

Indian Aconite or Vatsanabha is perennial medicinal herb found in subalpine and alpine regions of western Himalayas. The dried roots of Aconite species is used for medicinal purpose. The family of Aconite plant is Ranunculaceae. Aconite roots contains very toxic and poisonous substances.

Distribution of Aconite

There are 2-3 varieties of Indian Aconite that are used for medicinal use ie Aconite chasmanthus (Banbalnag), Aconite heterophyllum (Atis), Aconitum ferox (Vatsanaabha, Visha).
These species are found in higher range of north-western Himalaya at altitude of 2000 to 4000 meters.

Vernacular names

Sanskrit: Amra, Visha,Vatsanagaka
Assamese: Mithavish, Bish
Bengali: Kathavish
English: Aconite
Gujrati: Vachhanaag, Basanaag
Hindi: Bisa, Meethabisha, Bachhnaag, Teliya Bish
Kannada: Basanalli, Vatsanabha, Vatsanabhi, Vachanaga
Malayalam: Vatsanabhi
Marathi: Bachnaga
Oriya: Tahara, Mahura, Mithvisa
Punjabi: Mitha Visha, Mithatelia
Tamil: Vasanaavi, Vatsanabhi, Nabhi, Vasanabhi
Telugu: Vatsanaabhi, Naabhi
Urdu: Bachnak, Mithalelia, Beesh, Atees

In Ayurveda, Aconite or Vatsanabha is used in preparation of various Ayurvedic medicine such as TribhuvanKirti Ras, Anand Bhairav Ras, Sutsekhara Ras, Vatavidhwansana Rasa, etc. Aconite is useful in treating Vataroga, Paralyisis, fever, joint pain, skin diseases and numbness. It is also used externally on pain affected areas.

Aconite roots contain alkaloids which are VERY TOXIC. These are strong and fast acting poison.  For the medicinal purpose this is used in very controlled doses.  Its oral use can lead to very serious side-effects. So it is recommended, please do not use Aconite herb for self-treatment.

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