Supaveda · Ingredient Spotlight
Vasa
Adhatoda vasica Nees — Malabar Nut Tree
Also known as: Vasaka · Justicia adhatoda · Adulsa · Adusa · Simhasya · Vajidanta · Vasa Kula
Vasa (Adhatoda vasica) is the herb that gave modern pharmaceutical medicine one of its most widely used cough treatments — and the extraordinary part is that Ayurvedic physicians had been using Vasa for exactly that purpose for over 2,500 years before the pharmaceutical industry noticed.
An evergreen perennial shrub native to the Indian subcontinent, found from the Himalayan foothills to Sri Lanka and distributed across Southeast Asia, A. vasica contains the quinazoline alkaloid vasicine — the compound from which the pharmaceutical mucolytics bromhexine and ambroxol were semi-synthesised. Both are now among the most widely sold OTC respiratory medicines on Earth. 1 The Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, and Unani medical tradition have all classified Vasa as the foremost single herb for respiratory conditions — cough, bronchitis, asthma, and haemoptysis — for which it is prescribed in classical texts with a precision that modern pharmacology has confirmed molecule by molecule. 2
⚠ Pregnancy — Strictly Contraindicated
Vasicine and vasicinone have confirmed oxytocic and abortifacient activity — stimulating uterine contractions in a dose-dependent manner across multiple animal species, with effects observed both in early and late pregnancy. This is among the most thoroughly documented contraindications in Ayurvedic pharmacology. Vasa must not be used internally at therapeutic doses during pregnancy. This is noted prominently in the Claeson et al. (2000) ethnopharmacological review, the WHO documentation, and multiple peer-reviewed toxicology studies. 3 See the Safety section for full detail.
The Name — The Plant That Even Goats Refuse
The Kannada name for Vasa — Adu muttada soppu — translates directly as "the green vegetable that a goat never eats." The Latin genus name Adhatoda is itself derived from the Tamil/Sanskrit composite adu (goat) + toda (not touched): the plant goats instinctively avoid. 2 This is not folklore — it is pharmacological self-selection. The vasicine and vasicinone alkaloids that make Vasa one of the most potent respiratory medicines known also make the fresh leaves acutely unpalatable and mildly toxic to ruminants. The same chemical intensity that repels goats is the source of its therapeutic power.
Its Sanskrit name Simhasya — "lion-faced" — describes the flower's shape, resembling a lion's open mouth. Vajidanta — "horse's teeth" — describes the white flowers. Vasika — "that which creates shade" — describes the dense canopy of its ascending branches. 2 The name Vasa itself means "perfume," likely referring to the pungent aromatic quality of the crushed leaves.
💊 The Bromhexine Story — How an Ayurvedic Herb Became a Global Pharmaceutical
The story of Vasa's journey into modern pharmaceutical medicine is one of the most direct examples of Ayurvedic phytochemistry giving rise to a pharmaceutical drug class. Vasicine — the primary alkaloid of Vasa — was first isolated in 1924. Between the 1960s and 1980s, intensive research on its structural derivatives produced bromhexine (2-amino-3,5-dibromo-N-cyclohexyl-N-methylbenzylamine) — a semi-synthetic derivative of vasicine that acts as a powerful mucolytic (mucus-thinning) expectorant. Bromhexine became one of the most widely prescribed and purchased OTC respiratory medicines globally. 1
The story deepens further: bromhexine's active metabolite — produced in the liver — is ambroxol, which has since been developed as a standalone drug and is now itself one of the most commonly sold OTC cough and cold preparations in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Ambroxol is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines. 4 Both bromhexine and ambroxol owe their existence to vasicine. Vasa was prescribed by Ayurvedic physicians for the same respiratory conditions these drugs are sold for today — 2,500 years before the semi-synthesis was performed. As one review noted, it is "surprising that even if it has been used effectively and extensively in the above-mentioned areas since ancient times till date, and a huge amount of work has already been done on its derivative bromhexine, very few recent reports are available for its molecular mechanism of action." 5
At a Glance — Key Evidence-Backed Benefits
Traditional Ayurvedic & Unani Uses
Vasa has the distinction of being one of the very few Ayurvedic herbs to be formally included in the WHO manual for Traditional Medicine in Primary Health Care — specifically as Adhatodai liquid extract and Vasaka Syrup — a designation reflecting its long evidence base and recognised therapeutic profile. 3 In Ayurveda it is classified primarily as Kasa-Shwasahara — "destroyer of cough and asthma" — its most consistent and direct classical designation. In Unani medicine it is described as Muhallil (anti-inflammatory) and Muqawwi-e-Azza (organ strengthener) — particularly for the lungs.
Ayurvedic Properties (Guna)
The combination of Sheeta Veerya (cooling potency) with expectorant and respiratory action distinguishes Vasa from most other Kapha-reducing herbs which are typically heating. This cooling-yet-expectorant quality makes Vasa particularly valuable for Pitta-type respiratory conditions — those involving heat, inflammation, and blood-tinged sputum — alongside the more common Kapha-type congestion.
Conditions Traditionally Treated
- Cough (Kasa) — especially chronic, productive cough with thick mucus; the primary indication
- Asthma (Shwasa) — bronchospasm and airway obstruction; bronchodilatory action
- Bronchitis and bronchial congestion — mucolytic and expectorant clears thick bronchial secretions
- Tuberculosis (Rajayakshma) — classical major application; anti-tubercular confirmed in vitro
- Haemoptysis (Raktapitta) — bleeding from lungs; haemostatic and Pitta-cooling action
- Sinusitis and rhinitis — mucolytic; reduces nasal and sinus congestion
- Fever (Jwara) — antipyretic and diaphoretic properties
- Skin conditions and wounds — topical poultice for inflammation
- Bleeding disorders — haemostatic; reduces capillary fragility
- Laryngitis — leaf juice with honey for hoarse voice; classical remedy for throat conditions
Key Active Compounds
The primary bioactive compounds of A. vasica are the pyrrolo-quinazoline alkaloids — a class unique to this plant family. The 2024 ScienceDirect review by Khandelwal et al. (Heliyon, PMC) covering the literature from 1888 to 2023 provides the most comprehensive characterisation of this alkaloid class to date. 1
Primary Bioactive Constituents
How Vasa Works — Five Respiratory Mechanisms
Vasa's comprehensive coverage of respiratory disease has a precise mechanistic explanation: its primary alkaloids (vasicine, vasicinone) and secondary compounds act on five distinct but complementary physiological targets that together address almost every pathophysiological dimension of bronchitis, asthma, and productive cough. 6
Vasa's Five-Layer Respiratory Mechanism
The Severe Asthma Breakthrough — HIF-1α & Steroid Resistance
Perhaps the most scientifically compelling recent finding in Vasa research comes from a 2021 study published in the prestigious American Journal of Physiology — Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology. This study addressed one of the most difficult clinical challenges in respiratory medicine: severe, steroid-resistant asthma — a condition affecting approximately 5–10% of asthma patients where conventional corticosteroid therapy fails to adequately control symptoms. 7
The study demonstrated that aqueous extract of Vasa (prepared according to Ayurvedic text descriptions) reduces the molecular signatures of steroid resistance in severe asthmatic mice — specifically IL-17A, KC (murine IL-8 homologue), and critically, HIF-1α (hypoxia-inducible factor-1α). HIF-1α is a transcription factor that becomes hyperactivated under the hypoxic conditions of severe asthma, driving a cycle of inflammation that is resistant to steroid suppression. Vasa extract downregulates HIF-1α by restoring PHD2 (prolyl hydroxylase domain-2) — the negative regulator of HIF-1α that is suppressed in severe asthma. 7
Vasa & Severe Asthma — 2021 American Journal of Physiology Findings
This finding is clinically significant because it identifies a mechanism for Vasa that extends beyond the classical bronchodilatory and mucolytic actions — into the hypoxic signalling pathways that underlie treatment resistance in severe asthma. The authors specifically noted they used the aqueous extract "prepared as per descriptions in Ayurvedic texts" — validating the traditional preparation method's pharmacological relevance at the molecular level. This represents precisely what modern integrative respiratory medicine is searching for: a natural compound that addresses the hypoxic dimension of severe asthma through a pathway not targeted by conventional corticosteroids.
What the Research Says
The mechanistic validation of Vasa's respiratory properties is arguably the strongest of any herb in the Ayurvedic respiratory pharmacopoeia — because the validation happened through pharmaceutical drug development rather than clinical trials on the herb itself. Vasicine was first isolated from A. vasica in 1924. In the 1960s and 1970s, Boehringer Ingelheim developed bromhexine as a semi-synthetic derivative of vasicine, stripping the uterotonic activity while retaining and enhancing the mucolytic-expectorant profile. 4 Bromhexine's active liver metabolite, ambroxol, was subsequently developed as a drug in its own right and is now listed on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines as a standard treatment for respiratory conditions. The pharmacological action of both drugs — mucolysis by stimulating serous secretory cells, reducing mucus viscosity, and facilitating ciliary clearance — is precisely the action that Ayurvedic texts describe for Vasa as Kaphaghna (Kapha-clearing) and Kasa-hara (cough-relieving). 5
The bronchodilatory activity of Vasa's alkaloids was first formally documented in the scientific literature in 1959, when Amin and Mehta published their discovery in the journal Nature (Vol. 184, p.1317) — one of the most prestigious scientific journals in existence — under the title "A bronchodilator alkaloid (vasicinone) from Adhatoda vasica Nees." 8 Vasicinone, the auto-oxidation product of vasicine, was confirmed as a bronchodilator whose activity was comparable to theophylline in isolated bronchial smooth muscle preparations. Theophylline is still a front-line pharmaceutical treatment for asthma and COPD today. More recent in vitro and in vivo studies have confirmed bronchodilatory effects of both vasicine and vasicinone through H1 and acetylcholine receptor blockade — preventing the two primary bronchoconstrictive signals from reaching airway smooth muscle. 6 The ovalbumin-sensitised rat asthma model (Rao et al., 2012, JCDR) confirmed significant anti-asthmatic activity of Vasa leaf extract, reducing bronchial hyperreactivity, eosinophil infiltration, and mucus hypersecretion.
The 2021 study published in American Journal of Physiology — Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology is the most mechanistically sophisticated modern study of Vasa. Two mouse models were used: (1) a standard ovalbumin-induced acute allergic asthma model, and (2) a severe (steroid-resistant) asthma model characterised by elevated HIF-1α. 7 In the acute model, Vasa aqueous extract significantly attenuated airway resistance and reduced eosinophilic inflammation at both phenotypic and molecular levels — consistent with earlier anti-asthmatic studies. In the severe asthma model, Vasa specifically reduced IL-17A (a Th17 cytokine characteristic of steroid-resistant asthma), KC (the murine IL-8 equivalent, a neutrophil recruiter), and most importantly, HIF-1α itself — by restoring PHD2 (the enzyme that hydroxylates and targets HIF-1α for degradation, normally suppressed in hypoxic asthmatic airways). The authors concluded that "AV inhibits HIF-1α levels through restoration of expression of its negative regulator — PHD2" — providing a molecular mechanism for overcoming the very specific kind of treatment resistance that makes severe asthma so clinically challenging. The extract used was prepared aqueous decoction following Ayurvedic text protocols.
Vasa's classical use for tuberculosis (Rajayakshma) — one of its most consistently documented traditional applications — has been partially validated in in vitro antimycobacterial studies. Two natural alkaloids from Vasa leaves, vasicine acetate and 2-acetyl benzylamine, were shown to demonstrate growth-inhibitory effects on Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv in an in vitro study published in the Journal of Biosciences (Ignacimuthu and Shanmugam, 2010). 9 Separately, bromhexine and ambroxol — the pharmaceutical derivatives of vasicine — have been studied as adjunctive agents in tuberculosis treatment, with evidence that ambroxol's mucolytic activity can facilitate the clearance of M. tuberculosis from respiratory secretions. These findings provide a mechanistic rationale for one of Ayurveda's oldest respiratory prescriptions. Clinical human trials for Vasa specifically in tuberculosis have not been conducted to modern standards, but the in vitro antimycobacterial evidence and the mucolytic adjunctive evidence through its derivatives provide meaningful scientific context. 1
The immunomodulatory activity of Vasa extracts was specifically studied in experimental animals by administering methanolic, chloroform, and diethyl ether extracts at 400 mg/kg orally to adult male Wistar rats. The study found significant increases in neutrophil adhesion to nylon fibres (p<0.001) and a Delayed Type Hypersensitivity reaction to sheep erythrocytes (p<0.001) — indicating both innate and adaptive immune stimulation. 6 The anti-inflammatory action operates through multiple pathways: vasicine and kaempferol inhibit prostaglandin synthesis (COX pathway); luteolin inhibits NF-κB activation; and the H1 receptor antagonism provides anti-inflammatory action independent of the prostaglandin pathway. The combination of immunostimulant and anti-inflammatory properties — seemingly paradoxical — is consistent with an adaptogenic immune-modulating profile: stimulating protective immunity (neutrophil activity, DTH response) while suppressing harmful inflammatory cascades (mast cell degranulation, bronchoconstrictive signalling). 1
An emerging research direction for vasicine concerns its neuroprotective potential — specifically through acetylcholinesterase inhibition. The enzyme inhibition study by Manzoor et al. (2012, PubMed PMID 22713956) demonstrated that purified vasicine shows 38.4% acetylcholinesterase inhibition — the same mechanism as pharmaceutical cholinesterase inhibitors used in Alzheimer's disease (donepezil, rivastigmine). 10 A 2023 study published in Phytomedicine Plus specifically evaluated vasicinone's memory-enhancing and cognition-preserving effects via cholinesterase inhibition in an Alzheimer's disease model, finding significant improvements in cognitive parameters. 10 While this neuroprotective potential is entirely preclinical and not relevant to SupaBreathe's primary respiratory application, it represents an intriguing secondary dimension of Vasa's pharmacology that is consistent with classical Ayurvedic descriptions of the herb as Medhya (brain tonic) alongside its respiratory classification — and warrants mention as an active and growing area of research interest.
Traditional Use & Modern Dosage
Vasa is primarily prescribed as a leaf preparation — the fresh leaf juice being the highest-potency form for acute respiratory conditions. For chronic respiratory support, the dried leaf powder or decoction is more practical. Honey is the classical and pharmacologically validated vehicle (Anupana) for respiratory conditions — both Kapha-reducing and antimicrobial itself.
| Form | Traditional Preparation | Typical Dose / Use |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh Leaf Juice | Fresh leaves pressed; juice taken with honey — classical highest-potency acute form; the form used in the AJP asthma study preparation concept | 10–20 ml twice daily with 2 tsp honey; for acute cough and bronchitis |
| Decoction (Kwath) | Leaves boiled in water and strained; taken warm with honey; classical preparation for chronic bronchitis | 20–40 ml twice daily; combined with Trikatu for enhanced mucolytic action |
| Dried Leaf Powder | Dried leaves ground to powder; taken with honey or warm water | 1–3 g twice daily; classical chronic respiratory support dose |
| Medicated Ghee (Vasa Ghrita) | Leaf juice cooked into ghee; classical Vata and Pitta type respiratory conditions; nourishing and anti-inflammatory | 5–10 g before food; for dry, irritating cough; eosinophilic conditions |
| In Compound Formula (SupaBreathe) | Standardised Vasa combined with Trikatu and Tulasi in SupaBreathe | As directed on product — typically 1–2 capsules twice daily with food |
Vasa works most effectively when combined with honey for respiratory conditions (classical Madhu Anupana) and when used alongside warming herbs such as Trikatu or ginger — Vasa's cooling potency benefits from the warming complement to prevent aggravation of Vata. For laryngitis specifically, the classical formula of 1 tsp fresh juice with 2 tsp honey twice daily is described in the Ashtanga Hridayam and remains in widespread use.
Supaveda Products with Vasa
Vasa features in two Supaveda products — as the mucolytic-bronchodilatory cornerstone of SupaBreathe, and as a respiratory herb within Supa Life:
Vasa is the mucolytic and bronchodilatory anchor of SupaBreathe — the herb that dissolves and expels accumulated Kapha from the airways while simultaneously relaxing bronchial smooth muscle. It brings the same pharmacological action as its pharmaceutical derivatives (bromhexine, ambroxol) in its original plant form — alongside anti-inflammatory, mast cell-stabilising, and antimicrobial properties that pharmaceutical extracts lack. Trikatu (black pepper, long pepper, ginger) provides the warming, Agni-stimulating, and bioavailability-enhancing dimension — ensuring Vasa's alkaloids are well-absorbed and that Kapha accumulation at the root is addressed. Tulasi (Holy Basil) brings its COX-2 inhibitory anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and immunomodulatory properties. Together the three herbs address respiratory disease from all three Ayurvedic dimensions: root cause (Trikatu), direct clearance (Vasa), and infection and immune intelligence (Tulasi).
Our organic, vegan Chyawanprash — 16 Ayurvedic herbs including Vasa. In the classical Chyawanprash formula (which is specifically designed for respiratory immunity and lung rejuvenation), Vasa contributes its mucolytic and bronchodilatory properties to the overall respiratory protection dimension — helping keep the airways clear, reduce Kapha accumulation, and support the lung immunity that Chyawanprash is classically designed to build. Alongside Pippali (the lung Rasayana) and Tulasi, Vasa completes the Chyawanprash respiratory triad.
Safety & Precautions
Vasa's safety profile is characterised by an excellent record at standard therapeutic doses in non-pregnant adults, alongside one of the most strictly documented contraindications in Ayurvedic pharmacology — the pregnancy restriction based on vasicine's confirmed oxytocic activity. The 2024 comprehensive review confirms that Vasa is "reportedly non-poisonous to mammals" at appropriate doses, with vasicine showing a good safety profile "as compared to toxicity in terms of carcinogenicity." 1
Please note
- Pregnancy — STRICTLY CONTRAINDICATED: This is the most critical safety consideration for Vasa. Vasicine and vasicinone have confirmed oxytocic (uterus-stimulating) and abortifacient activity, with dose-dependent effects documented across multiple animal species at different stages of pregnancy. This is thoroughly reviewed in Claeson et al. (2000) Journal of Ethnopharmacology and is a primary reason for caution with any Vasa-containing product during pregnancy. Do not use internally at any therapeutic dose during pregnancy or when trying to conceive. 3
- Breastfeeding: Vasicine is excreted in breast milk in animal studies. Therapeutic use during breastfeeding is not recommended without professional guidance.
- High doses and prolonged use: Very high doses may cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea — all reversible on dose reduction. Stay within recommended therapeutic ranges. The 2024 review notes that "overdosage of its herbal extract may lead to ill effects and therefore it should only be used under medical supervision" at higher doses. 1
- Pitta aggravation: Despite its cooling potency, concentrated Vasa preparations may aggravate Pitta in some individuals (causing heartburn or gastric discomfort). Always take with food and reduce dose if this occurs.
- Children: Use only at age-appropriate doses under qualified guidance. Fresh leaf juice with honey (diluted) is the classical paediatric form for cough.
Key Takeaways
Evidence-backed bullet points:
"Adhatoda" means "the plant that even goats refuse to eat" — named for its alkaloid intensity that makes it unpalatable to ruminants but pharmacologically extraordinary for humans
Vasicine from Vasa is the direct precursor to bromhexine (pharmaceutical mucolytic) and through it to ambroxol (WHO Essential Medicine) — an Ayurvedic herb that gave rise to two global pharmaceuticals
Vasicinone's bronchodilatory activity was confirmed in Nature in 1959 — comparable to theophylline, a front-line asthma drug still in use today, published in one of science's most prestigious journals
Five simultaneous respiratory mechanisms: bronchodilation, mucolysis, mast cell stabilisation, H1/ACh receptor blockade, and direct antimicrobial — addressing nearly every dimension of respiratory disease at once
2021 American Journal of Physiology study: Vasa extract reduces HIF-1α via PHD2 restoration — addressing the hypoxic steroid-resistance mechanism that makes severe asthma unresponsive to conventional corticosteroids
WHO-listed in the Manual for Traditional Medicine in Primary Health Care — as Adhatodai liquid extract and Vasaka Syrup — one of a small number of Ayurvedic preparations to achieve this global recognition
Vasicine derivatives demonstrated growth-inhibitory effects on M. tuberculosis H37Rv in vitro — validating one of Ayurveda's oldest respiratory prescriptions at the molecular level
Emerging neuroprotective dimension: vasicine inhibits acetylcholinesterase (38.4%) — the same mechanism as pharmaceutical Alzheimer's drugs — and vasicinone shows memory-enhancing effects in preclinical models
Honey is the classical Anupana — both are Kapha-reducing and the combination is synergistically mucolytic and antimicrobial; the traditional Vasa + honey formula has pharmacological logic validated by modern evidence
Strictly contraindicated in pregnancy due to confirmed oxytocic and abortifacient activity of vasicine — one of the most thoroughly documented contraindications in all of Ayurvedic pharmacology
References
- Khandelwal, P., Wadhwani, B.D., Rao, R.S., Mali, D., Vyas, P., Kumar, T. and Nair, R. (2024) 'Exploring the pharmacological and chemical aspects of pyrrolo-quinazoline derivatives in Adhatoda vasica', Heliyon, 10(4), e25727. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25727. PMC10897561. PMID: 38379997. [Primary 2024 ScienceDirect/PMC systematic review; literature 1888–2023; vasicine first isolated 1924; complete alkaloid phytochemistry; immunomodulatory 400 mg/kg p<0.001; anti-TB vasicine acetate; safety profile vs carcinogenicity; acetylcholinesterase inhibition 38.4%; vasicinol/vasicinone pharmacology].
- Padwal, P.N., Bhor, N.M., Lokhande, R.P., Lamkhade, G.J., Bhujbal, S.V. and Bhujbal, S.R. (2025) 'Vasaka (Adhatoda vasica): a comprehensive review on its phytochemistry, pharmacological activities and therapeutic applications', World Journal of Biology Pharmacy and Health Sciences, 24(1), pp.441–447. doi: 10.30574/wjbphs.2025.24.1.0911. [2025 comprehensive review; 2,500-year traditional use history; bronchodilatory H1/ACh receptor blockade mechanism; mast cell stabilisation; anti-asthmatic ovalbumin model; name etymology — "Adhatoda" goat/not-touched].
- Claeson, U.P., Malmfors, T., Wikman, G. and Bruhn, J.G. (2000) 'Adhatoda vasica: a critical review of ethnopharmacological and toxicological data', Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 72(1–2), pp.1–20. doi: 10.1016/S0378-8741(00)00225-7. PMID: 10967448. [Primary safety review; oxytocic and abortifacient activity of vasicine — dose-dependent, both early and late pregnancy, multiple species; WHO inclusion of Adhatodai liquid extract and Vasaka Syrup in Traditional Medicine in Primary Health Care manual; comprehensive ethnopharmacological evidence].
- WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (2023) — Ambroxol listing as essential medicine for respiratory conditions. Geneva: World Health Organization. [Ambroxol derived from bromhexine; bromhexine semi-synthesised from vasicine; Boehringer Ingelheim development history; mucolytic mechanism of action — serous secretory cell stimulation, mucus viscosity reduction, ciliary clearance].
- Shoaib, A. (2022) 'A systematic ethnobotanical review of Adhatoda vasica (L.), Nees', Cell and Molecular Biology, 67(4), pp.248–263. doi: 10.14715/cmb/2021.67.4.28. PMID: 35809281. [Quote: "It is surprising to note that, even if it has been used effectively and extensively in the above-mentioned areas since ancient times till date, and a huge amount of work has already been done on its derivative bromhexine, very few recent reports are available for its molecular mechanism of action"; systematic ethnobotanical review 1888–2022].
- Varsha, C.N., Meghana, B.P., Balasubramanian, T., Sinchana, D.M. and Tejas, S.U. (2025) 'An updated review on phytochemical constituents and pharmacological activities of Adhatoda vasica (L.) Nees', International Journal of Pharmacognosy. Available at: https://ijpjournal.com. [Immunomodulatory study: neutrophil adhesion p<0.001; DTH p<0.001; 400 mg/kg Wistar rats; H1 and ACh receptor blockade bronchodilatory mechanism; mast cell stabilisation anti-asthmatic mechanism; anti-inflammatory COX/LOX pathway].
- Bhat, S., Singh, P.K., Kumar, A., Pandey, D. and De, S. (2021) 'Adhatoda vasica rescues the hypoxia-dependent severe asthma symptoms and mitochondrial dysfunction', American Journal of Physiology — Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, 321(2), pp.L222–L239. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00511.2020. [Primary 2021 AJP study; aqueous extract prepared per Ayurvedic texts; OVA acute allergic asthma — attenuated airway resistance and eosinophilic inflammation; severe (steroid-resistant) asthma model — reduced IL-17A, KC (murine IL-8), HIF-1α; mechanism: HIF-1α inhibition via PHD2 restoration; mitochondrial dysfunction alleviation confirmed].
- Amin, A.H. and Mehta, D.R. (1959) 'A bronchodilator alkaloid (vasicinone) from Adhatoda vasica Nees', Nature, 184, p.1317. doi: 10.1038/1841317a0. PMID: 14436773. [Landmark 1959 Nature paper; first identification of vasicinone as bronchodilator alkaloid; isolated from A. vasica; activity comparable to theophylline in bronchial preparation studies].
- Ignacimuthu, S. and Shanmugam, N. (2010) 'Antimycobacterial activity of two natural alkaloids, vasicine acetate and 2-acetyl benzylamine, isolated from Indian shrub Adhatoda vasica Ness. leaves', Journal of Biosciences, 35(4), pp.565–570. doi: 10.1007/s12038-010-0065-8. PMID: 21289439. [Anti-tubercular activity; vasicine acetate and 2-acetyl benzylamine growth-inhibitory against M. tuberculosis H37Rv in vitro; validates classical Rajayakshma (tuberculosis) application].
- Bhanukiran, K., Singh, R., T.A.G., et al. (2023) 'Vasicinone, a pyrroloquinazoline alkaloid from Adhatoda vasica Nees enhances memory and cognition by inhibiting cholinesterases in Alzheimer's disease', Phytomedicine Plus, 3, p.100439. doi: 10.1016/j.phyplu.2023.100439. [Vasicinone AChE inhibition; memory enhancement; Alzheimer's disease model; cognition improvement]; also: Manzoor, M. et al. (2012) vasicine purified DPPH 70.4 ± 1.3%, IC₅₀ = 212.3 µM; AChE inhibition 38.4%; trypsin inhibition 37.4% (PMID 22713956).