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Saptaparna

Alstonia scholaris

Saptaparna (Alstonia scholaris) is a plant drug, also called Saptacchada, Saptahva and Saptaparni.

Key facts
Botanical nameAlstonia scholaris
FamilyApocynaceae · other entries in this family
OrderGentianales
Taxon identifiersGBIF 5414410 · Wikidata Q135307 · NCBI Taxonomy 52822
Names in other languages
Sanskritसप्तच्छद (saptacchada), Saptahva, Saptaparni
HindiChhativan, चितवन (citavana), सप्तपर्णी (saptaparṇī), Satawana
EnglishDita
Tamilஏழிலைப்பாலை, Ezilampalai, இருள்பாலை
MalayalamDaivaphal, Ezilampala
TeluguEdakula Ponna
KannadaEleyalaga, Hale, Maddale
MarathiSatveen
BengaliChatin
GujaratiSaptaparna, Satvana
PunjabiSatanna, Sathi
OriyaChatiana, Chbatiana
AssameseChatiyan

Sources: Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India (column alignment reconstructed); eFloraofIndia / Names of Plants in India, Alstonia scholaris, Hindi: बहुपुत्र, चतवन, चितवन, सप्तपर्णी, शैतान का झाड़, शारदी. Corroborated by API SAPTAPARNA Hindi 'Chhativan, Satawana'; eFloraofIndia / Names of Plants in India, Alstonia scholaris, Hindi: सप्तपर्णी; eFloraofIndia / Names of Plants in India, Alstonia scholaris, Sanskrit: सप्तच्छद, सप्तपर्ण, बहुपर्ण, छत्त्रपर्ण, विषमच्छद and others. Corroborated by API SAPTAPARNA Sanskrit 'Saptacchada, Saptaparni, Saptahva'; eFloraofIndia / Names of Plants in India, Alstonia scholaris, Tamil: ஏழிலைப்பாலை, இருள்பாலை; eFloraofIndia, Alstonia scholaris, Tamil: ஏழிலைப்பாலை (el-ilai-p-paalai), இருள்பாலை. Corroborated by API Part I, SAPTAPARNA (Stem bark) = Alstonia scholaris, Tamil: 'Ezilampalai'; and by Winslow's Tamil-English Dictionary, which glosses ஏழிலைப்பாலை as 'a tree, Echites scholaris' (= Alstonia scholaris).. How we source.

The evidence at a glance

12papers on this site for this drug, published 2010 to 2025, every one with a DOI.

  • 2Randomised controlled trials
  • 7Other clinical studies and reviews
  • 3Laboratory and animal studies

A count is not a conclusion and a tier is a study design, not a verdict. Each paper is listed with what it measured on the page below. See the research index for how papers are tiered.

Names and identification

LanguageName
EnglishDevil’s tree (Dita)

Ayurvedic pharmacology (Dravyaguna)

PropertyValueDescription
Rasa (Taste)Tikta, KashayaPrimary taste
Guna (Quality)Laghu, SnigdhaPhysical quality
Virya (Potency)UshnaHeating/Cooling effect
Vipaka (Post-digestive)KatuPost-digestive effect

Dosage forms and preparation

Dosage Forms: Kwatha (decoction), Churna (powder), Ghana vati (solid extract tablet), Asava/Arishta, Capsule, Tincture

Standard Dosage: 3-6 g bark powder per day; 50-100 mL kwatha twice daily; 15-30 mL Saptaparnasava twice daily after meals

Optimal Timing: After meals to reduce GI irritation from alkaloids; evening dose for antipyretic action (Jvaraghna)

Storage: Store below 25 deg C in airtight, light-protected containers. Alkaloids are photolabile, use amber packaging. Arishta stored in glass or stainless steel vessels.

Marker Compounds: Echitamine, Alstonine, Venenatine, Picrinine, Scholaricine, Strictamine

Synergistic Combinations

Published research

Literature indexed in PubMed that concerns this subject, grouped by study type. A paper appearing here is a record of what has been published, not evidence that the subject works, and laboratory or animal results do not transfer to people. Study titles link to PubMed so you can read the source rather than take our word.

Randomised controlled trials2

  1. Gou ZP, Zhao YL, Zou LL and others. 2021. The safety and tolerability of alkaloids from Alstonia scholaris leaves in healthy Chinese volunteers: a single-centre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase I clinical trialPharmaceutical biology. PMID 33899689 · doi:10.1080/13880209.2021.1893349
  2. Li R, Zi MJ, Gou ZP and others. 2019. Pharmacokinetics and safety evaluation in healthy Chinese volunteers of alkaloids from leaf of Alstonia scholaris: A multiple doses phase I clinical trialPhytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology. PMID 31055046 · doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2019.152828

Other clinical studies and reviews7

  1. Luikham S, Bhattacharyya J. 2025. On the traditional medicinal plants and plant-derived natural drugs used by indigenous people of Nagaland, IndiaNatural product research. PMID 38372281 · doi:10.1080/14786419.2024.2315594
  2. Singh AK, Kumar M, Bauddh K and others. 2023. Environmental impacts of air pollution and its abatement by plant species: A comprehensive reviewEnvironmental science and pollution research international. PMID 37322401 · doi:10.1007/s11356-023-28164-x
  3. Mitra S, Prova SR, Sultana SA and others. 2021. Therapeutic potential of indole alkaloids in respiratory diseases: A comprehensive reviewPhytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology. PMID 34325978 · doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2021.153649
  4. Mason JD, Weinreb SM. 2019. The Alstoscholarisine Alkaloids: Isolation, Structure Determination, Biogenesis, Biological Evaluation, and SynthesisThe Alkaloids. Chemistry and biology. PMID 30685049 · doi:10.1016/bs.alkal.2018.09.001
  5. Datta A, Moitra S, Das PK and others. 2017. Allergen immunotherapy modulates sensitivity of Treg cells to apoptosis in a rat model of allergic asthmaImmunotherapy. PMID 29130799 · doi:10.2217/imt-2017-0038
  6. Khyade MS, Kasote DM, Vaikos NP. 2014. Alstonia scholaris (L.) R. Br. and Alstonia macrophylla Wall. ex G. Don: A comparative review on traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacologyJournal of ethnopharmacology. PMID 24486598 · doi:10.1016/j.jep.2014.01.025
  7. Manjeshwar Shrinath Baliga. 2010. Alstonia scholaris Linn R Br in the treatment and prevention of cancer: past, present, and futureIntegrative cancer therapies. PMID 20702494 · doi:10.1177/1534735410376068

Laboratory and animal studies3

  1. Qin SS, Tian CB, Qian YL and others. 2025. Alstonia scholaris (L.) R. Br. ameliorated diabetic nephropathy through PPAR-δ pathwayJournal of ethnopharmacology. PMID 40294665 · doi:10.1016/j.jep.2025.119839
  2. Wu PQ, Liu ZD, Ren YH and others. 2024. Monoterpenoid indole alkaloids from Alstonia scholaris and their Toxoplasma gondii inhibitory activityPhytochemistry. PMID 38266954 · doi:10.1016/j.phytochem.2024.113993
  3. Labaran AN, Zango ZU, Tailor G and others. 2024. Biosynthesis of copper nanoparticles using Alstonia scholaris leaves and its antimicrobial studiesScientific reports. PMID 38453990 · doi:10.1038/s41598-024-56052-y

Reviewed by Dr. Awadesh Pratap Singh, BAMS, on 11 October 2026. What that review covered.

Consult a qualified vaidya before acting on anything here. Ayurvedic practice is prescribed to a person, not to a condition: the same dravya is given, withheld or substituted depending on your constitution, your agni, the season and what else you are already taking. A page cannot know any of that. Self-prescribing from a reference is how the wrong preparation, the wrong dose or the wrong anupana gets used.

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