Habitat:

Devadaru consists of dried heart wood of Cedrus deodara, a very large and tall ever green tree, up to 75m in height and ranging from 2.4 to 3.6 m in girth, occasionally even up to 13.5 m in girth, found in North Western Himalayas from Kashmir to Garhwal, between 1200 to 3000 m and also cultivated in Kumaon.1

Morphology Description (Habit):

Wood moderately hard, light yellowish-brown to brown; wood splits readily longitudinally; annual rings well marked; medullary rays appear as whitish lines; resin canals, if present, arranged in long tangential rows, showing up as dark, narrow line on the radial surface of the wood pieces; odour, aromatic; taste, not distinct.1

Parts Used:

Heartwood

Phytochemistry:

Terpenoids, Flavonoids and Glycosides1

As per Ayurveda:

           Rasa (Taste)                 : Bitter

           Guna (Property)           : Light, unctuous

           Veerya (Potency)         : Hot

           Vipaka (End Result)      : Pungent

Pharmacological Actions:

The wood of Cedrus deodara has been used since ancient days in Indian medical practice for the treatment of inflammations and rheumatoid arthritis. It is recorded in the dictionary of Chinese Crude Drugs as an effective herbal drug for expelling wind, removing dampness, destroying parasites, and relieving itching. Its indications are wind-cold dampness arthralgia, traumatic injury, sleeplessness, edema, eczema, and acariasis. In recent years, pine needles are used for rheumatism, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, liver and stomach diseases, gonorrhea, chronic bronchitis, cancer, etc.2

Devadaru is Vatakaphahara. The primary pharmacological actions of Devadaru are summarized as under:

Central Nervous System:

i. The heartwood of Cedrus deodara is traditionally used for the treatment of neurological disorders in India. A compound 3,4-bis(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)furan-2,5-dione (BDFD) isolated from the ethanolic extract of C. deodara has been observed to possess anticonvulsant activity by enhancing inhibitory GABAminergic neurotransmission.3

ii. Useful in the management of memory dysfunction and related disorders.4

iii. Possesses anticonvulsant activity by enhancing inhibitory GABAminergic neurotransmission.5

Digestive System:

i. The volatile oil of Cedrus deodara wood has potent antisecretory and antiulcer effects and justify the traditional usage of this herb to treat peptic ulcers.6

Endocrinal System: 

i. The stem bark possesses antidiabetic activity. It has been observed to exhibit significant antihyperglycemic activity and also lowers the biochemical parameters like SGPT, SGOT, cholesterol and triglycerides.7

Cardiovascular System: 

i. Possesses antihyperlipidemic and anti-obesity properties.8

Others: 

i. Its volatile oil possesses anti-inflammatory activity, which could be due to its membrane stabilizing action.9

ii. The oil has been observed to possess anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities on oral use.10

iii. The anti-inflammatory activity of C. deodara wood oil could be attributed to its mast cell stabilizing activity and the inhibition of leukotriene synthesis.11

Indications:

Musculoskeletal inflammations

Arthralgia

References:

1. 1. The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India, Part-1, Vol-4.

2. Jun Min Zhang, Xiao Feng Shi, Qu Huan Ma, et al. Chemical constituents from pine needles of Cedrus deodara. Chemistry of Natural Compounds. 2011; 47(2): 272-274.

3. Dhayabaran D, Florance EJ, Nadakumar KD, et al. Anticonvulsant activity of fraction isolated from ethanolic extract of heartwood of Cedrus deodara. Journal of Natural Medicines. 2014; 68(2): 310-315.

4. Chaudhary AK, Ahmad S, Mazumder A. Cognitive enhancement in aged mice after chronic administration of Cedrus deodara Loud. and Pinus roxburghii Sarg. with demonstrated antioxidant properties. J Nat Med. 2014 Apr;68(2):274-83.

5. Dhayabaran D, Florance EJ, Nandakumar K, et al. Anticonvulsant activity of fraction isolated from ethanolic extract of heartwood of Cedrus deodara. J Nat Med. 2014 Apr;68(2):310-5.

6. Kumar A, Singh V, Chaudhary AK. Gastric antisecretory and antiulcer activities of Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) Loud. in Wistar rats. J Ethnopharmacol. 2011 Mar 24;134(2):294-7.

7. Singh P, Khosa RL, Mishra G. Evaluation of antidiabetic activity of ethanolic extract of Cedrus deodara (Pinaceae) stem bark in streptozotocin induced diabetes in mice. Niger J Exp Clin Biosci. 2013; 1:33-8.

8. Patil S, Prakash T, Kotresha D, et al. Antihyperlipidemic potential of Cedrus deodara extracts in monosodium glutamate induced obesity in neonatal rats. Indian J Pharmacol. 2011 Nov;43(6):644-7.

9. Shinde UA, Phadke AS, Nair AM, et al. Membrane stabilizing activity ? a possible mechanism of action for the anti-inflammatory activity of Cedrus deodara wood oil. Fitoterapia. 1999; 70(3): 251-257.

10. Shinde UA, Phadke AS, Nair AM, et al. Studies on the anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity of Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) Loud. wood oil. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 1999; 65(1): 21-27.

11. Shinde UA, Kulkarni KR, Phadke AS, et al. Mast cell stabilizing and lipoxygenase inhibitory activity of Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) Loud. wood oil. Indian J Exp Biol. 1999 Mar;37(3):258-61.

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