Description

Rubia cordifolia, Indian madder, is a straggling, perennial climber of the family Rubiaceae, native to the temperate Himalayan zone from Afghanistan through India to Japan, also occurring in tropical East Africa. The long, cylindrical root is brick-red to orange-red internally due to its content of the anthraquinone pigments alizarin and purpurin — making this plant one of humanity’s oldest natural red dye sources, documented in ancient Egyptian textiles and the Indus Valley civilisation. Known in Ayurveda as Manjistha and cited in the Charaka Samhita as a premier blood purifier and skin herb, the root is incorporated in formulations such as Manjistadi Kwatha and Sarivadi Vati. It is listed in both the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India and the Unani Pharmacopoeia as a formally recognised medicinal drug.