Correspondence Address:
Dr. Sathish HS Professor, Department of Shalya Tantra, TMAE’s Society Ayurvedic Medical College, Shimoga, Karnataka Mob: 9886969216 Email: ayursathishhs@gmail.com
Date of Acceptance: 2020-09-25
Date of Publication:2020-10-01
Article-ID:IJIM_28_10_20 https://ijim.co.in
Source of Support: NIL
Conflict of Interest: NIL
How To Cite This Article: Sathish HS, et al. Identification of Alagarda variety of Leech. Int. J Ind. Med. 2020;1(6): 210-214
Several illnesses are cited in Ancient Ayurvedic medical treatises. Ayurvedic surgical science considers leeches are of basically two varieties as poisonous and non-poisonous, both consisting six species each. Identification of such leech types has been ignored till date. Alagarda is one of the poisonous type detailed in texts. This article scrutinizes and reviews all the species of leech which matches the descriptions of Alagarda type of leech. Key identification feature of Alagarda type of leech is the presence of Chaetae and its toxic effects on the prey animal. Branchellion torpedinis, Ozobranchus Shipley, Acanthobdella peledina, Ozobranchus margoi are the species of leeches which possess chaetae and after verifying the morphological features of individual species, Branchellion torpedinis seems to match the descriptions of Alagarda leech.
Keywords: Leech, Alagarda, Branchellion torpedinis, Ozobranchus
