Insert title here

International Journal of Indian Medicine
IIFS Impact Factor: 2.125

ISSN: 2582-7634

HTML Full Text

DOWNLOAD COPYRIGHT FORM

Review Article


Year: 2020 |Volume: 1 | Issue: 6 |Pages: 210-214


IDENTIFICATION OF ALAGARDA VARIETY OF LEECH

About Author

SATHISH HS1 , RASHMI TM2 , MITHUN B3 , NARMADA MG4

11Professor, Department of Shalya Tantra, TMAE’s Society Ayurvedic Medical College, Shimoga, Karnataka

2Assistant Professor, Department of Kayachikitsa, TMAE’s Society Ayurvedic Medical College, Shimoga, Karnataka

3Professor, Department of Shalakya Tantra, ALN Rao Memorial Ayurvedic Medical College, Koppa, Karnataka.

4Professor, Department of Shalya Tantra, Govt. Ayurvedic Medical College, Bangalore

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 http://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

Abstract

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

Introduction

Ayurvedic treatises and provide the foremost scientific, detailed documentation about the description and utility of leeches in various ailments. 1,2,3 Sushruta Samhita, the surgical treatise of Ayurveda enlists different types of leeches and also details the identification of each type of leeches, their habitat, handling and preservation. 4 The text quotes 12 types of leeches among which six are poisonous and the remaining six are non- poisonous. 5 Adverse events precipitated by certain types of the leech bite place them in the category of poisonous which is unique and no other zoological texts across globe has point out.

Aim: To identify the Alagarda type of leech  with contemporary zoological species

Method: The leech species were screened in Google Scholar by the keywords – leech species, leech with chaetae, poisonous leech. The details of Alagarda type of leech available in Ayurvedic treatises

 

Observations

Table No.1. depicts the comparison of leeches:

Features

Branchellion torpedinis13,14,15

Ozobranchus shipleyi Harding16,17,18

Acanthobdella peledina19,20

Ozobranchus margoi21, 22, 23

Habitat

Marine water24

Large rivers

Freshwater locations of northern Europe, Asia and Alaska25

Atlantic coast of the United states and Gulf of Mexico

Phylum

Annelida

Annelida

Annelida

Annelida

Class

Clitellata

Clitellata

Hirudinea

Hirudinea

Order

Rhynchobdellida

Rhynchobdellida

Acanthobdellida

Rhynchobdellida

Family

Piscicolidae

Piscicolidae

Acanthobdellidae

Ozobranchidae

Colour

Brownish black

Dull yellow

Olive green

White with large dark spots

General

features

Two sharply defined regions of the body wherein anterior part is partly invaginated into the posterior region.

Flattened body, Small elongate rounded leeches.

11 pairs of lateral gill-branchiae.

Total number of rings – 49

Eyes – one pair

Anterior sucker is absent. It possess forty hooked chaetae. Its body consists of 29 segments.

It has 5 pairs of finger shaped gills. It has suckers on each end of their bodies.

Length

30-50mm, width – 8-16mm

1.3-3.7mm

23mm

10-15mm long

Among the four species analyzed, Branchellion torpedinis seems to match the descriptions mentioned for Alagarda type of Leech as it matches the color and presence of chaetae whereas the other species differ in color.  Regarding the toxic symptoms of leech no study till date has reported however all of these species rely on invertebrate organisms mainly for feed. 

Discussion

Karbura, Alagarda, Indrayudha, Samudrika and Gochandana. 6 In this article, one among these poisonous leeches, ‘Alagarda’s descriptions are scrutinized. All the strains of leeches cited in Sushruta’s treatise has not been identified, hence this is an attempt to identify the specific variety of Jalauka with that of existing zoological data available on leeches.

 

Features of Alagarda variety of Leech:

Romasha           - Hairy Skin – Presence of Chaetae

Mahaparshva  - Broad Trunk or Waist

Krishna Mukhi - Black coloured – Head end

Savisha               - Produces Toxic Symptoms

Manda gati       - Slow activity

 

General Features of Poisonous Leech:7

Screening of the details mentioned about the description of leeches in the text suggests that mostly all poisonous leeches grow in an unhygienic habitat and feed on invertebrates usually and also on rotten aquatic plants. The appearance of leeches is usually unattractive, ugly and has sluggish motility. Identification of leech species is based on the annulations, external features, habitat and arrangement of eyes and the positions of the male and female genital pores. 8,9,10

The key identification of Alagarda type of Jalauka is mainly by the presence of ‘Chaetae’, a pair of fleshy protrusions with many bristles on the lateral aspect of the leeches. 11,12 Hence the leeches with chaetae are screened and are tabulated in Table No 1

Conclusion

Leeches are one of the best biological tool to cure numerous ailments. Identification of different types of leeches mentioned in Ayurvedic texts is the need of the hour. One such variety, Alagarda type of leech can be correlated to the existing species Branchellion torpedinis. 

References

value="

  1. Sathish H, Vaghela D. Bloodletting-An Ayurvedic perspective. Journal of postgraduate medicine. 2011 Jul 1;57(3):253.
  2. Ediriweera ER. A review on leech application (jalaukacharana) in ayurveda and sri lankan traditional medicine. Journal of Ayurveda and Holistic Medicine (JAHM). 2014 Jan 27;2(1):62-77.
  3. Harding WA, Percy Moore J. The Fauna Of British India Including Ceylon And Burma.
  4. Lad PV, Kedare N. Role of leech therapy in surgical diseases. National Journal of Research in Ayurved Science. 2018 Oct 15;6(5th).
  5. Sushruta. Sushruta Samhita. Text with English Translation & Notes, Sutra Sthana, 1st Ed. Varanasi: Chaukambha Visvabharati; 2004. p.134-42.
  6. Valiathan MS. The Legacy of Sushruta. Hyderabad: Universities Press; 2009. p. 63.
  7. Soni B, Gopikrishna BJ, Pathak A. A review on mode of action of jalaukavacharana in modern perspective. World Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Volume6, Issue 03, 422-436.
  8. Lukin, E. (1976). Pijavki. Fauna SSSR. Academy of Science of the SSSR, Leningrad. 1, 1-484
  9. Grosser, C and V. Pesic (2006). On the diversity of Iranian leeches (Annelida. Hirudinea) Arch. Biol. Sci. Belgrade, 58 (1), 21- 24.
  10. Timm, T. (1999). A Guide to the Estonian Annelida. Estonia. Academy Publishes. Tarto – Tallinn, 208
  11. Schroeder PG. Chaetae. InBiology of the Integument 1984 (pp. 297-309). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
  12. Merz RA, Woodin SA. Polychaete chaetae: function, fossils, and phylogeny. Integrative and comparative biology. 2006 Aug 1;46(4):481-96.
  13. Harding WA. A revision of the British leeches. Parasitology. 1910 Jul;3(2):130-201.
  14. Mann KH. A revision of the British leeches of the family Erpobdellidae, with a description of Dina lineata (OF Müller, 1774), a leech new to British fauna. InProceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1952 Aug (Vol. 122, No. 2, pp. 395-406). Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
  15. Narváez K, Osaer F. The marine leech Branchellion torpedinis parasitic on the angelshark Squatina squatina and the marbled electric ray Torpedo marmorata. Marine Biodiversity. 2017 Sep 1;47(3):987-90.
  16. Chandra M. The Leeches of India. Pub: Zoo1ogica1 Survey of India, Ca1cutta.(3782). 1991:1-17.
  17. Nesemann H, Sharma G, Sinha RK. Aquatic Annelida (Polychaeta, Oligochaeta, Hirudinea) of the Ganga River and adjacent water bodies in Patna (India: Bihar), with description of a new leech species (Family Salifidae). Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien. Serie B für Botanik und Zoologie. 2003 Jan 1:139-87.
  18. Mandal C, Mishra SS. Annelida: Hirudinea (leeches). Freshwater faunal diversity in india. 2017:187.
  19. Kolb, Jürgen (2018). "Acanthobdella peledinaGrube, 1851". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  20. ?wi?tek P, Urbisz AZ, Stru?y?ski W, P?achno BJ, Bielecki A, Cios S, Salonen E, Klag J. Ovary architecture of two branchiobdellid species and Acanthobdella peledina (Annelida, Clitellata). Zoologischer Anzeiger-A Journal of Comparative Zoology. 2012 Mar 1;251(1):71-82.
  21. Rodenbusch CR, Marks FS, Canal CW, Reck J. Marine leech Ozobranchus margoi parasitizing loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária. 2012 Sep;21(3):301-3.
  22. Christoffersen ML. A catalogue of the Piscicolidae, Ozobranchidae, and Arhynchobdellida (Annelida, Clitellata, Hirudinea) from South America. Neotrop Biol Conserv 2008;3(1):39-48.
  23. Cordero EH. Notes sur les hirudinées, I. Quelques observations sur la morphologie externe d'Ozobranchus margoi (Apathy). Annales de Parasitologie Humaine et Comparée. 1929;7(3):209-17.
  24. Rousset V, Plaisance L, Erseus C, Siddall ME, Rouse GW. Evolution of habitat preference in Clitellata (Annelida). Biological journal of the Linnean Society. 2008 Oct 30;95(3):447-64.
  25. Ruppert, Edward E.; Fox, Richard, S.; Barnes, Robert D. (2004). Invertebrate Zoology, 7th edition. Cengage Learning. pp. 478–482. ISBN 978-81-315-0104-7.

"

"

PDF
Insert title here