jHauwolfia serpentina has been known as a medicinal plant in India for a long time but its use in the treatment of hypertension is of comparatively recent origin. The dried root contains 1 per cent of total alkaloids besides resin, starch, potassium carbonate, phosphate, silicate and traces of iron and manganese (Sen and Bose, 1931). Siddiqui and Siddiqui (1931) found two groups of alkaloids an...