CALOTROPIS PROCERA: A ETHNOBOTANY, PHYTOCHEMICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL REVIEW

Kamini Verma*, Dr. Avinash Kumar Lall, Jhakeshwar Prasad, Trilochan Satapathy, Divya Sahu, Vandana Dewangan

ABSTRACT

Medicinal plants are used from the ancient time as the major sources of drugs. The fact is that we can obtain many of the presently available drugs, either directly in the extract form or in the modified synthetic form. Naturally, plants have the ability to synthesize products beneficial for us namely as phytoconstituents that are used to perform biological functions, which also protect us against predators such as virus fungi and other microorganisms. The phytoconstituents obtained from the natural products are one of the most successful strategies for the discovery of new drugs. Calotropis procera is a plant which is used in several traditional medicine and folklore systems to cure various ailments as reported in the Hindu literature. It is widely used in the Indian traditional medicinal system as well as in Arabic, Unani, and Sudanese systems. C. procera is also used by various tribes of the world as a curative agent for ailments such as skin disease and elephantiasis. Different parts of the plant have been reported to possess various phytochemicals containing cardiotonic agents such as calotropin, calotropagenin, calotoxin, calotropagenin and voruscharine, steroids, di and triterpenes such as stigmasterol, β-sitosterol, flavonoids, polyphenolic compounds, and various newer reported hydrocarbons and proteins. This shrub is known to possess a wide range of pharmacological activities such as anticancer, acaricidal, schizonticidal, antimicrobial, anthelmintic, insecticidal, anti-inflammatory, antidiarrheal, anticancerous, and larvicidal activities with other beneficial properties. C. procera is small, erect shrub, which is used in several herbal and empirical medicines to cure simple and deadly diseases and disorders. It is also reported widely in various folklore preparations and ethnomedicines. This review is a profound attempt to stack the information concerning pharmacognostical, phytochemical, and pharmacological features of C. procera shrubs.

Keywords: Calotropis Procera; Phytoconstituents; Plant pharmacology; Traditional medicine.