Abstract

A REVIEW ARTICLE ON DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF “ARKA”

Jyoti Sharma*, Sangeeta Kuri, Chandan Singh, Rajendra Prasad Purvia and Manoj Kumar Adlakha

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Abstract

Calotropis procera is locally known as Aak or Madar in Hindi, milkweed in English and belongs to the family Apocynaceae and subfamily Asclepiadoideae. Although a wasteland plant, it is of sacred use as its flowers are offered for worshiping Lord Shiva, a Hindu God. This plant can be used all over the world in treatment of various diseases like snake bite, body pain, asthma, epilepsy, cancer, sexual disorders, skin diseases and many more. Through literature searches reveal many reviews about ethnomedicinal uses, chemical composition and pharmacological activities, no recent papers are available that provide an overview on the types of Calotropis procera. Hence, the insight of this review is to provide a systemic summary of different varieties as mentioned in different Nighantus, pharmacology, and therapeutic potential of Calotropis procera and to highlight the gaps in the knowledge to offer inspiration for future research.

Keywords: Calotropis procera, Varieties of ARKA, Ethnomedicinal uses, Pharmacognosy, Pharmacological activities.