Abstract

REVIEW ON A MEDICINAL HERB CALOTROPIS PROCERA LINN.

Manoj Kumar* and Savina

Abstract

Herbal medicines have been practiced since the ancient times to the present day. The ethnobotanical pharmacology is as old as man himself. Herbal medicines exhibit a remarkable therapeutic diversity. Medicinal plants have remained the major sources of drugs; in fact, many of the currently available drugs were derived either directly or indirectly from them. The approach to new drugs through natural products has proved to be the single most successful strategy for the discovery of new drugs. In the past decade, research has been focussed on scientific evaluation of traditional drugs of plant origin for the treatment of various diseases. Calotropis procera is an Ayurvedic plant which is used in several traditional medicines to treat a variety of diseases. It is small, erect and compact shrub, which is used in several traditional medicines to cure various diseases. This shrub has been known to possess various pharmacological activities including antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, anthelmintic, antidiarrhoeal, antimalarial, etc.

Keywords: Calotropis procera; Phytochemistry; Traditional uses; Ayurvedic uses; Pharmacological activities.