Abstract

BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES OF COLOCASIA ESCULENTA

Ashwini Gaikwad* and Meena Pisal

Abstract

Colocasia esculenta is a traditional medicinal plant, belongs to the family Araceae. C. esculenta is commonly known as taro in English, aravi in hindi, alupam in Sanskrit, alavi in Gujrati, sempu in tamil, alu in marathi, etc.Colocasia esculenta leaves mainly contain chemical constituent is flavonoids and triterpenoids; tubers in methanolic and aqueous extract showed that alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, terpenes, saponins and phenol are present. Plant exerted many pharmacological activities including antihypertensive, diuretic, antihyperglycemic, neuropharmacological activities, antinioceptive, antimicrobial, anticancer, antihyperlipidemic, anthelmintic, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, etc.

Keywords: Colocasia esculenta, taro, flavonoids, phenols.