A REVIEW ON THERAPEUTIC AND PHARMACOGNOSTIC PROPERTIES OF VELLARUGU (ENICOSTEMMA LITTORALE BLUME)

Vellarugu {Enicostemma littorale Blume (E. littorale)} (Gentian family) is a highly nutritious perennial medicinal plant and used as a medicine in Siddha Medical System to treat several disease conditions such as diabetes mellitus, rheumatism (Vata diseases), skin diseases (Pitta diseases), constipation, abdominal ulcers, swelling, obesity and insect poisoning. It is a rainy season herb, growing on moist, damp and shady ridges and slopes of the borders of cultivated fields and widely distributed in India, Eastern and Southern Africa, South America, and Asia. Whole plant, Leaves, Flowers, stem and Roots are mostly used for the treatment. Although there are numerous scientific studies related to multiple usage of Vellarugu plant, this study attempts to collect all available information and prepare a monograph about the E. littorale for documentation purpose. E. littorale has a number of anti-oxidative phytochemicals which include five alkaloids, catechins, saponins, two sterols, triterpinoids, phenolic acid, flavonoids, xanthones and volatile oil, swetiamerin, and gentianine. Higher percentage of total ash, water soluble ash and acid insoluble ash also were found in this plant. E. littorale has very low toxicity and is a safe and the presence of heavy metals was below the WHO/FDA permissible limits. Numerous studies stated that E. littorale has the therapeutic pharmacological actions such as anti-diabetic, antioxidant, hypolipidaemic, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-arthritic, anti-microbial, anti tumour, and etc. This monograph may provide and confirmed the documentary evident for multiple medicinal and therapeutic uses and pharmacological effects of the E. littorale

STANDARDIZATION OF VELLARUGU CHOORANAM: A SIDDHA HERBAL DRUG

Pharmacognostical standardization of herbal formulation is essential in order to assess the quality of drugs, based on the concentration of their active principles. Vellarugu chooranam is a reputed drug mentioned in the ancient books of Siddha Medicine for the treatment of Vata diseases, arthritis, constipation, and diabetes mellitus. The main component of Vellarugu chooranam is whole plant of Enicostemma littorale Blume (Siddha Name: Vellarugu) (Gentianaceae). In the present study an attempt has been made to standardize the Vellarugu chooranam. For the standardization of this drug Organoleptic properties, Phytochemical screening, Fluorescence analysis, Elemental analysis, Physicochemical parameters such as moisture content, ash values, extractability in water and ethanol were carried out. TLC and HPLC fingerprints of the Vellarugu chooranam were also prepared to evaluate its quality. These set of parameters were found to be sufficient to evaluate authenticity of the Vellarugu chooranam and can be used as reference standards for the preparation of a standardized pharmaceutical product and further quality control researches

Comparative Phyto and Physicochemical Parameters of the Therapeutic Plant Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels in Jaffna District

Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels (Myrtaceae) is an evergreen tree, grown widely in Sri Lanka. It is regularly recognized as jambolan, black plum, and jamun. It is an extensively used therapeutic herbal in the treatment of innumerable illnesses, particularly in Diabetes mellitus in traditional medicine. The goal of the research was to compare the phytochemical and physicochemical properties between the different parts of jambolana tree which is naturally found in Sri Lanka. Proximate estimation of physicochemical properties of dried matured different parts as bark, leaves, fruits, and seeds of the Syzygium cumini havebeen done in the current study rendering to the standard protocols recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Association of Analytical Chemist (AOAC). This study includes electrical conductivity value, moisture content, fat content, and different ash contents analysis. It was found that the leaves had the highest electrical conductivity (16.67±1.53) and the bark had the lowest electrical conductivity (2.44±0.03). The moisture content of the bark was lower (11.30±0.44) in comparison tothat of the seeds (16.34±0.43). Furthermore, the bark had the highest fat content (1.02±0.03) and acid insoluble ash (2.65±0.89), when compared to the seeds (0.65±0.01) and leaves (1.00±0.88) respectively. The seeds had the highest pH (5.39±0.08); total ash (2.18±0.06) and water-soluble ash (5.25±0.55), while the fruits had the highest sulphated ash (1.99±0.55). Qualitative inspection revealed that hot ethanolic seed extracts contained high levels of flavonoids, tannins, phenols, glycosides, alkaloids, terpenoids and quinones, in addition to other parts, which also had high levels of alkaloid content (81.06 mg/g). The current study will contribute useful data in the precise documentation and validation of various parts of S. cumini and may aid in removing contaminants in the preparation of nutraceuticals or medicine. Keywords: Medicinal Plant, Parts, Parameters, Physicochemical, Phytochemical, Syzygium cumin

A Review of Anti-hyperglycemic Effects of Curry Leaf Tree (Murraya koenigii)

Diabetes mellitus is becoming a metabolic disease that is defined by the level of hyperglycemia. Nowadays, it has a serious threat to public healthiness in throughout the world. Constituents and extracts isolated from diverse natural resources, mainly plants, have constantly been a rich store for controlling and treating diabetes problems. Numerous researches are ongoing to identify the suitable traditional medical drugs, medicinal herbs, and resources for managing this condition. Murraya koenigii Spreng (family Rutaceae) is commonly known as a ‘curry leaf tree’ locally. It is widely scattered in India and Sri Lanka, and leaves are commonly used for cooking. And also mainly used for various health conditions such as diabetes, anemia, diarrhea, and others. The present review aimed to critically review the anti-hyperglycemic effect of the M. koenigii based on the review, in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies. Based on this review, the M. koenigii possess flavonoids, phenols, saponins, alkaloids, tannins, and cardiac glycosides. It has shown a potential anti-hyperglycemic effect on induced diabetic rats. This review reported the potential of M. koenigii and its extract to be a high-value dietary product in terms of its anti-hyperglycemic effects and industrial profits. Therefore, the present review supports the researchers and readers/users to realize the importance of using M. koenigii in managing diabetes mellitus. Further, this review provides a valuable document for future scientific-related clinical trials in diabetic patients

A Detail Review on Heart-Leaved Moonseed (Tinospora cordifolia) Medicinal Plant

Worldwide, a usage of herbal medicine is gradually increasing for the safety and maintains the health due to its lower side effects. Numerous medicinal plants are using by the healers and traditional physicians to control the disease conditions. Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Miers (Menispermaceae Family) is distinguished as Heart-Leaved Moonseed herb of the Siddha Medicine which is practicing by Tamil speaking people in Sri Lanka. This present study emphases the detailed review of the pharmacological activities of the Tinospora cordifolia (T. cordifolia) based on the previous scientific studies and textbooks. Data were collected from all existing sources such as ancient and current indigenous text books, websites, proceedings, research and review articles and other related documents based on prepared data entry form. According to this study, T. cordifolia is an important traditional plant which has a variety of pharmacological activities and medicinal usage due to the numerous chemical constituents are present in the various part of this plant. As such, this review paper can serve as evidence for researchers to conduct future scientific research as well as clinical studies in Siddha Medicine

Comparative Analysis of Qualitative and Quantitative Phytochemical Evaluation of Selected Leaves of Medicinal Plants in Jaffna, Sri Lanka

The traditional system of medicine in Sri Lanka has shown much better improvement, has fewer side effects, and is less expensive than modern synthetic drugs in the treatment of many diseases. The objective of the present study was to comparatively evaluate the qualitative and quantitative analysis of phytochemical constituents of leaves of Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng., Tinospora cordifolia (Wild) Hook.f., Enicostemma axillare (Lam) A. Raynal, and Gymnema sylvestre R. Br. were collected from Jaffna District. The shade-dried leaves were powdered and extracted with ethanol using the cold extraction technique. These ethanolic extracts were subjected to phytochemical analysis using recommended laboratory techniques. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's multiple comparisons at probability value (p <0.05) were used in the statistical analysis of the data. Phytochemical screening showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, terpenoids, steroids, saponins, phenols, and glycosides. Murraya koenigii shows the highest phenol and alkaloid contents (1960.71±66.88 and 19.42±0.26). Enicostemma axillare shows the highest flavonoid and tannin contents (22.27±0.86 and 1.26±0.017). Therefore, E. axillare and M. koenigii can be used as nutraceuticals in traditional medicine

Thaalisapaththiri Chooranam (Poly Herbal Formulation) in Siddha Medicine - A literature review

Thaalisapaththiri chooranam (T.C) is a poly herbal formulation and used to treat a wide variety of respiratory tract conditions such as kaasam, shayam, eilai and pitha diseases in Siddha Medicine. It has different ingredients which are having a wide range of therapeutic uses. Although the method of preparation of the T.C is mentioned in the eight text books, same variety of ingredients (eighteen) is mentioned in only two books. Therefore, the preliminary step was to develop the documentary evidences for the medicinal ingredients those are using to prepare the T.C. Data for the review on 18 ingredients from 13 families were collected from relevant text books and research sources from October to December 2019. The characteristics of the ingredients that were identified for the review were morphology; native; parts used; siddha properties such as taste, potency and efficacy; pharmacological actions and phytochemicals. Among these ingredients, all were identified as herbal materials and 2(11.1%) of the species were found in Umbelliferae, Myristicaceae, Piperaceae, Combretaceae and Compositae families. Based on the morphology 8(44.44%) and 6(33.33%) plants were trees and herbs respectively; 8 species (44%) were used as dry fruits. Among these ingredients, 11(39.2%) were pungent in taste, 15(83.3%) hot potency and 12(66%) pungent efficacy. Based on pharmacological actions such as carminative [12(27%)] and stimulant [11(23%)]; phytochemicals such as volatile oil 8(23%) were found in these ingredients. Although this review provides useful documentary evidences for T.C in health management further extensive scientific studies should be carried out to justify in future

Pharmacological screening of Eryngium foetidum Linn – A Review

Eryngium foetidum L. (Family Apiaceae) is a biennial herb, and it is used as a culinary herb and spice across the different countries of the world, including Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore, etc. due to its high aroma quality. Also, it is used to treat several ailments, such as respiratory diseases, gastrointestinal ailments, and skin diseases among different indigenous populations for its medicinal properties. Based on ethnomedical evidence, many studies have been conducted to identify the phytoconstituents, underlying mechanisms, and related pharmacological effects of different parts of this plant. This study reviewed the current state of findings related to the Pharmacological activities of E. foetidum. Based on this review, this plant is widely used for ethnomedical and culinary purposes. Pharmacological screening of the plant revealed that it had different activities such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anthelminthic, anticonvulsant, anticancer, antidiabetic, antimalarial, larvicidal, and hepatoprotective activities. This review further promised that potential new chemical entities could be elicited from the phytoconstituents of E. foetidum