Abstract

REVIEW ON POTENTIAL NATURAL MEDICINAL HERB: ADHATODA VASICA

Ashwini Makadi* and D. V. Kulkarni

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Abstract

The increasing incidence of adverse drug reactions due to use of allopathic drugs from past few decades have attract the attention of researchers and also medical practitioner towards the herbal drugs. These herbal drugs have been utilizing by the tradition system of medicine and in Ayurveda since last 1000 years. Numerous families of medicinal plants exist out of which Acanthaceae family along with other families like Euphorbiaceae, Meliaceae etc are found noteworthy. Adhatoda vasica (Vasa) is well known drug in Ayurveda, has been known to possess enormous biological potential. In Ayurveda, it is use to cure diseases like Gulma, Raktapitta, Swasa-kasa due to its properties like Tikta-Kashaya rasa, katu vipaka, sheeta virya. The chief chemical composition of it consists of vasicine, adhatonine, vasicol etc which possess important pharmacological actions like: anti-microbial, bronchodilator, anti-inflammatory, anticancer etc. Thus, this article aimed to present an overall detail review of the pharmacological and phytochemical potential of this plant.

Keywords: Adhatoda vasica(Vasa), Tikta-Kashaya rasa, biological activities, secondary metabolites.