Abstract

MAHUA (MADHUCA LONGIFOLIA, SAPOTACEAE): A REVIEW OF ITS PROPERTIES AND EFFECTS

Dr. Aanchal Mittal* and Dr. Rajesh Sharma

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Abstract

Madhuca longifolia (M. longifolia), commonly known as Mahua, belonging to the family sapoteace family tree is a medium to large sized deciduous tree. M. longifolia is a highly nutritious tree used in traditional and folklore system of medicine widely across India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. This paper reviews the earlier work done on madhuca and summarizes the traditional, common uses of various parts of plant, its phytochemical constituents and various reported pharmacological activities alongwith focusing on income generation & employment through commercial use of its parts in food and medicine industry. Madhuca longifolia is reported to contain chemical constituents like sapogenins, triterpenoids, steroids, saponins, flavonoids and glycosides. After a lot of therapeutic research on mahua, it is shown that it has ethnomedicinal properties such as antibacterial, anticancer, hepatoprotective, antiulcer, antihyperglycemic and analgesic activities. The tribal regions of India use the oil in cooking and it is also used in manufacturing of laundry soaps and detergents. M. longifolia can be considered as a therapeutic agent for specific diseases as its non-toxic effect even at larger doses are revealed in toxicity studies. For deeper traditional knowledge, further exploration on M. longifolia for its therapeutic potential is required. Mahua oil is used for manufacturer of laundry soaps and detergent, and also used as cooking oil in various.

Keywords: Madhuca longifolia, Mahua, butter nut tree, Phytochemistry, Ethnomedicinal Uses.