An updated Review on Phytochemistry, Pharmacological activity and Medicinal uses of Calotropis gigantea R.Br.

 

Pratibha Mishra*, Khushwant Singh Yadav, Girendra Gautam

Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research Centre, Bhagwant University, Ajmer, Rajasthan

*Corresponding Author E-mail: pratibham160686@gmail.com    

ABSTRACT:

Calotropis gigantea, R.Br. is a plant with clusters of flowers of white or lavender colour. They grow widely in Singapore, China, Thailand, Malay Islands and Sri Lanka. In India, the shrubs are very common and grow widely in compounds of temples and other waste lands. It is called as Madar. Large shrub or small tree up to 4-10 m tall, much-branched at base, stems erect, up to 20 cm in diameter; bark pale grey, longitudinally cracked; young shoots woolly hairy; latex in all parts. The White Madar plants are very slow growing but are fleshy in nature especially the leaves and stems. The latex, leaves, flowers, barks and roots of this plant are used as potential remedy for the treatment of a range of ailments. C. gigantea contain chemical constituents are cardenolides, flavonoids, terpenes, pregnanes and a non-protein amino acid. The plant has been used for various disease condition including leprosy, ulcers, tumours and piles. Various pharmacological activities reported like Analgesic activity, Antipyretic activity, Pregnancy interceptive activity, CNS activity, Anti-inflammatory activity, Procoagulant activity, Anti-diarrhoeal activity, free redical scavenging activity, Antimicrobial Activity, Anti-tumor activity, Antifungal activity, Antitussive activity, and Antifeedent activity.  In view of this the present study was investigated to review the phytochemistry, pharmacological activity, medicinal properties and biological properties of Calotropis gigantea.

 

KEYWORDS: Calotropis gigantea, Latex, Leaves, Flowers, Barks, Roots, Phytochemistry, Pharmacological activities, Medicinal uses.

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

Calotropis gigantea (Asclepiadacea) is distributed throughout India. It is popularly known as arka in Hindi. India being a tropical country is blessed with best natural resources and ancient knowledge for its judicious utilization. However, in order to make these remedies acceptable to all, there is a need to scientifically evaluate them to identify the active principles and understand the pharmacological action.

Humankind first utilized material found in environment on an empirical basis to cure various ailments. Natural products from plants and animals traditionally have provided the pharmaceutical industry with one of its important sources of lead compounds in search of new drugs and medicines. The search for new pharmacologically active agents from natural resources such as plants, animals and microbes led to discovery of many clinically useful drugs.

 

India holds a pride of place largely because of its other used and economic values. The fibres extracted from the bark of the stem is white, silky, strong, flexible, durable and used in making ropes for cots, gunny bags, fishing nets, and bow strings. The wood is used as cheap fuel and latex is used in tanning industries. The latex is used as wound healing agent by different traditional healers, it is also used as an abortificient in folk medicines.1-2

 

PLANT PROFILE 3

Kingdom : Plantae

Subkingdom : Tracheobionta (Vascular plants)

Superdivision : Spermatophyta(Seed plants)

Division : Magnoliophyta (Flowering plants)

Class : Magnoliopsida (Dicotyledons )

Subclass : Asteridae

Order : Gentianales

Family : Asclepiadaceae (Milkweed family)

Genus : Calotropis R. Br.(calotropis)

Species : Calotropis gigantea (L.) W.T. Aiton – giant milkweed

 

VERNACULAR NAMES

English : White Madar

Hindi : Aka, Mandara

Kannada : Yekada gida

Malayalam : Vella Erukku

Sanskrit : Svetarka

Telugu : Jilledi puvvu

Tamil : Erukku

Manipuri : Angkot

 

DISTRIBUTION3

Throughout India, Ceylon, Malay Island, S. China.

 

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION 3-4                                        

The Calotropis gigantea Linn. is a perennial shrub, growing up to 2.5 meters with branches and sub branches. It is a slow growing variety of Calotropis. Leaves are simple, opposite and sub-sessile ovate and cordate at base. Calotropis gigantea contains latex in almost all parts of the plant. Flowers are beautiful, white in color, in umbellate lateral cymes. Fruits are fleshy follicles, green; seeds attached with abundant white coma24. Calotropis gigantea grows up to 4 m in height and possess sessile leaves. The leaves are about 10 cm in length and are about 8 cm in width. Its flowers are 14-15 mm long and 3- 4.5 cm in diameter.

 

 

Fig No.1: Calotropis gigantea Plant.

 

CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS4-7

Various chemical constituents have been reported from different parts of the plant. Cardenolide glycosides such as Calotropin, Frugoside and 4`-0-beta-D glucopyranosyl frugoside were isolated from the roots of Calotropis gigantea. The stem bark of C.gigantea yields resin and wax. The wax contains b-amyrin and its isovalerate, calotropeols-a and b, mixture of tetracyclic triterpene, traces of sterols, C31 and C33 hydrocarbons, fatty acids and giganteol. The leaf contains ascorbic acid, ortho‐pyrocatechic acid and also contains β‐amyrin, taxasterol, tarasterol and beta‐sitosterol29. Two new cardenolides, 19-Nor and 18,20-epoxy-cardenolides were isolated from the leaves of C.gigantea. Two 15β -hydroxycardenolides (1,2) and a 16α-hydroxycalactinic acid methyl ester (3) along with eleven known compounds were isolated from the polar fraction of the CH2Cl2 extract and n-BuOH extract of the C.gigantea leaves. Flowers contain waxy matter which has esters of resinols, α‐, β‐calotropeol, β‐amyrin, stigmasterol, giganteol, calotropin (triterpenoid flavonoid), flavonoid glycoside, wax, acids and alcohols. Seeds are rich in aminoacids, major being phenylalanine, lysine and histidine. The stem of C.gigantea yields latex. The latex contains cardiac glycosides, calotropin, uscharin, calotoxin, uscharidin and gigantin. The latex consists of calotropin DI and DII and calotropain FI and FII and an enzyme with invertase activity.

 

 

Fig.2: Chemical structures of some active ingredients of Calotropis gigantea Linn.

 

PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITY4,7-9

1. Anti-diarrhoeal activity

The anti-diarrheal effect of hydroalcoholic (50:50) extract of aerial part of Calotropis gigantea was studied against castor oil-induced-diarrhea model in rats. The gastrointestinal transit rate was expressed as the percentage of the longest distance traversed by the charcoal divided by the total length of the small intestine. The weight and volume of intestinal content induced by castor oil were studied by enteropooling method.

 

2. Antipyretic activity

The roots of Calotropis gigantea have been used in leprosy, eczema, syphilis, elephantiasis, ulceration and cough in the Indian system of traditional medicin. The present communicationTAB (Typhoid) vaccine-induced pyrexia in rats and rabbits. In both yeast-induced and TAB vaccine-induced fever, the fever was significantly reduced and the body temperature was normalized by administration of 200 and 400 mg/kg dose intraperitoneally.

 

3. CNS activity

Alcoholic extract of peeled roots of Calotropis gigantea R.Br. (Asclepiadaceae) was tested orally in albino rats at the dose level of 250 and 500mg/kg bodyweight for CNS activity. Prominent analgesic activity was observed in Eddy's hot plate method and acetic acid induced writhings. The paw licking time was delayed and the numbers of writhings were greatly reduced. Significant anticonvulsant activity was seen as there was a delay in the onset of pentylenetetrazole induced convulsions as well as decrease in its severity. The extract treated rats spent more time in the open arm of EPM showing its antianxiety activity.

 

4. Analgesic activity

The alcoholic extract of the flowers of Calotropisgigantea was administered orally and explored for its analgesic activity in chemical andthermal models in mice. In acetic acid induced writhing test, an inhibition of 20.97% and 43.0% in the number of writhes was observed at the doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg, respectively. In the hot plate method the paw licking time was delayed. The analgesic effect was observed after 30 min of dose administration which reached its maximum after 90 min.

 

5. Anti-inflammatory activity

The anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated using carrageenin-induced kaolin induced rat paw oedema for acute and cottonpellet granuloma, adjuvant-induced arthritis model for chronic inflammation. Antipyretic activity was carried out using yeast induced pyresis method. Phenylquinone--induced writhing method in mice was used for analgesic activity. Test compounds exhibited variable antiinflammatory activity and peak activity of the test compounds were reached at 2 h. Alkaloid fraction possesses comparatively high initial antiinflammatory activity. The residual antiinflammatory activity of alkaloid fraction of Calotropisgigantea suggests either a greater malic enzyme of a filarial worm Setariadigitata: some properties and effects of drugs and herbal extracts.

 

6. Hepatoprotactive activity

Methanolic extract ofC.gigantea leaf having good hepatoprotactive activity in dose dependant manner against CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity in rats.

 

7. Antitussive activity

Leaf extract showed antitussive activity due to presence of alkaloids and glycosides.

 

MEDICINAL USES OF PLANT PARTS10-25

Parts Used:

- Root, root-bark, leaves, inspissated juice and flower.

- Flowers are considered digestive, stomachic and tonic.

- Hakims declare the juice as caustic, a purge for phlegm, depilatory and the most acrid of all milky juices.

- Root-bark and juice have emetic, diaphoretic, alterative and purgative properties.

- Root-bark is alterative (promotes secretion), tonic, antispasmodic, expectorant and in large doses emetic. - This drug increases secretions and has a sedative action on the muscular fibres of the intestine, allaying all pain irritation and thus relieving all dysenteric symptoms.

- In intermittent fevers it is used as antiperiodic and diaphoretic.

- The drug is also useful in the skin diseases such as Elephantiasis and leprosy because the drug stimulates the capillaries and acts powerfully on the skin.

- Milky juice is a violent purgative and gastrointestinal irritant. It is used for criminal purposes for inducing abortion or causing the death of new born infants, by forcing it down the throat or applied locally, usually a stick smeared with the juice is pushed up into the uteri and left there until uterine contractions are induced. - Some parts of India it is also used as a cattle poison.

- All parts of the plants are considered to have valuable alternative properties when taken in small doses.

Dose: Juice – 1-2 gms Root-bark – 1-5 gms Juice of the leaves – 1-5 gms

 

Uses in Ayurveda and Siddha Preparation:

Flowers – Aphrodisiac, laghu, dipanam, pachanam, in aruchi, swasam, kasam.

Red flowers – Madhura, rasam, tiktarasam, kaphaharm, grahi, in Kushtam, asaras, krimi, gulmam, sodam.

Milk – Ushnam, tikshnam, laghu, snigdam, indication in kushtam.

 

Uses in Unani Preparations:

Hot 40, dry 40, caustic, balgham, piles, aches, skin, dropsy, anthelmintic. Leaves and branches:- Hot 30, Dry 30, resolvent, paralysis, anesthesia, toxic, asthma.

 

CONCLUSION:

Calotropis gigantea is commonly distributed in India, Family Asclepiadacea commonly known as Madar in Hindi is a perennial herb with a long history of use in traditional medicines. This review has listening carefully on the Pharmacological activity of this plant. Pharmacological activity includes Neuropharmacological activity, Antibacterial activity Antidiarrhoeal activity, Anticonvulsant and Central nervous system activity, Procoagulant activity, Wound healing activity, Hepatoprotective activity, Cytotoxic activity, Antitumor activity etc. Herbs provide many unique qualities that are very limited in conventional medicine, such as anti-cancer, anti-viral and immunoregulation properties. Herbs are an excellent alternative to antibiotics in the treatment of infectious diseases, with wider antibacterial effects as well as various antifungal and antiviral actions. Some herbal formulations serve as detoxification agents, antioxidants, and anti-cancer therapies (United State Department of Agriculture, Krishananmarg).

 

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Received on 22.04.2017       Modified on 01.05.2017

Accepted on 10.06.2017      ©AandV Publications All right reserved

Res.  J. Pharmacognosy and Phytochem. 2017; 9(2): 135-138.

DOI: 10.5958/0975-4385.2017.00025.5