Comprehensive Ethnomedicinal, Pharmacological and Phytochemical Report on <i>Basella alba</i> L. (Basellaceae)

Abstract

From the primitive era to the current generation, natural extracts or products played the most conservative therapeutic and nutritional resources. Starting from the era of folklore or ancient, mother nature has protected us from various diseases by producing various natural products having strong medicinal implications like quinine, taxol, vinblastine, etc. Among the many available sources of natural products, pharma-herb being a new member has drawn considerable attention of the researcher in order to have a new pool of products having pronounced pharmaceutical activity. Now Basella alba is one of the brightest candidates belonging to pharma-herb because of its considerably enriched pharmacologically important product stocks like vitamin C, flavonoid compounds, carotenoids, saponins as well as a large number of different minerals and numerous amino acids. This plant is a perennial vine that is often cultivated as a food crop during the cooler months. It is also able to grow very fast and can resist temperatures that are quite high. Basella alba has been referred to by a number of different names throughout history, including Indian-, Malabar-, climber-, Ceylon-, and vine-spinach. Poi is the term that the majority of people in India use when referring to it. The various natural products isolated from B. alba have significant medicinal utilization because of its antimicrobial, anti-ulcer, wound healing, antiviral, anti- inflammatory depressant, androgenic potential, hepatoprotective, antidiabetic, antioxidant, anti-anxiety, diuretic and antiurolithiatic activities. This review will cover a detailed journey about Basella alba L. ranging from phytochemical to toxicological, morphological, pharmacological as well as medicinal importance.