Pharmacology of Natural Products: An recent approach on <em>Calotropis gigantea</em> and <em>Calotropis procera</em>

Abstract

Introduction: Since ancient times, people have used medicinal plants to treat varied diseases. Medicinal plants are the important source of drugs, and many of them that are currently available in the pharmaceutical market are obtained from plant sources. Calotropis gigantea and Calotropis procera are small shrub, which are used conventionally to treat many diseases such as cancer, diabetes and intestinal disease in African and Asian countries. There have been always an increased focus on primary health care: basic health care which is effective and affordable by developing countries. Objective: This paper aims to review the pharmacological and pharmacognostical features of Calotropis gigantea and Calotropis procera Method: Brief review on recent literature carried out using Scopus, Google scholar. Result and Discussion: Several studies provide evidence of their antioxidant, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-diarrheal, anticonvulsant, anti-malarial, hepatoprotective, antitumor, antimicrobial and anti-nociceptive properties. Conclusion: Species of Calotropis not widely recognized showed different pharmacological actions, due to the presence of effective secondary metabolites.