Paris polyphylla: An Important Endangered Medicinal Plants of Himalayan Foothills

Abstract

Paris polyphylla is an important threatened medicinal plants found mainly in the north eastern parts of India. These rhizomatic plants are in great demands and extracted injudiciously from the wild. The rhizome is the economic part which is used for its various medicinal properties. The present article gives an account of updated information on its phytochemical and pharmacological properties and its ethno medicinal uses on account of the tale from the local people and veds, literature and their conservation aspects in the region. The review reveals that wide numbers of phytochemical constituents have been isolated from these plants. The rhizomes of the several species of the genus Paris have been used as haemostatic and anti-inflammatory agent to treat traumatic injuries, snake bites, abscess, parotitis and mastitis. For the last few decades or so, extensive research work has been done to prove its biological activities and pharmacology of its extracts. Excessive injudicious collection and harvesting from the wild has pushed these species towards extinction. Domestication, cultivation and strict laws are the need of the hour to save these species from extinction.