Calotropis gigantea: A brief Study on Phytochemical and Pharmacological Profile

Abstract

Medicinal plant is used from the ancient times as the major sources of drugs. The main fact is that, we can obtain various life-saving drugs are present, either directly in the extract form or in the modified synthetic form. Calotropis gigantea is a large shrub, gregarious, much branched and young branches covered with white, cottony hairs, contains milky latex. It is a native of India, Malaysia and China and distributed in almost all over the world, which is commonly known as “milkweed”. It is also used in Unani, Ayurveda and siddha system of medicine for many years. The hole part of this plant like flowers, leaves, bark, latex and roots are used as potential remedy for the treatment of a range of ailments. A wide range of isolated compound like alkaloids, tannins, resins, flavonoids, terpenoids, cardiac glycosides and some chemical compound giganteol, α and β calotropeol, β-amyrin, giganteol and isogiganteol etc. are present in this medicinal plant. Beside these chemical compound, C. gigantea also contains some pharmacological activity: anti-asthmatic, antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, wound healing, anti-inflammatory, anti-diarrhoeal, hepatoprotective and hypoglycemic, etc.