A phyto pharmacological review of medicinaly important plant solena amplexcaulis (cucurbitaceae)

Solena amplexicaulis, (Cucurbitaceae) commonly known as the creeping cucumber, native to tropical southern Asia. It is generally prescribed for wound healing by the local healers in western districts of Tamil Nadu. The fruits, leaves, roots and shoots have used as food and it is traditionally used as astringent, appetizer, carminative, cardiotonic, digestive, diuretic, expectorant, invigorating, purgative and stimulant. It have lot of medicinal uses such as antioxidant antidiabetic, antibacterial etc. The available reports on physicochemical, anti-microbial activity, anti-oxidant activity and pharmacological value of Solena amplexicaulis are discussed in this review.

QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF PHYTOCHEMICALS AND IN VITRO ANTIOXIDANT ASSAYS IN THE TUBER OF SOLENA AMPLEXICAULIS (LAM.) GANDHI. (CUCURBITACEAE)

Most of the traditional medicinal plants in India are not scientifically validated. Scientific evaluation of medicinal property along with traditional knowledge is essential to obtain effective drugs for commercial purpose. Solena amplexicaulisbelongs to the family, Cucurbitaceae, a traditional medicinal plant species ofTamil Nadu, India is being prescribed to cure various diseases. In this study, the objective was to investigate the qualitative and quantitative determinations of certain phytochemicals and in vitro antioxidant capabilities of various alcoholic and aqueous tuber extracts of S. amplexicaulisby adapting standard procedures. In all the assays methanolic tuber extract registered significantly high amount of secondary metabolites and also it effectively scavenge the free radicals in a concentration dependent manner than the other extracts. These results were compared with synthetic (BHA and BHT) as well as natural antioxidants (rutin and quercetin). The outcome of the study revealed most valuable information and also supports the continued sustainable use of this species in traditional systems of medicine.