Phytopharmaceutical potential of Anthocephalus cadamba (Roxb.)

Ever since ancient times, medicinal plants served as a great source of herbal formulations which can confer human civilization with preferential quality of life. Among them, some plants secured their position in mythologies, also highlighting Anthocephalus cadamba, a religious medicinal plant, belonging to the family Rubiaceae, mostly cultivated in tropical regions. Conventional medicinal system of India provides evidences regarding folk medicinal uses for the treatment of various ailments like inflammation, skin diseases, uterine complaints, blood disease and diarrhea etc. Phytochemical investigations revealed the presence of some biologically active compounds like flavonoids, alkaloids, coumarins, terpenoids, diterpenoids, triterpenes, glycosides, sterols, amides and fatty acids and these compounds were found to be accountable for various pharmacological activities such as antimicrobial, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anticancerous, antidibetic, hypolipidemic, antihepatotoxic, antidiarrhoel, diuretic, laxative, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, wound healing etc.