Botany, Traditional Uses and Pharmacology of Bukkun Booti - Phyla nodiflora (L.) Greene: An Underexposed Botanical Drug of AYUSH-Unani System

Abstract

Bukkun Booti (Phyla nodiflora (L.) Greene; Syn. Lippia nodiflora (L.) Michx.), of Verbenaceae, is a fast-growing creeping perennial medicinal herb, has a very long history for human use as it is generally distributed throughout the world. The plant has been traditionally used and recorded in AYUSH-Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha systems of medicine. In the Unani System of Medicine (USM), the Bukkun Booti is used for detoxification of the blood. It is useful in Bawāsīr (bleeding piles), Ru‘af (epistaxis), Hasāh al-Mathāna (cystolithiasis), Sozāk (gonorrhea) ‘Usr al-Bawl (dysuria) and Hummayat (fevers). Ethno-medicinally, it has been widely used as a traditional folk medicine to treat and cure ailments by the local tribal and other communities. The entire plant is diuretic, febrifuge, stomachic and astringent; good for ulcers, wounds, asthma, bronchitis, knee-joints and to ladies after delivery. Bukkun Booti is a rich source of antioxidants and secondary metabolites, and aerial parts are reported to contain phenolic compounds (flavonoids), which are found to have a broad array of reported pharmacological actions such as; antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antidiabetic and hepatoprotective properties. The purpose of this review paper is to bring together the available information on the current status and therapeutic uses of Bukkun Booti in the Unani System of Medicine and to discuss the botany and importance of the plant on the basis of folk uses, pharmacological activities and chemical constituents. The potential characteristics of P. nodiflora could be utilized more efficiently by linking the bridge of traditional uses, pharmacology and phytochemistry through an integrated approach.