Tinospora Cordifolia Chemical Constituents and Medicinal Properties

Abstract

Traditional systems of medicine such as Ayurvedic, Uninai, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) have been in practice in a great account. Owing to population rise, inadequate supply of drugs, prohibitive cost of treatments, side effects of several allopathic drugs and development of resistance to currently used drugs for diseases have led to increased emphasis on the use of plant materials as a source of medicines for a wide variety of human ailments as witnessed by the use of folk medicines in the present scenario. This review article describes the prominence of a medicinal plant Tinospora cordifolia in therapeutics such as use of crude extract of plant for the amelioration of various diseases, morphology, growth constraints, biochemical composition, biological activities, research work done, projects sanctioned to this plant species and the future prospects of this important neglected plant species for research in the field of plant tissue culture, natural products and nano-biotechnology.Tinospora cordifolia is a widely used shrub in folk and Ayurvedic systems of medicine all over India. Though almost all of its parts are used in traditional systems of medicines, leaves stem and roots are the most important parts which are used medicinally. Tinospora cordifolia is a versatile resource for all forms of life. It belongs to family Menispermaceae. It contains many different chemicals that affect the body. The present review aims to summarize the information concerning the chemical constituents and medicinal aspects of the Tinospora cordifolia plant.