A REVIEW ON ETHNOBOTANICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE OF VITEX NEGUNDO L.RANJEET KUMAR, RAHUL KUMAR, JAGDISH SINGH, SWARAN LATA AND JOGINDER SINGHAbstract People are using various plants for curing various ailments in their routine life. Vitex negundo L. is a woody aromatic plant and used in different system of medicine. The family of Vitex negundo L. is lamiaceae and is commonly known as cheste tree, nergundi, simli and vanna. It is distributed mainly in tropical to temperate region of the world and is found upto 1500 m amsl in Western Himalaya. This species have ethnobotanical uses, pharmacological activities, strong potential to develop new drug due to presence of chemical constituents and also used in other traditional medicines. The phytochemical analysis of various parts of the species reveals that it has many biomolecules which can be used for curing the diseases. The main constituents of the plants are alkaloids, flavonoids, flavones, lignans, terpenes, vitexoside, nishindine, glycosidiciridoida, phenols and steroids. The plant contributes in various pharmacological properties like anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, immuno-stimulant, anti- cancerous and astringents. The handicrafts can be prepared from the plants which will enhance the livelihood of the people of the fringe villages. The review aims at providing comprehensive information on ethnobotanical uses and phytochemical constituents of the species. The literature was compiled an ethnobotanical and pharmacological significance of V. negundo. |