Volume 154, Issue 2, 11 June 2014, Pages 268–285
Review
Clerodendrum serratum (L.) Moon. – A review on traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological activities
Abstract
Ethnopharmacological relevance
Clerodendrum serratum
(L.) Moon. (Verbenaceae) is an important medicinal plant growing in the
tropical and warm temperate regions like Africa, Southern Asia;
Malaysia and distributed throughout in forests of India and Sri Lanka.
It is traditionally valued and reported for treating pain, inflammation,
rheumatism, respiratory disorders, fever and malarial fever in India
with a long history. To provide a comprehensive overview of the
traditional and ethno medicinal uses, phytochemistry and biological
activities of C. serratum with clinical and toxicity data and possibly make recommendations for further research.
Materials and methods
All relevant worldwide accepted databases were searched for the terms “Clerodendrum”, “Clerodendrum serratum”, “Bharangi” and “Cheruthekku”
along with the other literature from Indian classical texts and
pharmacopoeias. There was no specific timeline set for the search. The
accessible literatures available on C. serratum were collected
via electronic search using Pubmed, Scopus, Science Direct and
traditional books reports on ethnopharmacology and traditional
medicines.
Results
C. serratum
has played an important role in Indian system of medicine. In addition
to the common local use in respiratory diseases, other ethnomedicinal
uses include treatment of pain, inflammation, rheumatism and fever
especially malarial fever. Scientific studies on extracts and
formulations revealed anti-asthmatic, mast cell stabilization and
anti-allergic effects of roots of C. serratum. Reported data on
pharmacological activities also includes hepatoprotective,
anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer potential of the drug.
Saponins (terpenoids and steroids), flavonoids and phenolics isolated
from roots have been the focus of phytochemical investigations as the
biological activity has been ascribed to the saponins, which are known
to possess anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activity. Isolated
bioactives from roots like icosahydropicenic acid and ursolic acid have
been claimed to offer anti-allergic and hepatoprotective activity.
Conclusions
Therapeutic potential of roots and leaves of C. serratum
has been demonstrated in the conditions like asthma, allergy, fever,
inflammation and liver disorders attributed to the presence of various
flavonoids, phenolics and saponins present in the drug. Many
ethnobotanical claims have been confirmed through modern in-vitro and in-vivo
pharmacological studies of different extracts and isolates from plant;
however, additional studies on the biomarkers are needed to establish
mechanism of action and to validate the traditional use of this drug in
clinical practices after proper safety assessment.
Graphical abstract
Chemical compounds studied in this article
- Oleanolic acid (PubChem CID: 10494);
- Queretaroic acid (PubChem CID: 23641088);
- Serratagenic acid (PubChem CID: 165502);
- Ursolic acid (PubChem CID: 64945);
- β-sitosterol (PubChem CID: 222284);
- Spinasterol (PubChem CID: 5283663);
- Stigmasterol (PubChem CID: 122544);
- Caffeic acid (PubChem CID: 689043);
- Catechin (PubChem CID: 9064);
- Ferulic acid (PubChem CID: 445858)
Keywords
- Clerodendrum serratum;
- Bharangi;
- Saponins;
- Antiasthmatic agent;
- Pharmacological activities
- Corresponding author. Tel.:
+91 9824513258; fax: +91 02717 241916.
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