GYMNEMA SYLVESTRE (KAVALI): PHARMACOLOGICALLY IMPORTANT HERB

Aditee Kashid*, Dr. Anjali Lokhande, Dr. Viraj Kadam

Plants have played a significant role for mankind mainly as food and medicine. Medicinal plants have been used for many centuries for human diseases because they contain bioactive components of therapeutic value because of their antimicrobial properties and they contain secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, phenolic compounds. Plants for potential antibacterial activity because of the side effects and the resistance that pathogenic microorganisms build against antibiotics, recently much attention has been paid to extracts and biologically active compounds isolated from plant species used in herbal medicine. Gymnema sylvestre is a woody climber, is reported to cure cough, dyspnoea, ulcers, pitta, kapha and pain in the eyes. The plant is useful in inflammations, hepato splenomegaly, dyspepsia, constipation, jaundice, haemorrhoids, strangury, renal and vesical calculi, helminthiasis, cardiopathy, asthma, bronchitis, intermittent fever, amenorrhea, conjunctivitis and leucoderma. The fresh leaves when chewed have the remarkable property of paralyzing the sense of taste for sweet and bitter substance for some time. Chemical constituents of the plant include the gymnemic acids (gymnemosides), saponins, stigmasterol, quercitol, and the amino acid derivatives betaine, choline, and trimethylamine. The present review has been made to investigate the phytochemical, pharmacological activity of different extracts of G. sylvestre.