CALOTROPIS GIGANTEA: A BRIEF STUDY ON PHYTOCHEMICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL PROFILE

Dr. M. J. Patil, Vibhuti S. Shirsat, Akshay M. Nar, Ankita Shamrav Patil

Medicinal plants have been a major source of medications since antiquity. The important thing to remember is that
there are numerous life-saving drugs available, either directly as extracts or in modified synthetic form. Calotropis
gigantea is a massive shrub with several branches that is gregarious. Its younger branches produce milky latex and
cottony, white hairs. Often called "milkweed," this plant is found almost everywhere in the world and is native to
China, Malaysia, and India. The Siddha, Ayurvedic, and Unani medical systems have long used it. This medicinal
plant has a broad variety of isolated compounds, including alkaloids, tannins, resins, flavonoids, terpenoids, cardiac
glycosides, and certain chemical compounds including giganteol, α and β calotropeol, β-amyrin, giganteol, and
isogiganteol. In addition to these chemical compounds, C. gigantea has some pharmacological action, including
anti-asthmatic, antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, wound healing, anti-inflammatory, anti-diarrheal,
hepatoprotective, and hypoglycemic properties.