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Patel et al., IJPSR, 2012; Vol. 3(5): 942-950 ISSN: 0975-8232
Available online on www.ijpsr.com 942
IJPSR (2012), Vol. 3, Issue 05 (Review Article)
Received on 27 January, 2012; received in revised form 29 February, 2012; accepted 19 April, 2012
MADHUCA INDICA: A REVIEW OF ITS MEDICINAL PROPERTY
Pushpendra K. Patel*, Narendra K. Prajapati and B.K. Dubey
T.I.T. College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology, Anand Nagar, Bhopal- 462 021, Madhya Pradesh, India
ABSTRACT
Medicines obtained from plant source are known as an herbal medicine, and
the herbal medicine are one which make human healthy without causing any
of harmful effect. Madhuca Indica is a plant of Indian origin having
tremendous therapeutic potential but is not fully utilized. It is hidden from
the eyes of the researchers and other botanist. Madhuca Indica has several
pharmacological activity, and potential to provide health to the society. It is
used as Anti diabetic, antiulcer, hepato protective, anti pyretic, anti fertility,
analgesic, anti oxidant, swelling, inflammation, piles, emetic, dermatological,
laxative, tonic, anti burn, anti earth worm, wound healing headache and
many more problems. Here is a misconception about mahua tree that it is
used as liquor and harmful for health, but this is what after the fermentation
process, so the present review deals with the general and chemical profile of
Madhuca Indica and its economic importance including medicinal and other
uses, and tried to emphasize the most potent activity.
INTRODUCTION: The universal role of plants in the
treatment of disease is exemplified by their
employment in all the major system of medicine,
irrespective of the underlying philosophical
premise1.Plants are having a great importance to
pharmaceutical industry, because these are rich source
of drugs and a vast reservoir of chemical diversity for
screening programs aimed at new drug discovery.
Most of the drugs which are mention in the Indian
medicinal system are from plant source 2. The duration
of the mediaeval period is known as between 8th
century to 18th century AD 3.
Screening programs which are based on the part of
natural plant have achieved great success in identifying
very useful chemical constituents such as anticancer
agent like vinblastine and vincristine, some cardio
protective drugs like digoxine or digitoxin 4. Plants have
at one time supplied virtually all culture with food,
clothing, shelter and medicine. Approximately 10 to 15
% of roughly 300,000 species of higher plants have
been used in traditional medicine system from last
several years, as they are flows from generation to
generation 5. The Indian subcontinent is enriched by
verity of flora, both aromatic and medicinal plants. This
is due to the wide diversity of climatic condition
available in India, ranging from deserts to swap lands.
Numerous types of herbs have been well recognized
and catalogued by botanist from the high ranges of
Himalya 6.
The world health organization is now actively focusing
his attention towards the developing countries to
encourage them to use herbal medicine, which they
have been traditionally, used for centuries. They have
identified 3000 plants from forest of India 6. Herbal
medicine can be defined as those products which are
simply derived from the any part of plant 7. The most
advantage of the herbal medicine is that they contain a
wide variety of different component 8. India occupies
the second place in the world for supplying the herbal
and natural medicine of fine, pure and the best quality
Keywords:
Mahua,
Madhuca Indica,
Herbal plant,
Medicinal plant,
Toxicity
Correspondence to Author:
Pushpendra K. Patel
T.I.T. College of Pharmacy, Department
of Pharmacology, Anand Nagar, Bhopal-
462 021, Madhya Pradesh, India
E-mail: pushpendrakpatel@gmail.com
Patel et al., IJPSR, 2012; Vol. 3(5): 942-950 ISSN: 0975-8232
Available online on www.ijpsr.com 943
9. Over the last few years, researchers have aimed at
identifying and validating plant-derived substances for
the treatment of various diseases. It is estimated that
more than 25% of modern medicine is derived from
the plants, means either their direct part is useful or
their secondary metabolites are of prime importance
10-13. There are several other reasons for the adaptation
of natural and traditional medicine, as these are useful
without or less side effect and contra indication. The
herbal medicine is not only used from recent time but
it has been frequently used since the last thousands of
years.
The knowledge of traditional medicine put the light on
the discovery of new and potent medicine. The
common difficulty that researchers and worker face
with medicinal plant is about the purity of authentic
information on the identity of the plant, its habit and
the condition required for its collection and than its
utilization as a medicinal plant 14. Another important
thing about medicinal plant is prerequisites
information for safety and efficacy must be known for
address quality 15.
Madhuca Indica a plant of Indian origin having
tremendous therapeutic and potential use but due to
unawareness of people it is not fully utilized. It is
hidden from the eyes of the researchers and other
botanist. Mahua tree have a lot of pharmacological
potency for treatment of several diseases. Madhuca
Indica is a forest tree found in central and northern
India and Malaysia. It is commonly observed in various
parts of the Indian sub-continent, including
Bangladesh. In the folk medicinal system of
Bangladesh, various parts of the tree are used, namely
whole young plants, leaves, stems, barks, roots, fruits,
flowers, and seeds.
The different ailments treated with these parts include
tuberculosis, rheumatoid arthritis, cholera, paralysis,
snake-bite, debility, tonsillitis, influenza, piles, arthritic
pain, helminthiasis, low semen count, headache,
flatulency, and infections, besides being used as a
blood purifier and as an antidote to poison. Two proto
basic glycosides, namely madhucosides A and B have
been isolated from the bark of this tree The two
compounds showed significant inhibitory effects on
both superoxide release from poly morph nuclear cells,
and hypochlorous acid generation from neutrophils 16.
The Mahua tree is approximately 20 meters in height,
and possesses evergreen or semi-evergreen foliage.
Mahua tree is generally valued for its seeds which have
abundant amount of oil bearing capacity and flowers
which are mostly used in the production of the
alcoholic beverage and sweet candy. Spent flowers
(after fermentation) are also used as animal feed.
About 0.12 million tones seeds of Mahua tree are
produced in India, after collecting it from different part
of the country in organized sectors and utilized for oil
extraction 17. The estimated production of Mahua
flowers is more than one million tons in the country.
The collection of Mahua flower and seed are
encouraged by the state government of India, as they
provide the basic support price for it, on the other way
it is source of income for the poor people as they
collect it and then sell it to the government agency or
local buyer 18. With development of photochemical
industries in India, domestic requirements for various
medicinal plants grow considerably 19.
Family: Sapotaceae
Local names: English (Indian butter tree), Hindi
(Mahua, Mohwa, mauwa), Bangali (mahwa, Maul,
Mahwla), Marathi (mahwa,Mohwra) Gujrati (madhuda,
Telgu ( Ippa), Tamil ( Illupei, Ewpa), Kannad (tuppe)
Malyalam ( poonam, Ilupa) Oriya ( mahula, moha,
Madgn) 20
Habitat and Distribution: Our knowledge about the
particular plant in our environment is far from
complete. There are regions around the world where it
is little difficult to categories or classify the plant 21. In
India there is all type of climatic condition for better
propagation and cultivation, which varies from hot to
cold, humid to dry as we go in different part in India 22.
The Madhuca Indica commonly known as Mahua is an
important economic plant growing throughout the
subtropical region of the indo-Pakistan subcontinent.
Large numbers of Mahua trees are found in the state
of Dehradun, Saharanpur, Chota Nagpur, Siwaliks,
Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Bihar, West Bengal, North circars, Deccan and
Karnataka 18, 20, 23
Cultivation and Collection: This plant can be cultivated
or self sown 23. Flowering of this medium sized tree
Patel et al., IJPSR, 2012; Vol. 3(5): 942-950 ISSN: 0975-8232
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take place during the season of March to April, in every
years.
Botanical Description and Identification Features: A
medium sized to large deciduous tree, usually with a
short, hole and large rounded crown found throughout
the green forest part of India up to an altitude of 1,200
meter and of 12 to 15 meter height, bark thick dark
colored cracked, inner bark dark red, milk, trunk short,
branches numerous 23. Leaves are 10-30 centimeter
long, are thick and leathery most of leaves pointed at
the tip, clustescent glabrred near end of branches,
epileptic or elliptic oblong 7.5 to 23 cm into 3.8 to 11.5
cm. coriaceous pubeand when young almost. Flowers
are small and fleshy, dull or pale white in color and in
define fascicles near end of branches. Corolla tubular,
freshly pale, yellow aromatic and caduceus 24. Fruits
are 2-6 cm long, fleshy and greenish. Bark dark color,
cracked 25.
Useful parts of plant: Every part of any plant posses
some medicinal properties, either in small of large
proportion. Different parts of a plant often contain a
quit different active ingredients, so that one part may
be toxic and another one quite harmless 26. The plant
consist of several parts, they may be classified
according to the function. They are root, bark, leaves,
flowers, fruits, seeds, oil.
FIGURE 1: SOME USEFUL PARTS OF MADHUCA INDICA 27
TABLE 1: PARTS VISE USE OF MADHUCA INDICA 25,28
Part of Plant
Medicinal Properties
Leaf
Enzyma, Wound Healing, Anti Burns, Bone Fracture
Oil
Emollient, Skin Disease, Rheumatism, Headache,
laxative, Piles, Hemorrhoids, Emetics, Anti Earth
worm.
Fruit
Sweet, Refrigerant, Aphrodisic, Tonic, Dipsica,
Bronchitis, Astringent, Anti Ulcer, Acute and Chronic
Tonsillitis, Pharyngitis.
Bark
Rheumatism, Ulcer, Inflammation, Bleeding, Spongy
Gums, Tonsillitis, Diabetic, Stomach Ache, Anti
Snake Poisoning, Astringent, Emollient, Fracture,
Itching.
Flower
Refrigerant, Liquor, Jelly, Sweet Syrup, Expectorant,
Increase the production of milk in woman,
Stimulant, Diuretics, Anthelmentic, Strangury,
Verminosis, Hepatoprotective. Gastropathy.
Phytochemical: The therapeutic value of the plant
depends on the active constituents present inside the
different part of the plant, which may be present in the
small or large quantity 29. The secondary metabolites
are the important substance responsible for the main
medicinal properties in the crude drugs 22. The leaves
of Mahua tree contain saponin, an alkaloid, and
glucoside. Sapogenin and other basic acid are found in
the seeds. Various Photochemical studies on Mahua
include characterization of Sapogenin, triterpenoids,
steroids, saponin, flavonoids and glycosides. In view of
the aides and attributed medicinal properties new
components including madhucic acid (penta cyclic
triterpenoids), madhushazone, four new oleanane type
triterpene glycosides and madhucosides A and B 20.
Patel et al., IJPSR, 2012; Vol. 3(5): 942-950 ISSN: 0975-8232
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The fresh flower of Mahua contains 2 acetyl 1
pyrroline, the aroma molecule. They also contain
polysacheride which on hydrolysis give D-galactose, D-
glucose, L-araninose, L-rhamose,D- xylose and D-
glucuronic acid 15. To estabililish the pharmacological
activity of particular crude drug is known as the
pharmacological screening, and it is important for
prediction of activity 7.
TABLE 2: ACTIVE CONSTITUENT PRESENT IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF
MADHUCA INDICA 25, 30, 23
Part
Phytoconstituents
Bark
Flavonoids, Triterpene, Sterol
Latex
Soluble Resin, Insoluble Resin
Leaf
Moisture, Organic Matter, Minerals, Potas (K2O)
Phosphoric Acid (P205) Silica, Alkaloids, Flavonoids,
Protobasic Acid.
Flower
Carotene, Ascobic Acid, Thiamine, Riboflavine,
Niacine, Folic Acid, Biotine, Inositole.
Ripe Fruit
Moisture, Protein, Fat, Carbohydrates, Minerals,
Calcium, Phosphoras, iron, Carotine, Ascorbic Acid,
Tannins.
Utilization:
Nutritional and Medicinal Use: The Mahua tree is
having lots of nutritional value in it. It produces fruit
which is valued for its seed which yield high quantity of
fat commercially known as Mahua butter or mowrah
butter, many edible and medicinal applications and it is
also used as a biodiesel 31. Its fat has been used as
substitute for cocoa butter and ghee. It is one of the
single largest sources of natural hard fat 32. The fat
which is thus obtained from Mahua fruit oil is used in
cooking, frying and manufacturing chocolates. The
seed fat has emulsion property so it mostly used as an
emulsifying agents in few pharmaceutical industries. It
is generally applied as massage oil in many part of the
country, as it is very good to moisturize skin.
Besides edible and medicinal uses, Mahua has
industrial application as it can be utilized in the
manufacture of laundry soaps and lubricants 33.
Moreover, the seed cake is reported to have
insecticidal and pesticide property and used as organic
manure in crops like rice, sugarcane etc. The medicinal
properties which are seen in this plant are stimulant,
demulcent, emollient, heating. Skin disease,
rheumatism, headache, laxative, piles, and sometimes
as galactogogue astringent and many more 25.
Review of literature based on chemical composition of
mahua flower reveals its high nutritional value. Apart
from being a rich sours of sugar and protein, the
flowers also contain essential minerals like Ca, p, Fe,
and K. Calcium is a major component of the bone and
assists in teeth development 34, 18 phosphorus is next in
importance to calcium as utilization of Ca is closely
related to it. Most of the Calcium in the body is
deposited as the calcium Phosphate 35.
Traditional use: Although Mahua tree is easily found in
the several part of India, it is not used as a food
material. Mahua flower occupy an important position
in the life of the tribal in many parts of India 36. Only a
small quantity of flowers is consumed in a raw, cooked
or fried formed in different parts of India. Major
quantity of flowers is used in the preparation of the
distilled liquors. The freshly prepared liquor has a
strong, smoky foetid odor, which disappear on ageing
25.It is also seen that the pest of the Mahua tree bark is
used to cure the fracture of bone. The most interested
thing about the Mahua tree is that it has two fruits in
different seasons; the seed oil is extracted from it and
used in the several different purposes. The wood of
mahua tree is also used in the house hold utility like
door and window making.
Sugar syrup: There are several reports on preparation
of sugar syrup from dry Mahua flowers, as its sweet
property is utilized in the fermentation process 37, 38, 18.
The water extract of dried flower is decolorized with
different de colorizing agent like slacked lime and
activated charcoal before concentrating it to the
desired concentration. Activated charcoal at a
concentration of 3.5-5% was found to be the best
agent for the preparation of the Mahua sugar syrup 18.
The syrup thus obtained from the flower of Mahua is
employed in the different purpose, either in the
manufacturing of chocolate or as a sweetening agent
25.
Industrial use: Recently, biodiesel has been receiving
increasing attention due to its less polluting nature and
because it is a renewable energy resource as against
the conventional diesel, which is a fossil fuel leading to
a potential exhaustion. Mostly, biodiesel is prepared
from oils like soybean, rapeseed, sunflower, safflower,
zetropa etc. throughout the world 39.
Patel et al., IJPSR, 2012; Vol. 3(5): 942-950 ISSN: 0975-8232
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Renewable biological sources such as vegetable oils
and fats obtained from the animal are the richest
source of the production of the biodiesel. Research
have been carried out from the last several years to
produce the new source of diesel which provide the
alternative of present fuel, and this is continues from
about 100 years ago but interest lagged because of
cheap and plentiful supplies of petroleum fuels. The
reason for the utilization of natural or vegetable as a
new source of fuel is present status of demand. There
is a increasing graph of the demand of the oil as the
no. of vehicle are increasing day by day and the
pollution is also running along with the no. of vehicles,
so one has to look forward to prepare the another
alternative source of diesel.
Since the oil price increase of the 1970s, various
alternative fuels have been investigated with the goal
of replacing conventional petroleum supplies. The
initial interest was mainly one of fuel supply security,
but recently more attention has been focused on the
use of renewable fuels in order to reduce the net
production of CO2 from fossil fuel combustion sources
40.
Pharmacological profile: Madhuca Indica, belonging to
the family Sapotaceae, is an important economic tree
growing throughout India. Traditionally, Madhuca
Indica bark has been used against diabetes,
rheumatism, ulcers, bleeding and tonsillitis 41- 43.The
flowers, seeds and seed oil of Madhuca have great
medicinal value. Externally, the seed oil massage is
very effective to alleviate pain. In skin diseases, the
juice of flowers is rubbed for oleation. It is also
beneficial as a nasya (nasal drops) in diseases of the
head due to pitta, like sinusitis 42, 43. The Mahua have
several pharmacological potency and it is being used
from the tradition. Few of its Pharmacological use are
as follows;
Anti-inflammatory Activity: The reason of the
generation of the swelling or inflammation is
release of the various chemical mediators from the
damaged cell like histamine and serotonin 44.
Inflammation is a defensive mechanism of the body
45. The most important mechanism of anti-
inflammatory drugs is considered to be inhibition
of PG synthesis at the site of injury. The anti
inflammatory potency of drugs is corresponds with
their potency with to inhibit the COX 46. As more
inhibition of COX means the anti inflammatory
activity of that particular plant is more. The
Madhuca Indica is found to be a good remedy for
treatment of the inflammation, its aerial parts is
utilized for the treatment of inflammation. The
plant material (50 g) was extracted with 100 ml of
methanol for 24 hrs using soxhlet apparatus. Thus,
extract were filtered and concentrated under
vacuum sounding apparatus for 30 min. when this
solution was given to the male vistar rat which was
already having inflammation showed a satisfactory
result 47. Anti inflammatory effect can be measured
as the percent inhibition of inflammation and
calculated with reference to negative control 28.
Control - Treated
Percentage inhibition = x 100
Control
FIG. 2: BIOSYNTHESIS AND METABOLISM OF PROSTAGLANDIN 48
Analgesic activity: Analgesics are the agents that
relieve the sensation of pain without disturbing
consciousness or altering other afferent inputs 49.
Analgesic activity was evaluated on the acetic acid
induced writhing. The methanolic extract of
Madhuca Indica was given orally to the group of 6
animals. The number of writhing during the
following 30 min. period was observed after acetic
acid injection. Anti analgesia is expressed as the
reduction of the number of abdominal constriction
between control animal and mice pretreated with
the extract 47. In other words if the analgesic drug
works the abdominal contraction will be the less in
numbers. The analgesic activity of the Madhuca
Indica can also be evaluated by the using other
method of evaluation like tail flick method or hot
Patel et al., IJPSR, 2012; Vol. 3(5): 942-950 ISSN: 0975-8232
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plate method in rats 47, 50, 51. Significant reduction
either in the reaction time hot plate, tail flick,
gradient heat, abdominal constriction compared
with vehicle treated animals was consider as anti
nociceptive response 50.
Antipyretic activity: Madhuca Indica is used to
treat the fever in individual, as it is experimented in
animals. About 5 groups of 6 rats each were
injected subcutaneously with 10 ml kg -1 body
weight. Firstly the animal are forced to fever by
injecting the suspension of the yeast suspension,
this will increase the body temperature of the
experimental animal. After measuring the basal
rectal temperature of each animal by a help of
thermometer, about 19 Hr. after yeast injection,
the rectal temperature was recorded again and
animal showing a rise in temperature of <0.6oc
were discarded. Rectal temperature was then
recorded at 20-24 hr after yeast injection. After
some time interval it is found in the reduction in
the rectal temperature of rat, which shows the
antipyretic effect of Madhuca Indica 47.
Anti-hyperglycemic Activity: The significant hypo-
glycemic effects of Madhuca Indica bark in diabetic
rats indicate that this effect can be mediated by
stimulation of glucose utilization by peripheral
tissues. The results of the present study clearly
indicated the ethanolic extract of Madhuca Indica
bark to have a hypoglycemic effect on STZ induced
diabetic rats 52. In all groups except for glibencl
amide, at 30 min of initiating glucose tolerance
test, blood glucose concentration was higher than
at zero time but decreased significantly from 30
min to 120 min. Methanolic extracts were
enhancing glucose utilization, thus the blood
glucose level was significantly decreased in glucose
loaded rats 28, 43
Gi-Gt
% variation of glycaemia = x 100
Gi
Where Gi and Gt are the values of initial glycaemia
(0hr) and glycamia at 1, 2 and 4 hr respectively.
Methanolic extract of Madhuca Indica have
significantly decreased the serum glucose level in
streptozotocin and STZ-NIC induced diabetic rats 53.
The crude methanolic extract of Madhuca Indica
leaves demonstrated dose-dependent reductions
in serum glucose level following administration in
glucose-loaded mice. The decreases in serum
glucose levels were found to be significantly
reduced at doses of 100, 250, and 500 mg extract
per kg body weight. At these doses, the extract
reduced serum glucose levels 54, 55.
Anti ulcer Activity: Gastro intestinal ulcer is a
common disorder of gastrointestinal tract. It is now
considered that gastrointestinal ulcer is a disease
of multi factorial origin but its detailed etiology is
still not clear 56. Ulcer is a result of the imbalance
between the defensive and attacking factors in the
GIT. An ulcer is a local defect or excavation of the
upper part that is called surface of an organ or the
tissue 57. Anti ulcer activity has been proved in
Madhuca Indica plant while it is tested in the male
vistar rat 28. To evaluate the anti ulcer activity of
the Mahua tree, firstly the animal is forced to
produce the ulcer by any of suitable method like
stress induced ulcer or carrageen induced ulcer,
and then the same is treated with the extract of
the tested plant materials.
FIG. 3: POSSIBLE MODE OF ANTI ULCER ACTION OF MADHUCA
INDICA 56
Antioxidant Activity: Oxidative stress is produced
during normal metabolic process in the body as
well as induced by a Varity of environmental and
chemical factor, which cause a generation of a
various reactive free radical and subsequent
change in DNA and lipids 56, 57. The reducing
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property of ethanolic bark extract of Madhuca
Indica implies that it is capable of donating
hydrogen atom in a dose dependent manner. The
high content of phenolic compounds in the extract
may be a contributing factor towards antioxidant
activity because the phenol compounds are known
to have direct antioxidant property due to the
presence of hydroxyl groups, which can function as
hydrogen donor. The reducing capacity of a
compound may serve as a significant indicator of
its potential antioxidant activity 52, 58. The anti
oxidant potency of any drug depends upon the two
mechanism, first to prevent the oxidation by
oxidizing itself or second by creating a layer of
protection over the material.
FIGURE 4: POSSIBLE MODE OF ACTION OF ANTIOXIDANT
Anti fertility activity: The percentage of fertile
male mice and the number of pregnancies were
significantly reduced in atropine induced mice from
control mice in present case there was complete
reduction of fertility in male rat, number of
pregnant females and number of litters in plant
extract treated group. Among the plant based
contraceptives, inhibition of male fertility after
administration of natural substances has been
related to decrease spermatozoa density .Also for
male contraception, it is not necessary to stop
spermatogenesis, but rather to eliminate the
fertilizing ability of the spermatozoa by causing
changes in the morphology or in the function of the
sperm. The decrease in sperm count and the high
number of morphologically abnormal sperms
indicate interference with testicular
spermatogenesis 59.
Dermatological use: Due to the present
atmospheric condition and pollution skin related
problem are emerging day by day, and there are
few synthetic lotion and cream are available for it,
but they cause several other side effect like rashes
and itching too. That’s why the use of medicinal or
natural plant is much safer and convenient. The
decoction of the bark is useful in itching and
ulceration, the oil is obtained from the seed, which
is useful in the several allergic disorders. It is also
used as laxative 23.
Hepatoprotective Activity: The methanol extracts
of Madhuca Indica bark is studied for
hepatoprotective activity against albino rats with
liver damage induced by carbon tetrachloride
(CCl4). It was found that the methanol extract of
Madhuca Indica bark at a dose of 300 mg/kg body
weight exhibited moderate protective effect by
lowering the serum levels of Glutamate Pyruvate
Transaminase (SGPT), Serum Glutamate
Oxaloacetate Transaminase (SGOT), Serum
bilirubin and Serum alkaline phosphate (SALP) to a
significant extent. Present finding demonstrated
the methanolic bark extract of Madhuca Indica
could afford significant dose-dependent protection
against CCl4 induced hepato cellular injury 60.
Antibacterial Activity: The flower has an
antibacterial activity against the Escherichia coli
and resist against rice pest disease 61.
Antiepileptic Activity: The anticonvulsant activity
of the methanol extract of heart wood of Madhuca
longifolia was assessed in pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)
- induced convulsion in mice with benzodiazepine
as standard drug. Mechanistic studies were
conducted using flumazenil, a GABA-benzo-
diazepine receptor complex site antagonist, and
naloxone a non-specific opioid receptor antagonist.
Madhuca longifolia at the dose of 400 mg/kg
prolonged the onset time of seizure and decreased
the duration of seizures compared to saline group
62.
Anticancer Activity: In Ayuevedic system of
medicine it is stated that the bark of Madhuca
Indica is useful in the treatment of cancer at the
local application 63.
Toxicity: Like all word views, it is not entirely
without foundation- the safety risk of herbal
medicine is generally lower than most of the
modern drug 64. A mixture of saponin isolated from
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Madhuca longifolia seed did not reveal any
cholinergic activity, although it produced at a
higher concentration. The saponin is extremely
toxic when administered parentally 65. L.D. 50 by IP
route was one of the same orders as that by the IV
route, being 50 to 70 times higher than oral route
23. In the root of Madhuca Indica, maximum
amount of phenol was observed i.e. 46.0 mg/gdw.
These compounds play an important role in the
precursor of toxic substance and role in the growth
regulation and development of plants 47. It is also
reported to have toxic chemical aflatoxine in
Madhuca Indica seed oil 66. The quality control of
herbal medicine should be strictly followed to
avoid any harmful effect 67.
CONCLUSION: Plants are the important economical
source of a number of well established drugs looking
upon wide prospects and potential of Madhuca Indica
for various purposes; it is worthwhile to cultivate this
plant on large scale especially on unproductive and
wasteland. This will help in financial full support of
poor and landless families. Generally this plant
Madhuca Indica is known only for its liquor making
purpose, but one have to come forward to change the
thinking of unaware people. The Mahua tree is hidden
from the public eyes as its medicinal point of view.
As for the better potential, good quality of mahua tree
should be cultivated through plant tissue culture by
means of micro propagation. The research workers
have to come along with the people of rulers’ area so
they may have more and valuable knowledge. In
coming next generation the importance of plant and
mahua tree is going to be increase because of their
effectiveness, easy availability, low cost and
comparatively being devoid of toxic effect. Madhuca
Indica has found several of pharmacological activity,
yet several other activities have to be finding out.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: I am very thankful to my family
for their support and encouragement; I am also thank
full of my dear friends Jyoti Sahu, Bhupendra, Monika,
Lokesh, for their cooperation and having trust on me
during the work of my review.
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