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ABR Vol 5 [3] September 2014 208 | P a g e ©2014 Society of Education, India
Advances in Bioresearch
Adv. Biores., Vol 5 (3) September 2014:208-213
©2014 Society of Education, India
Print ISSN 0976-4585; Online ISSN 2277-1573
Journal’s URL:http://www.soeagra.com/abr.html
CODEN: ABRDC3
ICV 7.20 [Poland]
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Medicinal Importance of Hemidesmus indicus: a Review on Its
Utilities from Ancient Ayurveda to 20th Century
Aparna Banerjee1 and Subha Ganguly2*
1Department Of Biotechnology, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, West Bengal - 721 102, India
2AICRP On Post Harvest Technology (ICAR), Department Of Fish Processing Technology, Faculty Of
Fishery Sciences, West Bengal University Of Animal and Fishery Sciences, P.O.- Panchasayar,
Chakgaria, Kolkata - 700 094, WB, India
*Corresponding Author Email: ganguly38@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Hemidesmus indicus commonly known as Anantmool belongs to the family of Periplocaceae and it is used as a folk
medicine and found to be an important medicinal ingredient from ancient ayurveda period to this 20th century. This
climbing vine plant is a common inhabitant of Gangetic India and West Benagl. It has several medicinal properties
varying from anti-cancerous activity, chemopreventive activity, wound healing power to immuno-modulatory activity,
anti-diarrheal activity, antioxidant properties; also anti-venom properties, anti-leprotic properties to diuretic activities.
KEYWO RDS: Hemidesmus indicus, Phytochemical contents, Medicinal properties
Received 12/06/2014 Accepted 16/08/2014 ©2014 Society of Education, India
How to cite this article:
Aparna B and Subha G. Medicinal Importance of Hemidesmus indicus: a Review on Its Utilities from Ancient
Ayurveda to 20th Century.. Adv. Biores., Vol 5 [3] September 2014: 208-213. DOI: 10.15515/abr.0976-
4585.5.3.208213
INTRODUCTION
Hemidesmus indicus commonly known as Anantmool belongs to the family of Periplocaceae and is
synonymously known as Periploca indica [1]. H. indicus has long been used as a folk medicine and found to
be an important ingredient in ayurvedic and unani preparations. This is a climbing vine plant found in
Up per G a n geti c plain, ea stw a rds to B enga l a nd Su ndarb a ns and f rom Central provinces to
Travancore and South India. H. indicus root is sweet, cooling and demulcent. It is used as tonic, diuretic
and aphrodisiac. Whole root and root-bark are useful in syphilis, leucoderma, hemicrania, rheumatism
and in several liver and kidney disorders. Powdered root mixed with cow’s milk treats scanty and highly
coloured urine and is used as a popular folk medicine.
Chromosome number 2n= 22 [1].
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT
IT IS A PER EN NIA L, SLE NDE R, LATIC IFE ROUS, TWI NIN G, W I RY S HRUB.
Stems - Numerous slender stems having thickened nodes.
Leaves – Simple, opposite, very variable from elliptic-oblong to linear lanceolate and 5-10 cm long. It is
dark green in colour with reticulate veins
Flowers – Greenish purple crowded in subsessile cymes with opposite axils.
Fruits – Slender and cylindrical, approximately 10 cm long
Seeds – Seeds are black, 6 to 8 cm long
Roots – Roots are cylindrical in shape, irregularly bent, slightly twisted and aromatic.
1.5 -2 cm in diameter. It is externally dark brown and internally yellowish brown in colour.
PHYTOCHEMICALS PRESENT IN THE PLANT
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ABR Vol 5 [3] September 2014 209 | P a g e ©2014 Society of Education, India
Roots- Roots of H. indicus are reported to contain chemical constituents like - essential oil containing
80% of 2-hydroxy 4-methoxy benzaldehyde, a ketone, fatty acids, saponin, tannins, resinal fractions, resin
acids, sterols, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol and sarsapic acid. Hemidesmin 1, hemidesmin 2, alpha-amyrin,
beta-amyrin, lupeol and 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy benzoic acid have been isolated and identified from roots
of H. indicus.
Stem- Gupta et al. [2] isolated and characterized a terpene lactone, 3-keto-lup-12-ene-21 to 28-olide from
hexane soluble fraction of ethanol extract of stem of H. indicus. Lupanone, delta12-dehydrolupanyl-3beta-
acetate, delta12-dehydrolupeol acetate, hexadecanoic acid, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde and 3-
hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde were also isolated. Chloroform and alcohol extract of stem yields
pregnane glycoside, emdine and hemidescine. [10] Glycosides like- indicine and hemidine were also
reported to be isolated from stem.
Leaves- Leaves of H. indicus contain cardiac glycosides, Tanins, Saponins. Coumarinolignoids like-
Hemidesmine, Hemidesminine and Flavonoids like- rutin, hyperoside are also isolated from leaves of H.
indicus
Flowers- Flavonoid glycosides identified in flowers of H. indicus, are hyperoside, rutin and isoquercitin.
Fig: Different Phytochemicals isolated from Hemidesmus indicus and its chemical structures
MEDICINAL PROPERTIES OF THE PLANT
Anti-cancerous activity- H. indicus have remarkable anticancer potentials against MCF7 Brest cancer cell
lines. Methanolic extract of rhizomes of H. indicus could be an excellent drug for treating breast cancer.
Cytotoxic effect against HT29colon cancer cell line is also demonstrated by rhizomes of Hemidesmus
indicus. So it can be used as a potential anticancer herb against colon cancer too. H. indicus methanolic
root extract showed a significant cytotoxic activity against Ehrlich Ascites Tumor too. [9] H. indicus
modulated many components of intracellular signaling pathways involved in cell viability and
proliferation and altered protein expression, finally leading to tumor cell death, mediated by a loss of
mitochondrial transmembrane potential and increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio. Hemidesmus induced
mitochondrial depolarization. Hemidesmus induced a significant Ca2+ raise through mobilization of
intracellular Ca2+ stores. Moreover, Hemidesmus significantly enhanced antitumor activity of 3 commonly
Banerjee and Ganguly
ABR Vol 5 [3] September 2014 210 | P a g e ©2014 Society of Education, India
used chemotherapeutic drugs- methotrexate, 6-thioguanine, cytarabine. It indicates molecular basis of
antileukemic effects of Anantmool.[10]
Chemopreventive- H.indicus is an effective chemopreventive agent in skin and capable of betterment of
cumene hydroperoxide induced cutaneous oxidative stress and further tumor promotion [8]. Shetty et al
[6] reported that radioprotective effect on lipid peroxidation in rat liver microsomes protected
microsomal membrane by minimizing lipid peroxidation, which ultimately protect DNA from radiation
effect.
Immunomodulatory activity- Methanol: Iso- propyl alcohol: acetone extract of H. indicus shows an
immunomodulatory activity related to IgG secretion and Adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity. Herbal
extract promotes the release of IgG by lymphocytes in vitro and also the ADA activity after 72 h of culture
[12].
Wound healing activity- Leaves of H. indicus possess marked wound healing activity and play a
promising role in the treatment of wounds especially chronic wounds and in diabetic and cancer patients.
The alcoholic extract of H. indicus formulated as 5% and 10% ointment increase the rate of wound
contraction and period of epithelisation [4].
Antiulcer activity- Austin [3] established the antiulcer activity of H. indicus. It acts by mucoprotective
action and selectively inhibiting prostaglandins. Even standard drugs, like- omeperazole, rantidine have
less mucoprotective activity than H. indicus have.
Nootropic effect- The n-butanol fraction of ethanolic H. indicus root extract significantly improved
learning power and memory at mice. Hence, H. indicus proved to be a useful memory restorative agent in
the treatment of dementia seen in the Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders [5].
Antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity- Doxorubicin (Dox) is an anthracycline antibiotic
widely used in the treatment of cancers including hematological malignancies, many carcinomas and soft
tissue sarcomas. However, the clinical use is restricted due to its toxicities to cardiac tissues. The Dox-
induced cardiotoxicity is shown to be mediated by lipid peroxidation, free radical formation,
mitochondrial damage and decreased activity of Na+–K+ ATPase. Antioxidant enzymes-SOD, CAT and
GPx, as well as GSH levels in heart tissue decreased drastically after doxorubicin injection. H. indicus root
extract, due to its antioxidant properties significantly reduced the oxidative stress and thereby toxicity
induced by doxorubicin [9].
Phytochemicals, like flavonoids and polyphenols, terpenoids, coumarins and glycosides have antioxidant
properties. Evaluation of antioxidant activity of methanolic extract of H. indicus root bark in in vitro and ex
vivo models is done (like radical scavenging activity by DPPH reduction, superoxide radical scavenging
activity in riboflavin/light/NBT system, nitric oxide radical scavenging activity in sodium
nitroprusside/greiss reagent system and inhibition of lipid peroxidation induced by iron-ADP-ascorbate
in liver homogenate and phenyl hydrazine induced haemolysis in erythrocyte membrane stabilization
study) [13]. 70% methanolic extract of H. indicus root, which contains large amounts of flavonoids and
phenolic compounds, exhibits high antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities. It also chelates iron
and has reducing power. These in vitro assays indicate that the extract contains constituents that can be a
significant source of natural antioxidant.
Hepatoprotective activity- Oral administration of 50% ethanolic extract of H. indicus significantly
prevented rifampicin and isoniazid induced hepatotoxicity.[14] CCl4 and paracetamol induced hepatic
damage can be cured upto an extent by H. indicus root extract. Biochemical parameters, like- Alkaline
phosphatase (ALP), Serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT), Serum glutamate pyruvate
transaminase (SGPT) were found to be in normal range only after oral administration [15]. Many
phytoconstituents present in H. indicus are reported to possess hepatoprotective property, like phenolic
compounds, glycosides, coumarins and saponins.
Anti-inflammatory effect- It is found that ethyl acetate extract of H. indicus root shows much anti-
inflammatory effect in acute and subacute inflammation. Oral administration of H. indicus root extracts
exhibited a dose dependent antinociceptive activity in all models and it blocked both neurogenic and
inflammatory pains. Comparative studies on anti-inflammatory activity of H. indicus are also done in
carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema. The ethanolic extracts of roots exhibited significant anti-
inflammatory activity at a dose of 350 mg/kg p.o. as compared to control [16].
Diuretic- Aqueous extract of H. indicus root caused an increase in urinary flow in rats. H. indicus along
with aminoglycosides therapy, like- Gentamicin; is able to reduce nephrotoxicity at a significant level [17].
Anti-hypergycemic effect- Upon treatment with H. indicus root extract to diabetic rats, reduced level of
glycogen content in muscle tissues was significantly improved. During diabetes, excess glucose present in
the blood reacts with hemoglobin to form glycosylated hemoglobin. So level of glycosylated hemoglobin is
directly proportional to blood glucose level. Diabetic rats showed higher levels of glycosylated
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hemoglobin indicating their poor glycemic control. Treatment with H. indicus root extract showed a
significant decrease in the glycosylated hemoglobin level, which could be due to improvement in glycemic
control [7].
Antidiarrhoeal activity- Methanolic extract of H. indicus elicited significant antidiarrhoeal activity than
standard drugs. It was found that aqueous extract of H. indicus root increase water absorption and Na+-
K+ from jejunam. He also suggested that extract can be incorporated as a oral dehydrating salt solution
(ORS) for its increasing efficacy [18].
Antivenom- H. indicus root extracts effectively neutralized Viper venom induced lethal, haemorrhagic,
coagulant, anticoagulant and inflammatory activity. Lupeol acetate isolated from the root extract of Indian
sarsaparilla H. indicus could significantly neutralize lethality, haemorrhage, defibrinogenation, edema,
PLA2 activity induced by Daboia russellii venom. It also neutralized Naja kaouthia venom induced
lethality, cardiotoxicity, neurotoxicity and respiratory changes in experimental animals [19]. Methoxy
benzoic acid isolated from H. indicus root particularly has antivenom potential.
Antileprotic activity- Aqueous extract of H. indicus was orally administered at 2% concentration in mice.
The mice were infected with Mycobacterium leprae from leprosy patients and it was observed that
cutaneous hypersensitivity stimulation was delayed. It also possessed immunomodulatory and
immunosuppressant activities. Phogocytosis was also decreased.[20]
Antimicrobial activity- H. indicus is traditionally used in Indian folklore medicine for the treatment of
various bacterial and fungal infections.
H.indicus showed Maximum zone of inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa
and Escherichia coli. Chloroform extract of H.indicus showed promising activity against the clinical
isolates of Helicobacter pylori. H. indicus have a stronger and broader spectrum of antimicrobial activity
against pathogenic microorganisms and extracts may be used to discover bioactive natural products that
would serve as basic source for development of new antimicrobial compounds to overcome the
increasing antibiotic resistance. 95% ethanolic extract and aqueous extract both were shown to be
effective against Corynebacterium diptheriae, Diplococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus viridans, and
Streptococcus pyogenes. It was found that H. indicus demonstrated high activity against ESβL (Extended
spectrum β-lactamase) producing multidrug resistant enteric bacteria, when fractionated into acetone,
ethyl acetate and methanol. The chloroform and ethanol (95%) extracts of H. indicus showed antifungal
activity against Aspergillus niger.
Clinical trials of “RENALKA” syrup [containing extracts of Tribulus terrestris, Crataeva magna, H. indicus,
Cyperus rotundus, Vetiveria zizanoides, Asparagus racemosus and Elletaria cardamomum and Trikatu] is
done for effectiveness in curing and relieving the symptoms of UTI. The drug was found to be safe and
effective against E. coli, B. proteus, Klebsiealla and Pseudomonas [22].
Antiarthritis activity- Hemidesmus indicus root has protective activity against arthritis and the activity is
might be attributed by presence of terpens, sterols and phenolic compounds in hydroalcoholic root
extract, as well as in ethyl acetate fraction [21].
IN VITRO STUDIES WITH THE PLA NT
Studies on steroids in cultured tissues and also mature plant of H. indicus was reported.[3] Regeneration
of H. indicus by organogenesis and somatic embryogenesis, induced from callus initiation from leaf and
stem explants cultured on MS and B5 medium supplemented with 2.4-D, NAA, BA and Kinetin. Somatic
embryogenesis depended on explant type, growth regulator and callus age. Callus induced on MS medium
containing 2,4-D and Kinetin (1mg/L) developed somatic embryos on half strength MS basal medium.
Organogenesis was induced in callus cultured on MS medium containing NAA (2mg/L) and Kinetin
(0.5mg/L), and subcultured on Kintein (1.5-2 mg/L) and 10% coconut milk. Isolated shoots were then
rooted in half strength MS basal medium [3].
Rooting was achieved in MS basal medium NAA and Kinetin (1 mg/L both). Micropropagation and
production of 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy benzaldehyde from this root cuture of H. indicus. Nodal explants of in
vitro raised shoots subcultured in same medium. These shoot cultures were rooted in quarter salt
strength of MS medium containing 9.8µM IBA [3].
Multiple shoot induction from nodal segments and shoot tip of H. indicus in MS medium was
supplemented with NAA, BA and Gibberelic acid [3].
Micrpropagation of H. indicus is achieved through axillary bud culture. Highest shoot multiplication rate
with 95% frequency was achieved in five weeks on MS medium supplemented with 1.15µM Kintetin and
0.54µM NAA. Micropropagation was also achieved in MS basal medium supplemented with Benzyl
adenine/BA (3mg/L). Addition of low concentration of ammonium nitrate increased shoot thickness and
length of internode significantly. Regeneration of H. indicus plants from root segments was derived from
seedlings. Formation of shoot bud from root segment failed to initiate from auxin and cytokinin
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ABR Vol 5 [3] September 2014 212 | P a g e ©2014 Society of Education, India
individually, but shoot formation from proximal end of root segments was observed on medium with
Cytokinin and α-NAA in 2-3 weeks. Highest number of shoot was produced on medium with 6- BAP at
3mg/L and α-NAA at 0.5mg/L. Rapid elongation of shoot bud was observed on half strength MS medium.
Improvement in micropropagation of H. indicus is done by adding adenine sulphate. Excised shoot tips
and nodal segments from field grown mature plant of H. indicus were used to establish in vitro clonal
propagation. Selected nodal segments were cultured on MS with BA at a concentration of 0.1-4.0 mg/l.
Maximum number of usable shoots was found in 1.0 mg/l BA with slight concentration 0.01 mg/l NAA.
Higher concentrations of BA or NAA stimulate for considerable callusing at the cutting base which
decreased shoot proliferation [3].
Somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration from leaf cultures is possible on H. Indicus [3].
Phytochemical Studies
In vitro biosynthesis of antioxidants, like- lupeol, vanillin and rutin; is reported from H. indicus root
culture [23]. Production of phytochemicals, lupeol and rutin on shoot culture of H. indicus MS basal
medium is supplemented with BAP and NAA.
CONCLUSION
The present review highlights on the varying phytochemical contents in the herb, Hemidesmus indicus
which makes it as a popular choice for folk medicine and also must be considered as the source for
alternative medicine.
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