Abstract

PHARMACOLOGICAL VALUES OF ECLIPTA ALBA LINN (ASTERACEAE) ASYSTEMATIC REVIEW

M. Shafi Parrey* and Imtiyaz Ahmad

ABSTRACT

Medicinal plants are the blessings for any country which contribute a lot for traditional health management as well as providing lead compounds for modern drug discovery. The varieties of molecules contained in plants have been proved to combat complicated diseases. Eclipta alba, also known as Eclipta prostrata, is a weed of the family Asteraceae found in tropical and subtropical regions widely used in herbal medicine It grows commonly in moist places as a weed all over the world. It is widely distributed throughout India where it is grown alongside of rice fields and its leaves are used in preparing food. The plant is used to treat different diseases in human in traditional medicine. The important pharmacological activities are hepatoprotection, antibacterial, analgesic, antidiabetic hair growth, etc. In ayurvedic medicine, the leaf extract is considered a powerful liver tonic, rejuvenative and especially good for the hair. The reported medicinal plants (Eclipta alba) may serve as extra nutritional constituents. Hence, need to intensively studied and evaluated for dietary recommendations and potential therapeutic applications. This review highlights chief constituents their biological activities, uses of various parts, pharmacological activities, toxicity and clinical studies of Eclipta alba.

Keywords: Eclipta alba, Herbal medicine, clinical studies and pharmacological activity.