PHYTO-PHARMACOLOGICAL REVIEW OF MESUA FERREA LINN 

ABSTRACT

                India has a rich culture of medicinal herbs and spices, which includes Ayurvedic, Unani, Siddha and other traditional medicines but only very few have been studied chemically and pharmacologically for their potential medicinal value. According to the World Health Organization, most populations still rely on traditional medicines for their psychological and physical health requirements.   People living in rural areas from their personal experience know that these traditional remedies are valuable source of natural products to maintain human health, but they may not understand the science behind these medicines, but knew that some medicinal plants are highly effective only when used at therapeutic doses. Herbal medicines are in great demand in both developed and developing countries as a source of primary health care owing to their attributes having wide biological and medicinal activities, high safety margins and lesser costs. Mesua ferrea Linn. belonging to the family Clusiaceae (Guttiferea) is known in Hindi as ‘Nagkeshar’ and in English as Ceylon Ironwood. It is a medium to large evergreen tree with short trunk, often buttressed at the base, found in the Himalayas from Nepal eastward, in north-eastern India, Deccan Peninsula and the Andaman Islands, ascending to an altitude of 1.500m. The different parts of the plant contain glycosides, coumarins, flavanoids, xanthones, triglycerides and resins. Specifically it contains α -copaene and germacrene D , ve β-amyrin, β-sitosterol, and a new cyclohexadione compound named as mesuaferrol (I), mesuanic acid(13), triterpenoids and resins, reducing sugars, and tannins , saponins, Mesuaferrone B, mesuol etc. The plant has shown various pharmacological activities including antibacterial, immunomodulatory etc.

Key words: Indian medicinal plants, Mesua ferrea, Nagkeshar, Mesuferrol, Mesuol (I), Kesar oil.