Endangered Medicinal Plant Embelia ribes Burm.f.- A Review

Embelia ribes Burm. f. belongs to the family Myrsinaceae found in hilly parts of India up to 1500 m. elevation from outer Himalayas to Western Ghats. It is an endangered medicinal plant valued for its digestive, carminative, anthelmintic and laxative property since time immemorial. It is also used in diabetes, heart related problems, nerval disorders, cancerous tumors and liver disorders. The seeds are also used for wound healing antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and contraceptive activity. Due to over exploitation of this plant it is reported in red list data book as vulnerable [Ravikumar & Ved 2000]. Therefore an overview of this plant on pharmacognosy, pharmacology, safety and toxicity is presented below along with HPLC details of Embelin the active constituent of the seeds.