Phytochemical and Pharmacological Investigations on Adhatoda zeylanica (Medic.): A Review

Plants have been one of the important sources of medicines since the beginning of human civilization. There is a growing demand for plant based medicines, health products, pharmaceuticals, food supplements, cosmetics etc. Medicinal plants have curative properties due to the presence of various complex chemical substances of different composition, which are found as secondary plant metabolites in one or more parts of these plants. The plant Adhatoda zeylanica Medic. syn. A. vasica Nees commonly known as vasaka, family Acanthaceae, is extensively used traditionally for treating cold, cough, whooping cough, chronic bronchitis, asthma and also used as a sedative, expectorant, antispasmodic. In recent years the interest in this plant has increased considerably with substantial progress on its chemical and pharmacological properties. Adhatoda zeylanica is an important source of phytoconstituents like quinazoline alkaloid vasicine, vasicinone, vasicinol, vasicinine and vasicoline. The alkaloids vasicine and vasicinone shows bronchodilatory action. Hence in view of immense medicinal importance of the plant this review is therefore an effort to compile all the information reported on its phytochemical and pharmacological activities, these information will be helpful to create interest towards the plant and may be useful in developing new formulations, which are more effective and have more therapeutic values.