Cinnamomum camphora (Kapur): Review

Medicinal plants play a vital role for the development of new drugs. The bioactive extract should be standardized on the basis of active compound. The bioactive extract should undergo safety studies. Almost, 70% modern medicines in India are derived from natural products. Medicinal plants play a central role not only as traditional medicines but also as trade commodities, meeting the demand of distant markets. Camphor is familiar to many people as a principal ingredient in topical home remedies for a wide range of symptoms, and its use is well consolidated among the population of the whole world, having a long tradition of use as antiseptic, antipruritic, rubefacient, abortifacient, aphrodisiac, contraceptive and lactation suppressant. This compound has also a long history of scientific studies on its action and on the way through which it is metabolized in the organisms of both humans and animals, due to the general interest that it has always arisen among common people and scientists.