Review on Medicinal Usefulness of Vitex negundo Linn

Abstract

Vitex negundo Linn. is a woody plant found mainly in Indian subcontinent and its neighbouring countries. Almost all the sections of the plant possess a massive amount of phytochemical secondary metabolites that impart an unparalleled variety of medicinal uses of the plant. Point to note that a single plant species finds use for treatment of a large spectrum of human health ailments in traditional as well as folk medicines, lion part of which have been experimentally proved to be absolutely true. In fact the plant is a constituent of a number of commercially available herbal formulations and has also shown an efficient bio-control instrument. Exercise of biotechnologically advanced procedures would provide resources of rapid proliferation and management of the plant species and from the point of view of phytochemistry, it furnishes opportunities for augmentation of the quality and quantity of the biologically potent secondary metabolites occurring in the plant. In this paper the already reported medicinal uses and pharmacological activities of different parts of the plant have been reviewed.