ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY, PHYTOCHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF INULA RACEMOSA HOOK. F: A REVIEW

Abstract

Inula racemosa Hook. F (Asteraceae) commonly known as Pushkaramula is a well documented Indian medicinal plant. Pushkarmula is one of the herbs mentioned in all Ayurvedic scriptures. It possesses various synonyms like kasari-an enemy of cough, sulahara-pain killer, sughandhika-fragrant etc. The great sage Charaka has categorized it as hikkanigrahana-stops hiccup and svasahara-alleviates the breathlessness, asthma. It is also best medicament for pleurisy along with cough and asthma. Pushkarmula is highly acclaimed to be the drug of choice for pleurisy (parsvasula). It has also anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular, hypoglycemic, antianginal, analgesic and antibacterial properties. Many of these ethnomedicinal properties have been experimentally proven in different animal models. This article is an attempt to collect and review all the data concerning systemic scientific study of ethnopharmacology of I. racemosa, its isolated phytoconstituents and bioactivity of extracts as well as isolated compounds from the plant.