THE THERAPEUTIC PROPERTIES AND APPLICATIONS OF ACORUS CALAMUS (SWEET FLAG): A REVIEW

Abstract

Medicinal plants have been used in the preparation of medicine since ancient times and may even be considered the origin of modern medicine. Acorus calamus (Linn.) is one such a medicinal herb that found as a member of family Acoraceae and most commonly known as ‘sweet flag’. Herb is commonly distributed in the moderate and the sub moderate rainfall regions of the Asia, Europe and North America. It is a tall, semi-aquatic in habitat, monocotyledonous, perennial, aromatic herb with branched cylindrical spreading rhizomes. The well growth habitats for sweet flag include edges of small lakes, rivers, marshes, ponds in temperature ranging from 10 to 38 °C. The major phyto constituents of herb include alpha-Asarone, beta Asarone, elemicine, alpha-terpineol and acorone, acorenone, acoragermacrone cis-isoelemicine, isoeugenol and their methyl ethers, camphene, P-cymene, beta-cadinene, camphor, beta-gurjunene, 7-dienol, shyobunones, isohyobunones, calamusenone alpha-selinene, terpinen-4-ol, alpha-calacorene 2-deca-4, linalool and pre-isocalamendiol etc. Acorus calamus (Vacha) constituents important for treatment of the various types of the ailments like epilepsy, diarrhea, dysentery, mental ailments, chronic bronchial catarrh, intermittent and tumors. It also has the insecticidal, antifungal, anticancerous, neuroprotective, antioxidant, antibacterial, antidiabetic, antidiarrhoeal, analgesic and anticonvulsant, spasmolytic, vascular modulator activities. The present review focuses on the detailed composition of Acorus calamus its different phytoconstituents having various pharmacological activities that helps to improve the health and prevent from various kinds of ailments.