A Comprehensive Review on the Ethnopharmacological Importance of Diospyros buxifolia (Blume) Hiern

Bhargavi Gangadhar¹, Sapna Motti¹, Suprada Rao Mangalore Suresha², Chandrashekar Jambhava Samavedamuni³and Nataraju Angaswamy^1*

¹Department of Studies and Research in Biochemistry, Karnataka State Open University, Mukthagangotri, Mysuru, Karnataka, India..

²Department of Studies in Biochemistry, Yuvaraja’s College, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysuru, Karnataka, India.

³Department of Studies and Research in Environmental Science, Karnataka State Open University, Mukthagangotri, Mysuru, Karnataka, India.

Corresponding Author E-mail:natabiochem@gmail.com

ABSTRACT: Plants are rich sources of natural compounds with extraordinary therapeutic potential, essential for developing novel drugs. Natural products can target multiple physiological pathways, departing from the classical 'one-disease one-target' tradition. Keeping this in view, recent studies have looked into Diospyros species. These medicinal plants have traditionally been utilised for managing several illnesses, as a promising avenue for further exploration. With over 500 species, the Diospyros genus consists of trees and shrubs spread across tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Due to a lack of awareness of Diospyros buxifolia and being an underutilised plant, very few investigations have been done on it of which it has been proven to be an excellent source for secondary metabolites, nutraceuticals, and anti-oxidants having a great potential to be used in medicinal and food purposes. Additionally, D. buxifolia is a natural source of antioxidant and antibacterial agents that could help with the problems caused by oxidative stress and drug-resistant microbes in global health. Therefore, in the current review, we discuss the phytochemical constituents and therapeutic properties of D. buxifolia which can provide researchers with insights into the ethnomedicine values of this traditionally important medicinal plant.

KEYWORDS: Antibacterial; Antidiabetic; Anti-oxidant activity; Diospyros buxifolia; Enzyme inhibition; Medicinal plant

[ HTML Full Text]