Parmar Namita1 and Rawat Mukesh2
1Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumaun University, Uttarakhand.
2Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, H.N.B. Garhwal University (A Central University), Uttarakhand
Corresponding author: mukesh_rawat09@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT:
The natural products obtained from plants have potential in the search for new and selective agents for the treatment of important diseases. The present review highlights the general information, chemical constituents, traditional and pharmacological activities of Kigelia pinnata. This plant has great potential to be developed as drug by pharmaceutical industries before recommending its use in modern system of medicine. This work was prompted as a result of lack of recent and sufficient scientific information on the use of Kigelia pinnata as a viable medicinal plant.
KEYWORDS: Kigelia pinnata, Balam Kheera, Bignoniaceae, anticancer, analgesic and anti-inflammatory.
INTRODUCTION:
Nature has been a source of medicinal agents for thousands of years and an impressive number of modern drugs have been isolated from natural sources.1 Epidemiological evidence has revealed that constituents in natural products show many biological and pharmacological activities.2 Ethno-medicinal plant-use data in many forms has been heavily utilized in the development of formularies and pharmacopoeias, providing a major focus in global healthcare, as well as contributing substantially to the drug development process.3 Among the estimated 400,000 plant species, only 6% have been studied for biological activity and about 15% have been investigated phytochemically.4 This inadvertedly shows a dare need for the dissertation of various chemical constituents, medicinal viability, traditional and pharmacological activities of Kigelia pinnata.
General Information:
Kigelia pinnata (Bignoniaceae) is also called the Sausage tree on account of its large fruit. Kigelia pinnata occurs in India and it is commonly referred to Kigelia Africana.5 but there is considerable difference of opinion regarding the identity of the plant cultivated in India with Kigelia africana. Kigelia pinnata is also known as ‘Balam kheera’ in Hindi and distributed all over India but found abundantly in West Bengal.6 It is widely grown in the tropics and cultivated as an ornamental and roadside tree.7
Afrikaans: Worsboom, English: Sausage tree, cucumber tree, German: Leberwurstbaum, Hindi: Balam Kheera, Jhar fanoos (folk), Kannad: Aanethoradu Kaayi, Mara Sowthae, Telugu: Kijili, Naagamalle. It is a tree growing up to 20 m in length. The bark is grey and smooth at first peeling on older trees. It can be as thick as 6 mm on a 15-cm branch. The wood is pale brown or yellowish, undifferentiated and not prone to cracking. The tree is evergreen where rainfall occurs throughout the year but deciduous where there is a long dry season. The leaves are opposite or in whorls of three, 30–50 cm long, pinnate with six to ten oval leaflets up to 20 cm long and 6 cm broad the terminal leaflet can be either present or absent.The flowers (and later the fruit) hang down from branches on long flexible stems (2-6 meters long). Flowers are produced in panicles they are bell-shaped, darker and waxy, orange to reddish or purplish green and about 10 cm wide. The fruit is a woody berry from 30–100 cm in length and up to 18 cm in width, it weighs between 5–10 kg and hangs down on long rope-like peduncles. The fruit pulp is fibrous and pulpy and contains numerous seeds. The fruit is eaten by several species of mammals, including Baboons, bush pigs, Savannah, Elephants, Giraffes, Hippopotami, monkeys and porcupines. The seeds are dispersed in their dung. The seeds are also eaten by brown Parrots and Brown-headed parrots and the foliage by elephants and Greater Kudu.8
Ecology:
It occurs on loamy red clay soils sometimes rocky, damp or peaty, from sea level up to zoom altitude.9 The plant grows in deep open soils, along watercourses, open woodland, high rainfall savanna, shrub land and in rain forest and easily propagated by seeds during rains. Vegetative propagation by cutting has been attempted. Its flowering occurs from August to October and fruiting from December to June. The plant sheds its leaves twice during a year, but is never quite bare.10,11
Chemical Constituents and Phytochemistry:
Various chemical investigations have been carried out on Kigelia pinnata and many chemical compounds mainly iridoids, naphthaquinones, monoterpenoidnaphthaquinones, isocoumarins, lignans sterols and flavonoids have been identified. An initial laboratory studies indicated the presence of two major naphthaquinones (kigelinone 1 and isopinnatal 3) in the aqueous extract of the stem bark. Qualitative tests for the presence of plant secondary metabolites such as carbohydrates, alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, saponins and glycosides were carried out on the bark powdered.12 Chemical analysis of the polar extract of fruit indicated the the presence of vermonosides 8.13 Isopinnatal, kigelinol 4 and isokigelinol 5 exhibited lower activity against the strains.14 Naphthaquinones; 2-(1-hydroxyethyl)-naphtho[2,3-b]furan-4,9-quinone 6, isopinnatal, kigelinol and isokigelinol were isolated from the dichloromethane extracts of the root bark and stem bark.15 Three known iridoids: specioside 7, verminoside 8 and minecoside 9 were isolated, characterized and identified using UV, IR, and H-NMR Speetroscopic datas. Steriod, iridiods and coumarins have been isolated from the root bark,16 and flavonoids and iridiods from the fruit and leaves.17 Kiglin and 6-methoxymellein together with two known compounds, stigmasterol 11 and lapachol 12 have been isolated from the root,18 kigelin 13, sitosterol 14, 1,3-dimethylkigelin and ferulic acid were isolated from the bark, two non-quinonoid aldehydes, norviburtinal 15 and pinnatal were obtained from the root bark.19 Sitosterol was isolated from K. pinnata fruit20
Medicinal Properties and Pharmacology:
Anti-microbial activity:
In the light of the traditional uses of this plant, antimicrobial activities of the aqueous extracts and two major iridoids were tested against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. The crude aqueous extracts showed significant antimicrobial activity which could be partially explained by the activity of the iridoids present.21 Kigelia pinnata was also active against Trypanosoma brucei brucei and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense.15
Antimalarial activity:
The extract possessed antimalarial activity against drug resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum superior to chloroquine and quinine.22 Kigelia pinnata root bark was active against Plasmodium falciparum and reported that four naphthoquinoids from Kigelia pinnata root bark were assessed in vitro against chloroquine-sensitive and resistant Plasmodium falciparum strains.23
Antiamoebic activity:
Kigelia pinnata stem bark extract possessed in vitro antiamoebic activity of iridoids. Serial dilutions of stem bark extracts of Kigelia pinnata were tested for their growth inhibitory effects against Entamoeba histolytica. Butanol extract from Kigelia pinnata stem barks exhibited in vitro antiamoebic activity.24
Antioxidant activity:
The leaf and stem of Kigelia pinnata indicated that the presence of high phenolic compounds may be due to the presence of tannins and flavanoids which are known to possess antioxidant activities. High free radical scavenging activity was observed in stem of Kigelia pinnata than its leaves.25 The extract of the plant has been shown to possess antioxidant property which apparently makes it useful in the treatment of diseases especially the liver-borne disease.26
Analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity:
Kigelia pinnata ethanolic extract of fruit was evaluated on formaldehyde induced paw edema, acetic acid-induced vascular peritonitis models. The result obtained was well comparable to the respective standard drugs.27 Kigelia pinnata flower extract exhibited a significant anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities in rats and mice.28
Anticancer activity:
Kigelia pinnata was active against melanoma and renal carcinoma cell lines.29 In Vitro Cytotoxicity of Norviburtinal and Isopinnatal from Kigelia pinnata against Cancer Cell Lines.30 The fruits of Kigelia pinnata have potential growth inhibitory activity against human melanoma cells. A bioactivity-guided fractionation process yielded a number of crude fractions which demonstrated cytotoxicity in vitro against human melanoma cells.31
Anti-implantation activity and treatment of gynecological disorders:
Kigelia pinnata extract possessed anti-implantation effect in female rats.32 Various extracts of one hundred eight medicinal plants for their anti-implantation activity in female albino rats found that K. pinnata showed 60-70% anti-implantation activity.33 Aqueous preparation of the roots, fruits and flowers are administered orally or as a virginal pessary while the fruits and bark are used to promote breast development in young women or in contrast to reduce swelling and mastitis of the breasts.34
Miscellaneous medicinal properties:
Kigelia pinnata bark methanolic extract shown potent anticonvulsant activity against Maximum Electro Shock induced seizure.35 The ethno medicinal plant bark is used for the treatment of rheumatism, dysentery and veneral diseases. It is also used as ringworm and tape worm expellant, while other uses include treatment of haemorrhages, diabetes, pneumonia and toothache.16,36
CONCLUSION:
Kigelia pinnata is a multipurpose medicinal plant with many attributes and considerable potentials. The plant has traditional uses which include anticancer, antiulcer, anti-aging, antioxidant and antimalarial activities. It is also widely applied in the treatment of genital infections, gynaecological disorders, renal ailments, fainting, epilepsy, rheumatism, sickle-cell anaemia, psoriasis, eczema, central nervous system depression, respiratory ailment, skin complaint, body weakness, leprosy, worm infestation and tumours etc.37 It is effective in the treatment of solar keratosis, skin cancer and kaposi sarcoma. A number of companies are already producing skins creams, scalp application and shampoos derived from Kigelia fruits. Extracts of rootbark and stembark exhibited antitrypnosomal activity.22 The fruits and barks are ground and boiled in water and taken orally for the treatment of stomach ailments. Bark is applied in treatment of pneumonia. There is enormous scope for the future research of Kigelia pinnata considering the many medicinal purposes it serves. It has a high potential for development into viable drugs as more facts emanates from its uses especially as a strong anti-cancer agent. This review confirms the therapeutic values of Kigelia pinnata and it is hoped that this report will serve as a basis of information for future project in order to evaluate the potentials of Kigelia pinnata as a strong medicinal plant in improving human health status.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
We wish to thank Mr. B. K. Singh, Head, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumaun University, Uttarakhand for his assistance.
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Received on 11.11.2011 Modified on 19.11.2011
Accepted on 29.11.2011 © RJPT All right reserved
Research J. Pharm. and Tech. 5(2): Feb. 2012; Page 166-168