Review on Ethnobotany and Phytopharmacology of Bombax ceiba

Bombax ceiba or the silk cotton tree, this tropical tree has a straight tall trunk and its leaves are deciduous in winter. Red flower with 5 petals appear in the spring before the new foliage. The whole plant of Bombax ceiba used as traditional folk medicines for the treatment of antidysentric, antidiahorreal and antipyretic effects. Bombax ceiba contains glycosides, tannins, flavanoid, b-sitosterol and lupeol. New sesquiterpenoids Bombalones A-D, bombamalside have also been isolated. This paper explains the evidencebased information regarding the pharmacological activity of this plant. It has many ethnobotanical uses and is medicinally used in the traditional ayurvedic system.