Ethnobotanical, pharmacological and phytochemical review on Butea monosperma Linn

Butea monosperma, a popular Indian medicinal plant, has long been used in Ayurvedic system of medicine. In sanskrit it is called as ‘Palasa ’. The plant has been found to possess diverse number of pharmacological activities. The present paper gives an account of updated information on its phytochemical and pharmacological activities. The review reveals that wide range of phytochemical constituents have been isolated from the plant and it possess important activities like diarrhoea, dysentery, inflammation, ringworm, aphrodisiac, anthelmentic, tumor, piles and ulcer, cold, cough, menstrual disorder, analgesic and diuretic. Various other activities like hepatoprotective, osteoprotective, anti-inflammatory, antihyperglycemic, antifilaria, antioxidant, anthelmentic, antimicrobial, anticonvulsant, antifertility and aphrodisiac been reported. These reports are very encouraging and indicate that herb should be studied more extensively for its therapeutic benefits.