A REVIEW ON PHARMACOLOGICAL AND PHYTOCHEMICAL CONSTITUENT OF ACHYRANTHES ASPERA LINN.

Achyranthes aspera Linn. belongs to the family Amaranthaceae is a perennial stiff, erect herb, 2.0 m high is growing up to 1000 m in height. Achyranthes aspera is a rough flowered stalk is described as in Sanskrit synonyms. The medicinal plants are used for the treatment of various diseases because of their safety and effectiveness. Though almost all of its parts are used in traditional systems of medicines, seeds, roots, and shoots are the most important parts which are used medicinally. The major chemical constituents are carbohydrates, protein, glycosides, alkaloids, tannins, saponins, flavonoids, lignin, etc. The review reveals that wide numbers of Phytochemical constituents have been isolated from the plant, which possesses activities like antiperiodic, diuretic, purgative, laxative, antiasthmatic, hepatoprotective, anti-allergic, and various other important medicinal properties. The plant is highly esteemed by traditional healers and used in the treatment of asthma, bleeding, in facilitating delivery, boils, cold, cough, colic, debility, dropsy, dog bite, dysentery, ear complications, headache, leucoderma, pneumonia, renal complications, scorpion bite, snake bite, and skin diseases, etc. Traditional healers claim that the addition of Achyranthes aspera would enhance the efficacy of any drug of plant origin. The plant is globally available as a medicinal weed in Baluchistan, Ceylon, Tropical Asia, Africa, Australia, and America. It is reported as an invasive alien species in northern Bangladesh. It is also found to be the most prevalent weed in Shivbari, Himachal Pradesh, and an exotic medicinal herb of the district, Lalitpur (Uttar Pradesh), India.