SIGNIFICANCE OF CYPERUS ROTUNDUS (NAGARMOTHA), A NOXIOUS WEED IN AYURVEDA

It is a very old practice of using herbal plants for the maintenance of health. The demand for herbal remedies has been increased rapidly over the past few years. This is due to the beneficial health impacts of herbal products on the living systems. Cyperus rotundus, commonly called as nagarmotha, purple nutsedge or nutgrass, is a perennial grass that belongs to Cyperacea family. It is a cosmopolitan weed plant found in almost every corner of the tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions. It is a widely used plant in traditional systems of medicine, especially in Ayurveda and folk systems around the world, for its useful remedial properties in indigestion, constipation, dysentery, abdominal distention, cholera, skin diseases, diabetes, furuncle infections, sprains and bruises, fever and stomach ache, etc. It exhibits extraordinary therapeutic properties like antioxidant activity, antidiabetic activity, anti-inflammatory, antiplatelet, antimalarial, anti-diarrheal, anti-allergic, anti-tumor, analgesic activities, hepato-protective. The present review aims to provide information related to phytochemistry, traditional uses in Ayurveda and folk medicinal system, and therapeutic properties of Cyperus rotundus.