Comparative Studies on Phytochemical and Antioxidative Properties of Locally Available Herbal Flowers: A Review

Debasree Ghosh; Ipsita Mazumdar

Abstract

Flowers are the reproductive parts of plant. Apart from their aesthetic sense, they have medicinal and nutritive properties also. The present review study represent the therapeutic values and phytochemical properties of Joba (Hibiscus sp.), Rose (Rose sp.), Aparajita (Citoria sp.), Nayantrara or Sadabahar (Catharanthus sp.), Lotus (Nelumbo sp.), Dopati (Impaticus sp.) which are also used in Ayurveda and Siddha system of medicine. India is a rich flora of medicinal plants. Since ancient times flowers are used as decorative, ornamental, for cooking, medicinal, skin care and main ingredient for worship of God. Several chapters like Bhavaprakasha Nighantu in ancient texts of India are specially dedicated to flowers. Uses of these flowers are economically very cheap. These flowers have a natural geographical habitat in India. There are so many research work on medicinal plants and herbs, but the phytotherapeutic nature of the flowers are not widely known. Flowers are not only the ornamental part of plants, they also serve as a potential source of functional ingredient of therapeutic properties. They are rich in antioxidants, and possess antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic potentiality in many aspect. Sometimes their use in household purpose shows effective results. In pharmaceutical industries, the bioactive compounds of flowers are accumulated for the production of life saving drugs. Phytochemicals such as β-sitosterol, kaempferol (80%), quercetin, geranyl acatete (15.6%), phenyl ethanol (43%) are abundantly present in these seasonal flowers. The present study was totally based on several literature surveys to understand the comprehensive knowledge regarding the use of these flowers in the treatment of various diseases such as diabetes (Catharanthus sp., Nelumbo sp., Hibiscus sp.), hypertention (Hibiscus sp.), Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease (Clitoria sp.), skin disease (Rosa sp.), burning (Impaticus sp.) etc. The purpose of the present review article was to summarize the pharmacology and phytochemistry of these common garden flowers which are helpful to find out the missing link for future investigations on the therapeutic potentiality through clinical trials. Thus, the biomedicinal advantages of the flowers of Hibiscus sp., Clitoria sp., Rose sp., Catharanthus sp., Nelumbo sp., Impaticus sp. would be socio-economically fruitful for the different sectors of human society.

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