Patil Avinash, Koli Swapneel, Patil Darshana and Phatak Anita
Department of Botany (Herbal Sciences), Birla College, Kalyan 421304, India (M.S.)
Pharmacognosy Communications,2012,2,2,13-17
DOI: 10.5530/pc.2012.2.3
Published:April 2012
Type: Reveiw Article
ABSTRACT
The use of plants as medicine is as old as human civilization. People of all ages in both developing and developed countries use plants in an attempt to cure various diseases and to get relief from physical sufferings. Natural products are a source for bioactive compounds and have potential for developing some novel therapeutic agents. Averrhoa carambola L., which is popularly known as the “Star Fruit” or “Kamrakh”, has various medicinal uses viz. antipruritic, antipyretic, anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer, antimicrobial etc. Over the past decades, many reports have appeared in mainstream scientific journals describing its nutritional and medicinal properties. The available literature on this plant divulges that it contains many phytoconstituents including tannins, terpenoids, saponins, flavonoids etc., some of which have proven pharmacologically to be medicinally significant. Fruits of A. carambola L. are a very good source of natural antioxidants due to the presence of L-ascorbic acid, (-)epicatechin and gallic acid. It is also very rich in dietary fibers, especially insoluble fibers. The present review summarizes the information concerning the phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicological studies of Averrhoa carambola L.
KEY WORDS: Averrhoa carambola L., starfruit, Kamrakh, medicinal uses, pharmacology, phytochemistry