Enicostemma littorale, Blume (Gentianaceae) is a glabrous perennial herb and it is found in open, sandy places among sparse grass close the beach throughout the dry zone in Sri Lanka. It is traditionally used to treat inflammatory and painful conditions like arthritis, back pain; diabetes mellitus and to regulate bowel functions. Phyto, physicochemical standardization of dried, matured whole plants of E. littorale has been carried out in the present study. The study includes organoleptic characters along with estimation of its physicochemical parameters such as loss on drying, pH, ash values, extractability in water and ethanol and preliminary phytochemical screening. The generated information of the present study will provide data which is helpful in the correct identification and authentication of this medicinal plant and may help in preventing its adulteration.

Background: Traditional Medicine is time-tested and still caters to the health needs of the society and provides health care through prophylactic treatment and rejuvenation. Today poisonous snake bites are life-threatening problems resulting in high morbidity and mortality all over the world including Sri Lanka. The medicinal plants available locally and used widely by traditional healers. Therefore they need attention in this aspect. Aim: The primary aim of this study was to do a literature review on essential characteristics of medicinal plants which are being used for the management of snake bites in Traditional Medicine. Place and Duration of the Study: Unit of Siddha Medicine, University of Jaffna from April to June 2018. Methodology:   Data for the literature review on 94 medicinal plants from 41 families were collected from relevant books and research articles. The characteristics of the medicinal species that were identified for the review were morphology; habitat; parts used; Siddha properties such as taste, potency and efficacy; pharmacological action; the number of plants used for dietary purposes; poisonous plants; phytochemical contents and mode of transmission. Results: From the 94 medicinal plants, 9 (9.6%) of the species were found in Fabaceae and followed by 6 (6.38%) in Cucurbitaceae and Apocynaceae families. Based on the morphology 24 (25%) plants were herb and shrub; 42 (45%) were found in the natural habitat. From these plants, 31 species (26%) were used as root and 29 (24%) as leaves. These plants contain: Siddha properties such as bitter taste [52 (48.14%)]; hot potency [64 (70.32%)] and pungent efficacy [68 (72.34%)]. Pharmacological actions such as diuretic [36 (38.3%)]; tonic [35 (37.23)]; astringent [33 (35.1%)] and stimulant [32 (34.04%)]. Phytochemicals such as flavonoids 88 (93.61%) and saponin 81 (86.17%) were highly found in these medicinal plants. Fifty (53.19%) of these species were used as external and internal medication in the management of snake bites.  Conclusion: This literature review provides useful documented evidence on the management of snake bites in Traditional Medicine. However, there is a need for further extensive scientific studies to be carried out to justify its clinical potential in the management of snake bites.

Pharmacognostical standardization of herbal formulation is essential in order to assess the quality of drugs, based on the concentration of their active principles. Vellarugu chooranam is a reputed drug mentioned in the ancient books of Siddha Medicine for the treatment of Vata diseases, arthritis, constipation, and diabetes mellitus. The main component of Vellarugu chooranam is whole plant of Enicostemma littorale Blume (Siddha Name: Vellarugu) (Gentianaceae). In the present study an attempt has been made to standardize the Vellarugu chooranam. For the standardization of this drug Organoleptic properties, Phytochemical screening, Fluorescence analysis, Elemental analysis, Physicochemical parameters such as moisture content, ash values, extractability in water and ethanol were carried out. TLC and HPLC fingerprints of the Vellarugu chooranam were also prepared to evaluate its quality. These set of parameters were found to be sufficient to evaluate authenticity of the Vellarugu chooranam and can be used as reference standards for the preparation of a standardized pharmaceutical product and further quality control researches.

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Diabetes mellitus is becoming a metabolic disease that is defined by the level of hyperglycemia. Nowadays, it has a serious threat to public healthiness in throughout the world. Constituents and extracts isolated from diverse natural resources, mainly plants, have constantly been a rich store for controlling and treating diabetes problems. Numerous researches are ongoing to identify the suitable traditional medical drugs, medicinal herbs, and resources for managing this condition. Murraya koenigii Spreng (family Rutaceae) is commonly known as a ‘curry leaf tree’ locally. It is widely scattered in India and Sri Lanka, and leaves are commonly used for cooking. And also mainly used for various health conditions such as diabetes, anemia, diarrhea, and others. The present review aimed to critically review the anti-hyperglycemic effect of the M. koenigii based on the review, in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies. Based on this review, the M. koenigii possess flavonoids, phenols, saponins, alkaloids, tannins, and cardiac glycosides. It has shown a potential anti-hyperglycemic effect on induced diabetic rats. This review reported the potential of M. koenigii and its extract to be a high-value dietary product in terms of its anti-hyperglycemic effects and industrial profits. Therefore, the present review supports the researchers and readers/users to realize the importance of using M. koenigii in managing diabetes mellitus. Further, this review provides a valuable document for future scientific-related clinical trials in diabetic patients.

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Vellarugu {Enicostemma littorale Blume (E. littorale)} (Gentian family) is a highly nutritious perennial medicinal plant and used as a medicine in Siddha Medical System to treat several disease conditions such as diabetes mellitus, rheumatism (Vata diseases), skin diseases (Pitta diseases), constipation, abdominal ulcers, swelling, obesity and insect poisoning. It is a rainy season herb, growing on moist, damp and shady ridges and slopes of the borders of cultivated fields and widely distributed in India, Eastern and Southern Africa, South America, and Asia. Whole plant, Leaves, Flowers, stem and Roots are mostly used for the treatment. Although there are numerous scientific studies related to multiple usage of Vellarugu plant, this study attempts to collect all available information and prepare a monograph about the E. littorale for documentation purpose. E. littorale has a number of anti-oxidative phytochemicals which include five alkaloids, catechins, saponins, two sterols, triterpinoids, phenolic acid, flavonoids, xanthones and volatile oil, swetiamerin, and gentianine. Higher percentage of total ash, water soluble ash and acid insoluble ash also were found in this plant. E. littorale has very low toxicity and is a safe and the presence of heavy metals was below the WHO/FDA permissible limits. Numerous studies stated that E. littorale has the therapeutic pharmacological actions such as anti-diabetic, antioxidant, hypolipidaemic, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-arthritic, anti-microbial, anti tumour, and etc. This monograph may provide and confirmed the documentary evident for multiple medicinal and therapeutic uses and pharmacological effects of the E. littorale.

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