A Review on Ethnobotanical, Phytochemical, Pharmacological and Traditional Aspects of Indigenous Indian Herb Trachyspermum ammi (L)

Abstract

Introduction and Ethnopharmacological relevance: In the Indian Vedic literature, Charakasamhita and Sushritasamhita, the Ajwain is known as Bhootika and in the charaksamhita commentaries, it is termed as Yavanika. The medicinal role of Ajwain fruit is claimed to be very important in the treatment of many ailments in humans. The plant Trachyspermum ammi Linn. is a grassy, aromatic annual plant, which falls in the family Umbelliferae. This plant is grown in India, Iran, Pakistan, Egypt, etc. for its medicinal benefits. Tribals of India use it for the treatment of diarrhea, arthritis, colic and gastrointestinal problems. In the traditional preparations, Indian Vaidya guru’s (Ayurveda Guru’s), the ajwain extract is used as “Admoda Arka”. The Ayurveda doctors, hakims and Vaidya gurus recommend ajwain for treating headaches, cold, flu and even during painful menstrual periods. Aim of the Study: The review paper has compiled the researches conducted on Trachyspermum ammi, which will help in presenting a collective data of the authentic researches conducted on the plant worldwide. It will also present information about the phytoconstituents which can be useful for building up new researches in near future. Materials and Methods: This paper has been prepared by collecting all the information available on the following platforms and the papers were searched from 1975 to 2019. The databases and electronic journals were well searched including Wiley, Springer link, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Pubmed. The key terms used for the search were Ajwain, C. copticum, Trachyspermum ammi and other synonyms of the plant. The search was also done by the names of chemical constituents present in the plant and the pharmacological effect of the plant. Results: The multiple uses of T. ammi are due to the active constituents present in it. As per the phytochemical studies on the fruits of T. ammi, the presence of various phytoconstituents has been found such as saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides, fixed oils, thymenes, cumenes, tannins, amino acids, p-cymene, c-terpinene, steroids, etc. Conclusions: This paper is focused on presenting a detailed review on the literature, pharmacological properties, physicochemical studies and the newest researches on the plant. In this paper, we have also compiled the traditional uses of the herb used by Indian peopleon recommendations from their Hakims, Vaidya and use of the herbs by many tribes all across India and Pakistan.

Cytotoxic effects of Trachyspermum ammi and Ferula assafoetida on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 breast cancer cell lines

“…Previous studies have also shown the high phenolic and flavonoid content of TAEO and high antioxidant effects in DPPH radical scavenging activity and Fe3+ reducing activity [11,12]. Akhlaghi et al reported the high phenolic content of methanolic extract of Trachyspermum ammi.…”

Isolation, characterization, development and evaluation of phytoconstituent based formulation for diabetic neuropathy

“…The amount of time it took for the initial sign of paw licking or a leaping reaction to escape the heat was used to determine the pain threshold. The cut-off time was set to 20 s to prevent paw harm ( Kanaan et al, 1996 , Saraswat et al, 2020a , Saraswat et al, 2020b ).…”

An Overview on Ajwain (<i>Trachyspermum ammi</i>) Pharmacological Effects: Current and Conventional

“…Along with the potent antioxidant activity, the Ajwain methanolic extract revealed to exhibit in vivo hepatoprotective activity with 80% defense against an in general deadly dose of paracetamol in pests. The extract also obsessed preventive effects against CCl 4 -induced prolongation of pentobarbital sleeping time as well as equilibrating the level of Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP), Aminotransferases (AST and ALT) hepatic enzymes, and during liver damage [46].…”