Barleria prionitis L.: An Illustrative Traditional, Phytochemical and Pharmacological Review

Abstract

: Barleria prionitis, a small perpetual, prickly shrub, belongs to the family Acanthaceae, normally called “porcupine flower” or “Vajradanti” with a lot of vernacular names. It is an indigenous herb of Southern Asia and some regions of Africa. The therapeutic use of leaf, flower, stem, seed, shoot, root and in certain cases complete herb of B. prionitis against numerous disorders including cough, fever, jaundice, asthma, severe pain, acne, cut wound are recognized by ayurvedic and other conventional medicinal systems. An exhaustive bibliographic research of this plant has been carried out by means of scientific engines and databases like Google Scholar, PubMed, and Science direct; as a result, it has been found that this herb possesses a rich phytochemical content and a wide range of pharmacological activities such as antimicrobial activity, anthelmintic activity, antidiarrheal activity, antioxidant activity, antifertility activity, anti-diabetic activity, anti-inflammatory activity, cytoprotective activity, antiarthritic activity, diuretic activity, hepatoprotective activity, enzyme inhibitory activity and antinociceptive activity without any toxic effects. The plant has been reported to have tannin, saponin, flavonoid, glycoside, alkaloid and phenolic compounds present in it. It is also a noteworthy origin of secondary metabolites such as β-sitosterol, lupeol, syringic acid, and vanillic acid. However, having a potential therapeutic importance, it is still underutilization.

Chloroplast Genome Analysis for Genetic Information and Authentication in Five Barleria Species

“…Several species of Barleria are known for their medicinal or ornamental values [ 6 , 43 , 55 ]. There have been studies reviewing the traditional, phytochemical, and pharmacological properties of certain species of Barleria , such as B. lupulina and B. prionitis [ 56 , 57 , 58 ]. Ghosh et al, 2012 [ 59 ] have studied the vegetative and floral characters of B. cristata , B. lupulina , B. prionitis , and B. strigosa .…”

Phytochemicals and Biological Activities of Barleria (Acanthaceae)

“…Further studies should be conducted using different assays on clinical isolates and not only standard strains of the virus. Chen et al [ 87 ] also reported about the isolation of iridoid glycosides (6- O - trans - p -coumaroyl-8- O -acetylshanzhiside methyl ester and its cis isomer) from the methanolic extracts of B. prionitis , and these extracts were found to exhibit potent in vitro activity against the respiratory syncytial virus (EC 50 2.46 μg/mL, IC 50 42.2 μg/mL) [ 54 ].…”

“…Several species of Barleria are known for their medicinal or ornamental values [ 37 , 52 , 53 ]. There have been studies reviewing the traditional, phytochemical and pharmacological properties of specific species of Barleria (e.g., B. lupulina and B. prionitis ) [ 54 , 55 , 56 ], however none have comprehensively reported on species within Barleria using exisiting literature in a clear and concise manner. Therefore, this review is intended to elaborate on only the important and extensively studied species belonging to the genus Barleria , with an emphasis on their biological activities that have been published.…”

Barleria prionitis L. extracts ameliorate doxorubicin-induced acute kidney injury via modulation of oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis

“…Its pharmacological significance includes antidiabetic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticataract, antihypertensive, antiarthritic, antinociceptive, antibacterial, antifungal, hepatoprotective, analgesic, antihelminthic effects, etc. 16 , 17 Phytoconstituents such as iridoid diglucosides, secoiridoids, terpenoids, triterpenes, phenolic acid, flavones, and phytosterols were isolated from the plant. The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and free radical scavenging properties were reported for the isolated phytoconstituents.…”