Uraria picta: A comprehensive review on evidences of utilization and strategies of conservation

Abstract

Uraria picta (Jacq.) DC. (Prishnaparni) is one of the most important medicinal plants used in different traditional systems of medicines including the Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese medicine. The major use of this plant was found in the most popular Ayurvedic formulation “Dashmula” and in several many other important Ayurvedic formulations. IUCN placed this woody herb in the least concern category as per version 3.1. It has extensive therapeutic uses and pharmacological activities. Though this plant is a source of many phytochemicals, the uses are uncertain because the raw plant parts or crude extracts are being used in all formulations. Therefore, extensive investigations are necessary to focus on the identification of these phytochemicals. It is an urgent need to give special attention to collecting various aspects and more efforts are required in all areas for utilization and conservation of this valuable medicinal herb. Herein, a compilation of all information with various aspects has been presented, including the authors published work on Uraria picta. This review pursues attention towards biological activity, phytochemical profile, utilization, propagation and conservation of Uraria picta.

Impact of Plant Tissue Culture (PTC) in Modern Agriculture

“…The protocol was also developed for different medicinal plant such as Asparagus, Digitalis, Uraria etc. [19][20][21].…”

Simultaneous densitometric determination of β-sitosterol and lupeol through validated HPTLC method in different plant parts of Uraria picta (Jacq.) Desv. ex DC. – A dashmool species

“…Almost each part of this species is useful and possesses a diverse set of therapeutic properties to treat ailments like fatigue, oral ulcers, and a myriad of gynaecological problems [7,9]. Apart from well-established ayurvedic drug Dashmularishta, the basic ingredient of Dashmool is also utilized in many herbal preparations [10,11].…”

“…Furthermore, this plant has long been employed as an antidote to the venom Echis carinata, a poisonous Indian snake [25] and healing of fractures with radioactive P-32 and Ca-45 [26]. A number of bioactive secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, phenolics, tannins, saponins, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, isoflavanones, triterpenes and steroids have been identified in this plant [10,27].…”

Development of unigene-derived SSR markers from RNA-seq data of Uraria lagopodioides (Fabaceae) and their application in the genus Uraria Desv. (Fabaceae)

“…Several species of Uraria (e.g., U. lagopodioides, U. crinita and U. picta) are used for medicinal purposes. The flavonoids, triterpenes, megastigmanes, nucleoside compounds, and 3-hydroxy-7' ,4'-dimethoxyflavone they produce display a wide range of medicinal properties used in the treatment of asthma, dysentery, ulcers, and malaria-induced fever [4][5][6][7].…”