Navaneetha Somasundaram

The plant Sida spinosa Linn belongs to the family Malvaceae, which is a popular Ayurvedic remedy for the treatment of various disorders mainly in the treatment of healing of wounds. Sida spinosa Linn., is one of the important species of this genus which is found through out the tropical and subtropical region of both hemispheres of India and Srilanka. It is also known as “Nagabaala” in Hindi and Sanskrit. The plant name Bala is coined on the name of ‘Parvati’ (Goddess of strength and beauty).It is abundantly found throughout the hotter parts of India from North West India to Ceylon and Tropical and subtropical regions of both hemispheres. The root, bark, leaves of this plant are traditionally used for the treatment of leucorrhoea, respiratory disorders, healing of wounds, tonic, diaphoretic, asthma, chest ailments and also in diarrhoea and dysentery. The plant was found to contain phytoconstituents like alkaloids, glycosides, phytosterols, tannins, flavanoids, lignins and saponins. The plant is rich in alkaloids and various phytochemical constituents like glyceryl-1-eicosanoate and 20-hydroxy, 24-hydroxymethylecdysone, Apigenin and Kaempferol has been isolated from this plant. This plant showed antipyretic & antimicrobial, anti diabetic, antioxidant and diuretic activity. This review summarizes the list of phytochemical compounds isolated and pharmacological activities over the past few decades.