Medicinal Properties Of Tinospora Cordifolia

Tinospora Cordifolia: A Multipurpose Natural Plant - A Review

Abstract: Tinospora cordifolia (Guduchi) is a widely used shrub in folk and AYUSH systems of medicine. This review presents a detailed survey of the literature on chemistry and medicinal properties of Tinospora Cordifolia. The chemical constituents reported from this shrub belong to different classes such as alkaloids, diterpenoid lactones, glycosides, steroids, sesquiterpenoid, phenolics, aliphatic compounds and polysaccharides. The notable medicinal properties reported are antidiabetic, antiinflammatory, antiarthritic, antileprotic, antimalarial, hepatoprotective, immunomodulatory and antineoplastic activities.

Key words: Tinospora cordifolia, Phytochemical, pharmacological
The abundant medicinal plants and the Vedic scriptures that point to the correct usage of these plant for the optimum beneficial effect has spiked the interest of the science bodies and the further research on these plants on the scientific platform has in evidently pointed to the same results that have been preached from time immemorial by the traditional forms of medicine.
3. BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION:
Tinospora cordifolia is a large deciduous, extensively spreading climbing shrub with a number of coiling branches. Different parts of Tinospora have following type of morphology.
3.1. Stem
Stem of this plant is rather succulent with long, filiform, fleshy and climbing in nature. Aerialroots arise from the branches. The bark is creamy white to grey in colour and deeply left.[19]
3.2. Arial Root
Arial roots are present; these aerial roots are characterized by tetra to penta-arch primary structure. However, cortex of root is divided in to outer thick walled and inner parenchymatous.[19]
3.3.
Hence this family is named as moonseed family also. As seeds are curved in shape, embryo also turned in to curve shape automatically. Moreover,the endocarp is variously ornamented and provides important taxonomic characters.[19] Drug occurs in pieces of varying thickness ranging from 0.6-5 cm in diameter, young stems green with smooth surfaces and swelling at nodes, older ones show a light brown surface marked with warty protuberances due to circular lenticels; transversely smoothened surface shows a radial structure with conspicuous medullary rays traversing porous tissues, taste bitter. Transverse section of stem shows outer most layer of cork, differentiating into outer zone of thick walled brownish and compressed cells, inner zone of thin walled colourless, tangentially arranged 3-4 rows of cells, cork broken at some places due to opening of lenticels, followed by 5 or more rows of secondary cortex of which the cells of outer rows smaller than the inner one, just within the opening of lenticels, groups of sclereids consisting of 2-10 cells found in secondary cortex region, outer zone of cortex consists of 3 - 5 rows of irregularly arranged, tangentially elongated chlorenchymatous cells, cortical cells situated towards inner side, polygonal in shape and filled with plentyof starch grains, simple, ovoid, or irregularly ovoid elliptical, occasionally compound of 2-4 components, several secretor cells, found scattered in the