Medicinal plants are part and parcel of human society to combat diseases from the dawn of civilization. Terminalia chebula Retz. (Fam. Combretaceae), is called the‘King of Medicine’ in Tibet and is always listed at the top of the list of ‘Ayurvedic Materia Medica’ because of its extraordinary power of healing. The whole plant possesses high medicinal value and traditionally used for the treatment of various ailments for human beings. Some of the folklore people used this plant in the treatment of asthma, sore throat, vomiting, hiccough, diarrhea, dysentery, bleeding piles, ulcers, gout, heart and bladder diseases. The plant has been demonstrated to possess multiple pharmacological and medicinal activities, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, antiproliferative, radioprotective, cardioprotective, antiarthritic, anticaries, gastrointestinal motility and wound healing activity. But no systematic updated information on the therapeutic effectiveness of Terminalia chebula, a popular herbal remedy in India and South-East Asia has so far been reported. This review highlights an updated information particularly on the phytochemistry and various pharmacological and medicinal properties of Terminalia chebula Retz. and some of its isolated compounds, along with their safety evaluation. This may provide incentive for proper evaluation of the plant as medicinal agent against the human diseases and also to bridge the lacunae in the existing literature and future scope which may offer immense opportunity for researchers engaged in validation of the traditional claims and development of safe and effective botanical medicine.

Objective: Terminalia chebula Retz. (combretaceae) is called the “King of Medicine” in Tibet and is always listed at the top of the list of “Ayurvedic Materia Medica” because of its extraordinary power of healing. The present study was carried out to evaluate the possible in vitro antibacterial potential of different solvent extracts of T. chebula fruit against multidrug-resistant uropathogens. Methods: A total of 52 multidrug-resistant uropathogenic bacteria were used in this study. Successive extractions of T. chebula fruits were performed with solvents of different polarities. Agar well diffusion and microbroth dilution assay methods were used for antibacterial susceptibility testing. Kill-kinetics study was done to know the rate and extent of bacterial killing. Qualitative phytochemical screening was done to know the major phytoconstituents present in the plant material. Acute oral toxicity study in mice was performed to evaluate the toxic potential of the plant material, if any. Results:The ethanol extract of T. chebula fruits demonstrated a strong antimicrobial activity against all the test isolates and found to be most effective over others. Kill-kinetics study showed dose and time dependent antibacterial activity of ethanol extract. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of high concentration of phenolics and low concentration of flavonoids and terpenoids. In acute oral toxicity study, no gross behavioral changes were observed in mice at recommended dosage level and 24 h LD50 of ethanol extract was found to be >4 g/kg, p.o. in mice. Conclusions: The results provide justification for the use of Terminalia chebula fruit in folk medicine to treat various infectious diseases and could be useful for the development of alternative/ complementary medicine for multidrug-resistant uropathogens.

Medicinal plants are part and parcel of human society to combat diseases from the dawn of civilization. Terminalia chebula Retz. (Fam. Combretaceae), is called the 'King of Medicine' in Tibet and is always listed at the top of the list of 'Ayurvedic Materia Medica' because of its extraordinary power of healing. The whole plant possesses high medicinal value and traditionally used for the treatment of various ailments for human beings. Some of the folklore people used this plant in the treatment of asthma, sore throat, vomiting, hiccough, diarrhea, dysentery, bleeding piles, ulcers, gout, heart and bladder diseases. The plant has been demonstrated to possess multiple pharmacological and medicinal activities, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, antiproliferative, radioprotective, cardioprotective, antiarthritic, anticaries, gastrointestinal motility and wound healing activity. But no systematic updated information on the therapeutic effectiveness of Terminalia chebula, a popular herbal remedy in India and South-East Asia has so far been reported. This review highlights an updated information particularly on the phytochemistry and various pharmacological and medicinal properties of Terminalia chebula Retz. and some of its isolated compounds, along with their safety evaluation. This may provide incentive for proper evaluation of the plant as medicinal agent against the human diseases and also to bridge the lacunae in the existing literature and future scope which may offer immense opportunity for researchers engaged in validation of the traditional claims and development of safe and effective botanical medicine.
Humans ; Medicine, Ayurvedic ; Plant Extracts ; adverse effects ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Terminalia ; chemistry