Syzygium cumini (S. cumini) (L.) Skeels (jambolan) is one of the widely used medicinal plants in the treatment of various diseases in particular diabetes. The present review has been primed to describe the existing data on the information on botany, phytochemical constituents, traditional uses and pharmacological actions of S. cumini (L.) Skeels (jambolan). Electronic database search was conducted with the search terms of Eugenia jambolana, S. cumini, jambolan, common plum and java plum. The plant has been viewed as an antidiabetic plant since it became commercially available several decades ago. During last four decades, numerous folk medicine and scientific reports on the antidiabetic effects of this plant have been cited in the literature. The plant is rich in compounds containing anthocyanins, glucoside, ellagic acid, isoquercetin, kaemferol and myrecetin. The seeds are claimed to contain alkaloid, jambosine, and glycoside jambolin or antimellin, which halts the diastatic conversion of starch into sugar. The vast number of literatures found in the database revealed that the extracts of different parts of jambolan showed significant pharmacological actions. We suggest that there is a need for further investigation to isolate active principles which confer the pharmacological action. Hence identification of such active compounds is useful for producing safer drugs in the treatment of various ailments including diabetes.

In the present study, we aimed to analyze the antinociceptive, immunomodulatory and antipyretic activities of nymphayol were investigated in wistar rats and mice. Antinociceptive effect was evaluated by acetic acid induced writhing, formalin induced paw licking and hot-plate tests. Immunomodulatory activity was assessed by neutrophil adhesion test, humoral response to sheep red blood cells, delayed-type hypersensitivity, phagocytic activity and cyclophosphamide induced myelosuppression. Antipyretic activity was evaluated by yeast induced hyperthermia in rats. Nymphayol produced significant (p<0.05) antinociceptive activity in acetic acid induced writhing response and late phase of the formalin induced paw licking response. Pre-treatment with nymphayol (50 mg/kg, oral) evoked a significant increase in neutrophil adhesion to nylon fibres. The augmentation of humoral immune response to sheep red blood cells by nymphayol (50 mg/kg) was evidenced by increase in antibody titres in rats. Oral administration of nymphayol (50 mg/kg) to rats potentiated the delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction induced by sheep red blood cells. Treatment with nymphayol showed a significant (p<0.05) reduction in pyrexia in rats. The results suggest that nymphayol possesses potent anti-nociceptive, immunomodulatory and antipyretic activities.
Acetic Acid ; Administration, Oral ; Animals ; Cyclophosphamide ; Erythrocytes ; Fever ; Flowers* ; Formaldehyde ; Hypersensitivity ; Hyperthermia, Induced ; Immunity, Humoral ; Mice ; Neutrophils ; Nylons ; Nymphaea* ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Sheep ; Yeasts