Abstract
Mesua ferrea L. (family, Clusiaceae), popularly called cobra saffron, is a rare plant traditionally used for the treatment of various ailments and is cultivated as an ornamental plant due to its graceful morphology and beautiful, fragrant large white flowers. Mesua ferrea showed wide range of various phytochemical constituents, which are responsible for different medicinal properties. Specifically it contains alkaloids, glycosides, reducing sugar, tannins, phenolics, coumarins, sterols, xanthones, volatile oil, triterpenoids, resins, and saponins. The plant also consists of various active compounds like α-copaene and germacrene D, β-amyrin, and β-sitosterol and some new compounds named as mesuanic acid; mesuferrols A and B; mesuaxanthones A and B; mesuaferrins A, B, and C; mesuaferrones A and B; mesuarin; and mesuol. The plant has shown various pharmacological activities including anti-inflammatory, anti-hemorrhoid, antiulcer, CNS depressant, α-amylase inhibitory, antioxidant, anticancer, diuretic, hepatoprotective, antivenom, antidiabetic, antibacterial, and immunomodulatory effects.
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Acknowledgments
SERB, National Post Doctoral Fellowship to PRK from DST, Government of India, and Dr. D. S. Kothari Post Doctoral Fellowship to SMP from UGC New Delhi India with Department of Biotechnology, Shivaji University Kolhapur and Amity University, Panvel, Mumbai, are gratefully acknowledged.
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Kshirsagar, P.R., Patil, S.M. (2020). Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of Mesua ferrea L.. In: Murthy, H., Bapat, V. (eds) Bioactive Compounds in Underutilized Fruits and Nuts. Reference Series in Phytochemistry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30182-8_16
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