Review of critically endangered medicinal plant Swertia chirayita for developing conservation strategies

Nilay Singh, Neetu Sharma, Promila Sharma, Bhawana, Bindu Agarwal

Department of Chemistry, Graphic Era (Deemed to be University), Clement Town, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

ABSTRACT

Medicinal plants always play an important role in pharmaceutical applications. Swertia chirayita is one of the chief plants of the Gentianeace family. It is a potent drug used in Ayurveda, Siddha, and Homoeopathy in many formulations and is efficient in the healing of a range of diseases. The foremost emphasis of this assessment is in the direction of evaluating the versatile, multi-potential medicinal use of Swertia chirayita and updating information about pharmacognostical, phytochemical, and pharmacological studies. Swertia chirayitais has extensive types of characteristics, such as antibacterial activity, antifungal activity, antioxidant activity, etc. The current scenario and condition of this plant show that the prevailing number of these species is ebbing at a very great proportion. So, there must be different efficient conservation and sustentation strategies that can be put into effect for the preservation of this plant in its natural ecosystem. If felicitous methods are not augmented and employed, the extinction of these species cannot be ruled out anytime soon in the future. So, at this critical stage, there must be some urgent and active conservation strategies to be implemented at the earliest possible date.

Keywords:

Swertia chirayita, Gentianaceae, Chemical composition, Amarogentine, Pharmacological