Vol. 7, Issue 9 (2018)

Author(s):
Chintha Pradeepika, Selvakumar R, Sajad Un Nabi, Sajeev MS and Namrata A Giri

Abstract:
Ceropegia L. belongs to the family Asclepiadaceae, native to Africa, Southern Asia and Australia. It is a botanically a curious genus, mainly distributed in Western Ghats. The genus comprises of 200 species found throughout the world is mainly distributed in subtropical and tropical Asia. In India 55 species are reported, in which 28 are endemic to Peninsular India. Ceropegia species have sound ethnomedicinal values and is an important component in several indigenous drug preparations. The pharmacological importance of the genus is mainly due to the presence of ‘cerpegin’ a pyridine alkaloid, apart from the different potential phytoconstituents such as steroids, terpenoids, anthocyanins, anthracene glycosides, coumarins, flavonoids, fatty acids, phenolic compounds, alkaloids and carotenoids. The main objective of this review is to cover its botanical characterization, distribution, indigenous and traditional uses, ethnopharmacology and toxicology studies of reported species of Ceropegia.