Vol. 11, Special Issue 3 (2022)

Author(s):
Jonali Brahma, Anuck Islary and Subhajit Ray

Abstract:
Garcinia spp. is a tropical fruit tree native to Southeast Asia where it has a long history of use as a traditional medicine. In Assam, Garcinia is known as ‘thekera’ and is popularly used in culinary preparation and to make refreshing juice which helps to cure symptoms like headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and concentration difficulties. Village people usually drink them to reduce or prevent the after-effect of alcohol consumption. Also it has been claimed to have a unique properties to help lose weight because of anti-hypolipidemic properties. Despite its medicinal values, this plant is not well known and rarely found nowadays. Research on the phytochemical constituents and biological activities of Garcinia spp. have demonstrated that various parts of the plant contain significant amount of bioactive compounds mainly Hydroxycitric acid (HCA), xanthones and flavonoids, with significant pharmacological properties such as anti- atherosclerosis, anti-bacterial, anti-hypolipidemic, anti-cancer, anti-hypertension, and anti-malarial. Garcinia cambogia and Garcinia gummi-gutta are already in the market as popular weight loss supplement. In the current review, recorded knowledge of the Garcinia spp. found in Assam and its active constituents based on the available literature are summarized in order to explore its potential applications and prospective research works on this plant.