INTRODUCTION:

From pre-historic times to now many parts of the world & India, animals, plants and other natural objects have radical impact on culture and civilization of man. Science the beginning of civilization, human beings have reverence plants and such plants are conserved as a genetic resource and used as food, fiber, fodder, fertilizer, febrifuge, fuel and in every other way.¹

Calotropis gigantea belonging to the family Apocynaceae is a well-known medicinal herb commonly known as milkweed or crown flower weed has been used in Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha system of medicine for long year.² This plant is latex bearing plant and when the tissue is injured then latex is released.

Plant latex are the combination of tannins, alkaloids, sugar, starch, resins, protein and gum.³

Fig. 1: Calotropis gigantea plant

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION⁴

S. No	Kingdom	Plantae	S. No	Kingdom	Plantae
1	Clade	Tracheophytes	5	Order	Gentianales
2	Clade	Angiosperms	6	Family	Apocynaceae
3	Clade	Eudicots	7	Genus	Caloteropis
4	Clade	Asterids	8	Species	C. gigantea

TAXONOMICAL CLASSIFICATION⁵

Kingdom	Planate
Order	Gentianales
Family	Apocynaceae
Subfamily	Asclepiadaceae
Genus	Calotropis
Species	C. gigantea

VERNACULAR NAME⁶

India	(Sanskrit) Arka, Ganarupa, Mandara, Vasuka, Svetapushpa, Sadapushpa, Alarka, Pratapass, (Hindi) Aak, Madar, (Kannada) Ekka, (Tamil and Malayalam) Erukku, (Telugu) Jilledi Puvvu
English	Crown flower, giant Indian milkweed.
Vietnam	B[oot]ng b[oot]ng, l[as] hen, nam t[it] b[at].
Indonesia	Bidhuri (Sundanese, Madurese), sidaguri (Javanese), rubik (Aceh)
Malaysia	Remiga, rembega, kemengu.
Laos	Remiga, rembega, kemengu.
Thailand	Po thuean, paan thuean (northern), rak (central).
Philippines	Kapal-kapal (Tagalog).
French	Faux arbre de soie, mercure vegetal.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION:

It is widely distributed in almost all over the world. In native of India, China, Malaysia and found chiefly in lower Bengal, Himalaya, Punjab, Assam, Madras and South India. Common in waste land, railway embankments, road sides ascending to about 1000 m in the Himalayas from Punjab to Assam.⁷

Beside these this plant also distributed in the following countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, India, Iran. Iraq, Israel, Kenya, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libyan, Arab Jamahiriya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, French Guina, Somalia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, United Arab emirates, Vietnam, Yemen, Republic of Zimbabwe, Exotic: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent, and the Grenadines, Surinam, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela and Virgin Islands (US).⁸

BOTANICAL DISTRIBUTION:

Macroscopic features^3,6,9,10,11:

Calotropis gigantea is an erect, much branched shrub about 1-5m tall, back yellowish, which more or less covered (mainly younger once) with fine appressed cottony pubescence.
Roots	The roots are cylindrical, tortuous and often branched, externally yellowish grey while internally ceramic white and about 90cm in length and 2.5-10cm in diameter.
Root bark	is short, curved and is more rarely quilled pieces, 2-5 mm thick and 3-5cm broad and has distinctly mucilaginous, bitter taste.
Leaves	The leaves are broadly elliptical to oblong-obovate in shape, with the size of 9-20cm x 6-12.5cm but sub sessile.
Habit	Shrub or a small tree up to 2.5m (max.6m) height.
Flowers	Bracteate, complete, bisexual, actinomorphic, pentamerous, hypogynous, pedicellate, pedicel 1-3cm long.
Fruits	A simple, fleshy, inflated, subglobose to obliquely ovoid follicle up to 10cm or more in diameter.
Seeds	numerous, 6 by 5mm, broadly ovate, flattened narrowly margined, minutely tomentose, brown coma 2.5-3.2cm long
Cymes	Are 5-12.5cm in diameter
Calyx	has five sepals and lobe, shortly united at the base
Corolla	Petals five, gamopetalous, five lobed, twisted aestivations.

Microscopic features:

Transverse section of midrib of leaves shows an upper and lower single layered epidermis externally covered with thick striated cuticle and few epidermal cells on both surface of leaf elongated to form uniseriate 2-3 celled trichomes. Xylem consists of mostly tracheid and vessels.¹⁰

The transverse section of the root shows cork as the outermost layer with regularly arranged and 15-20 layers of rectangular cells without any intercellular space. The cells present in the cortex region consist of ample number of starch grains. These cells were consisting of irregularly shaped parenchymatic cells and contains laticiferous tubes and rosette of calcium oxalate.¹²

Propagation and planting:

Plant propagation is the process by which new plant grow from various plant part. Calotropis gigantea are propagated by the help of seed r stem cutting. The seeds are sprinkled by water, wind or generally pollinated by wasps, bees and butterflies.

It also multiplied by plant tissue culture method. Natural regeneration is a very common. One type of propagation called vegetative propagation, through root and stem cutting is very helpful in large scale multiplication of the superior genotypes.⁶

PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING^13-15:

Compounds	Plant parts
Compounds	Root	Flower	Buds
Alkaloids	+	+	+
Glycosides	+	+	+
Carbohydrate	+	+	+
Amino acid	+	+	+
Saponins	+	+	+
Acid compounds	+	+	+
Sterols	+	+	+
Flavonoids	+	+	+

PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES:

Anticancer activity:

In the flower of Calotropis gigantea present an isolated compound known as anhydrosophoradiol-3-acetate (A3A) which destroy the viable tumor cells and decrease body weight gain. In vivo study of the A3A effective in inhibiting the growth of EAC with improving cancer induced complication.²¹

Anti-inflammatory activity:

The anti-inflammatory activity of Calotropis gigantea was evaluated by various experimental animal models. Chloroform, n-butanol, ethanol and distilled water extracts of leaves of Calotropis gigantea was screened for anti-inflammatory activities. This activity was compared with standard drug paracetamol for carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema method.²²

Other side, the anti-inflammatory activity evaluates using carrageenin-induced kaolin-induced rat paw oedema for acute and cotton-pellet granuloma, adjuvant-induced arthritis model for chronic inflammation.²³ The anti-inflammatory activity was also proved against albumin denaturation technique.²⁴

Wound healing activity:

There are various wound healing activity studies are done with animal model. 1^st one applies of Calotropis gigantea latex in albino rats using excision and incision wound model. Latex treated animal exhibit 83.42% reduction in wound area when compared to control which was 76.22% framycetin sulphate cream (1%)) was used as a standard.²⁵

2^nd one by the help of anaesthesia, 2cm excision wound were created in streptozocin (50mg/kg) induced diabetic rats. Then for the treatment, Calotropis gigantea latex extract ointment (2%) for 14 days were applied. By the result the rate of wound concentration had increased and time of epithelisation had decreased significantly (p<0.05) in test drug treated rats. Beside that the volume density of collagen fibres, numerical density of fibroblast and length density of vessels were also significantly (p<0.05) increased. So, the above study state that the Calotropis gigantea promotes diabetic wound healing by stimulating collagen synthesis and enhancing histological central to normal wound healing.²⁶

Antivenom activity:

Calotropis gigantea plant extract gives antivenom activity against viper russell snake venom. The methanolic extract of Calotropis gigantea gives valuable effects to neutralized various action of the venom like lethality, oedema forming activity, necrotizing activity and haemorrhagic activity.²⁷

In case of mice, oral administration of extract at 200 and 400mg/kg effectively neutralized the lethal effect of 2LD50 and 3LD50 of venom. In invitro studies, the plant extract at 100,200 and 400mg/kg effective neutralized 2LD50 and 3LD50 of venom. In viper venom against oedema, methanolic extract gives effect at 60, 120, 180 and 240 minutes.²⁸

Vasodilation activity:

The vasodilation activity of Calotropis gigantea latex extract was studied in the Rana hexadaetyla (green frog). The diluted crud extract with distilled water in 1:10 and 1:100 concentrations percentage increased in the cardiac output. Higher dilution factor increased the cardiac output 66% whereas 1:10 produces 50 % cardiac output. This reveals that the latex produces vasodilation effect at fixed diose concentration.²⁹

Hypoglycaemic effect:

In one study Calotropis gigantea flower and leaf chloroform extract of 10, 20 and 50mg/kg were evaluated in Streptozotocin induced diabetic rats and compared with glibenclamide. By the result the flower and leaf extract of Calotropis gigantea have effectiveness in lowering serum glucose level in normal rats. Improvement in oral glucose tolerance was also registered by treatment with test drug. So, administration of flower and leaf extracts to Streptozotocin induced diabetic rats showed a significant reduction in serum glucose levels.³⁰

Antitussive activity:

Due to presence of alkaloid and glycosides the leaf extract of Calotropis gigantea shows antitussive activity.³¹

Hepatoprotective activity:

Ethanolic Activity of Calotropis gigantea stem at doses of 250 and 500mg kg-1 were studied for hepatoprotective activity in male wistar rats with liver damage include using carbon tetrachloride, 2ml kg-1.³²

Other side the methanolic extract of Calotropis gigantea leaf in a dose dependent manner having good hepatoprotective activity against CCL4 induced hepatotoxicity in rats.³³

Free radical scavenging activity:

Chloroform extract of Calotropis gigantea leaf and flower on free radical scavenging activity, and lipid profile in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats was investigated.³

Other side, the ethanolic extract of leaf and latex of Calotropis procera and Calotropis gigantea were tested of free radical scavenging activity using 1,1 Diphenyl Picryl hydrazyl radicals and the latex extract of Calotropis procera and Calotropis gigantea (10mg/ml) exhibit the greater capacity to scavenge DPPH radicals whereas leaf extract shows moderate free radical scavenging activity.³⁴

Hair growing activity:

Calotropis gigantea with Hibiscus rosa sinensis (HRSF), and polyherbal formulation (HCF) in combination of both the plants were aimed for revealing effect on hair growth initiation and promotion in albino rats. The study observations and results were compared with Minoxidil. Calotropis gigantea showed potential hair growth activity but less in comparison with other treatment.³⁵

Analgesic activity:

Calotropis gigantea flowers alcoholic extract have some analgesic activity on various preclinical studies. Oral dose of alcoholic extract shows significant decrease in the incidences of writhing’s reflexes and paw licking time. The activity is studied by using acetic hot plate method and acid writhing model.³⁶

CNS activity:

Due to presence of flavonoids chrysin, apigenin, extract of Calotropis gigantea shows various neuropharmacological activity like- sedative and hypnotic, antidepressant, antianxiety, analgesic etc. Even this type of activity, the extract of C. gigantea improve collateral branching, augmention in axonal and dendritic numbers, length and branching orders.^37,38

Anti-malarial:

Extract of Calotropis gigantea shows antimalarial activity against plasmodium berghei and plasmodium falciparum. Due to anti-plasmodial activity against chloroquine sensitive plasmodium falciparum, this plant has excellent anti-malarial activity.³⁷

Pregnancy interceptive properties:

Different root extract of Calotropis gigantea give response to pregnancy interceptive activity in rats. Different extract are shows pregnancy interceptive activity at different dose like-

· Extract response 100% in pregnancy interceptive activity at a dose of 100mg/kg.

· Other side extract also gives 100% response at the dose of 12.5mg/kg when administered in the days of 1-5 and 1-7 postcoitum schedules.^39,40

CONCLUSION AND FUTURE PROSPECTIVE:

Calotropis gigantea is a potential plant with various healing principles and economic values. It is generally assigned through all over the India, which is use as traditional medicine, ornamental, fuel, fibre, auxiliary plant, mosquito controlling etc. and the various part of this plant viz. root, leaves, root bark, milk, flower are used ethnomedicinally as a remedy for various diseases for human beings.

Though Calotropis gigantea has various medicinal applications, but still in future the phytochemicals and unknown compound of this plant need to be standardized and characterization of new potent molecule that suppress various pathological disorders and development of new class of drug therapies for the betterment of health of human beings.

REFERENCES:

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Received on 07.07.2022 Modified on 29.08.2022

Asian J. Pharm. Res. 2023; 13(1):34-40.

DOI: 10.52711/2231-5691.2023.00006

Sl. No.	Plant part	Chemical constituents	Structure
1	Flower	Di-(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate
1	Flower	Anhydrosophoradiol-3-acetate
2	Leaves	Alkaloids, Glycoside, Mudarine	__________
3	Areal parts	Lupeol
		Isorhamnetin
		γ-Taraxasterol
4	Roots	Asclepin
		Calotropone
		Gofruside
5	Root bark	β - Amyrin
		Isovaleric acid
		β-Sitosterol
		β−Sitosterolacetate
		Lupenyl-1-acetate
		β-Amyrin acetate
		Stigmasterol
		α –Taraxerol