A detailed investigation of phytochemical, biological and commercial utilization of horse tail tree Casuarina equisetifolia Mamillapalli Vani1,*, Kondaveeti Latha Sri1, Chapala Ratna Harika1, Sareddu Tejaswi Komal Sai1, Pattipati Santhi1, Khantamneni Padmalatha2 1Department of Pharmacognosy & Phytochemistry, Vijaya Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences for Women, Enikepadu-521108, Vijayawada, Krishna (Dt.), Andhra Pradesh, India 2Department of Pharmacology, Vijaya Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences for Women, Enikepadu-521108, Vijayawada, Krishna (Dt.), Andhra Pradesh, India *Corresponding Author E-mail: vanimamillapalli@yahoo.co.in
Online Published on 09 June, 2022. Abstract Medicinal plants are the Nature's gift to human beings to alleviate various kinds of ailments. The plant Casuarina equisetifolia belonging to the family Casuarinaceae, a tropical plant commonly called as horse tail in English, and sarugudu chettu in Telugu is used traditionally for the treatment of nervous disorders, acne, throat infections, stomach ulcer, constipation, cough, diabetes, diarrhoea, dysentery, gonorrhea. The phytochemicals isolated from the plant include condensed tannins epicatechin, hydrolysable tannins gallic acid, procyanidin, casuarine, rutin, hesperidin, alkaloid casuarin etc. The plant is rich in tannin content. The plant extracts were studied for antibacterial, antifungal, antidiabetic, antispasmodic, antihistaminic, gastroprotective, cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective activities. The plant also possesses economical value as it finds its application in agroforestry, timber, paper and dyeing industries. The ethnomedicinal importance of the plant drives researchers towards further study of pharmacological activities of isolated components to develop novel medicaments. Top Keywords Casuarina equisetifolia, Phytochemical, Medicinal, Commercial, Uses. Top |