Curculigo orchioides (KALI MUSLI): A PLANT WITH HUGE MEDICINAL PROPERTIES

Curculigo orchioides plant is a perennial herb having tuberous fleshy roots, leaves and flowers. The plant bears tremendous medicinal properties with anti-cancer, immune-stimulant, anti-diabetic, aphrodisiac, and anti-oxidant activity. The plant extract can be used in diseases like asthma, jaundice, diarrhoea, colic, hemorrhoids, snake bite, edema, and debilitating condition. Comprehensive analysis of different species of Curculigo plant has shown the presence of about 110 phytochemicals with wide range of pharmacological properties. Curculigoside is an active component in the extract of plant and it has many isoforms. It shows anti-arthritic effect through regulation of the JAK/STAT/NF‑κB signaling pathway. The isoform A seems to have angiogenic function mediated through VCAM-1/Egr-3/CREB/VEGF signaling pathway. There is a polysaccharide called O-acetyl glucomannan found in Curculigo orchioides rhizome part, having prominent effect on proliferation and differentiation of mouse primary osteoblastic cells, which indicates the efficacy of this polysaccharide in treatment of osteoporosis. The B and D isoforms of curculigoside are having therapeutic effects against Alzheimer’s disease. Moreover, curculigoside is also effective for treatment of ulcerative colitis. The present review article describes the therapeutic properties of Curculigo orchioides plant against many diseases, and the potential of active principles present in the plant extract, which can be utilized in future for drug formulation against various diseases.