Quisqualis indica Linn: A review of its medicinal properties

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International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Phytopharmacological Research
313
ISSN (Online) 2249 – 6084
ISSN (Print) 2250 – 1029
Int.J.Pharm.Phytopharmacol.Res. 2012, 1(5): 313-321
(Review Article)
Quisqualis indica Linn : A Review of its Medicinal Properties
Jyoti Sahu *, Pushpendra Kumar Patel, Balakrishna Dubey
T.I.T. College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology,
Anand Nagar, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
Received on: 13/02/2012 Accepted on: 23/04/2012
ABSTRACT
An herbal medicine is crude drugs obtained from vegetables or plant which are the origin of herbal drugs
utilized for the treatment of disease states, often of a chronic nature, or to attain or maintain a condition of
improved health. Phytogenic agents have traditionally been used by herbalists for several diseases from the past
two decades. This article contain brief reviews of medicinal properties of plant Quisqualis Indica Linn which
had been proved but are rarely used as a herbal medicines, the point which have to be considered that this plant
can be available easily as it is an evergreen plant and most of the people were used to decorate their house, as
this is an ornamental plant too which doesn’t depend on seasons to grow. Quisqualis indica Linn contains
phytoconstituents such as trigonelline (alkaloid), L-proline (α-amino acid), L-asparagine (α-amino acid),
quisqualic acid (agonist for both AMPA receptors), rutin (flavonoid) and two forms of the cysteine synthase,
isoenzyme A and isoenzyme B (enzyme) and due to presence of these phytoconstituents it is showing various
activities such as anti-inflammatory activity, antipyretic activity, immunomodulatory activity, anti-
staphylococcal activity, anthelmintic activity, antiseptic activity etc.
Key Words: Quisqualis indica Linn, Rangoon Creeper, Phytoconstituent, Pharmacological activity, Toxicity.
INTRODUCTION
The products which are obtained from the natural
source such as plants, microorganisms, animals or
minerals is the basic needs of making drugs used
for the treatment of disease which are synthesized
now a days for the making of a novel drugs. In the
ancient time the herbal medicines is the only source
which are used for the treatment of most of the
disease and today also in many places it have been
using for healthcare purpose so we can say that the
herbal medicines remedy is an traditional system of
medicine which are used in medical practices since
from antiquity. During the past two decades, there
has been an increasing interest in the industrialized
nations to use medicinal plants. Sources of details
are pharmacopoeias, indigenous knowledge,
scientific literature, and other documented sources
1. The practices continue today because of its
biomedical benefits as well as place in cultural
beliefs in many parts of world and have made a
great contribution towards maintaining human
health. The demand of herbal medicines is
currently increasing day by day because of the side
effects of the allopathy drug . India is a vast
repository of medicinal plants that are used in
traditional medical treatments. About 80% of
people in developing countries still relays on
traditional medicines which are based largely on
plants and animals for their primary health care.
Herbal products are defined as the materials that
are administered to patients and are mixtures of
herbal substances and other constituents which are
made by using herbals. Herbal medicine has
become more popular in recent era in the purpose
of healthcare. Herbal medicines are generally
regarded as safe based on their long-standing use in
various cultures 1 .Total global herbal market is of
size 62.0 billion dollars. European Union is the
biggest market with the share 45% of total herbal
market and the India’s contribution is only one
billion dollars. But there are positive signals also
for us in the global market. India has 16 Agro-

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314
climatic zones, 10 Vegetative zones, 15 Biotic
provinces, 426 Biomes, 45000 different plant
species and 15000 medicinal plants that include
7000 Ayurveda, 700 in Unani medicine, 600 in
Siddha medicine and 30 in modern medicine. This
makes India one among 12 mega biodiverse
countries of the world, which despite having only
2.5 % total land area, accounting for over 8 % of
the recorded species of the world 2. It is estimated
that at least 25% of all modern medicines are
derived, either directly or indirectly, from
medicinal plants, primarily through the application
of modern technology to traditional knowledge. In
the case of certain classes of pharmaceuticals, such
as antitumor and antimicrobial medicines, this
percentage may be as high as 60% 3, 4 .The
scientific evaluation of safety and efficacy of
herbal products and medicinal preparation is thus
of vital importance from both medicinal and
economic perspectives 5. Now a day’s our world is
facing a crisis in economic conditions so the use of
herbal products is much more reliable than
allopathic products because of its expensiveness.
Quisqualis indica Linn comprises of famil y
Combretaceae. The word Quisqualis meaning
“Which? What?” in Latin term which was given to
this plant by a Dutch botanist called Rumphius to
express his astonishment at the odd behaviour of
the species. A new plant grows for the first six
months as an erect shrub, and then it ends out a
runner from the roots which soon becomes stouter
and stronger than the original stem. It is a charming
plant, a native of Burma and Malaysian
Archipelago, and thrives well in most parts of
India, being frequently cultivated in gardens. A
fresh green leaf set off the clusters of pendent pink
and white blossoms and the attractive appearance is
enhanced by the delicious perfume 6. Apart from its
attractiveness it contains many phytoconstituent
such as trigonelline (Alkaloid), L-proline (α-amino
acid), L-asparagine (α-amino acid), quisqualic acid,
rutin (Flavonoid) and two forms of the cysteine
synthase, isoenzyme A and isoenzyme B (Enzyme)
which is responsible for several pharmacological
activities mentioned in different literatures. This
plant is commonly called Rangoon Creeper which
has been traditionally used over a long period of
time due to its activity against common diseases
such as boils, fever, diarrheoa etc. One of the
reason of using this plant in making many herbal
products is its availability almost in every season
and also it grows faster.The main motto of mine
behind this article is to aware more number of
researchers about number of benefits of this plant
because of its easy availability so that it will be
helpful for human beneficiary in healthcare and
economical purpose as much as possible.
PLANT PROFILE
Botanical Name: Quisqualis indica Linn.
Local Names:English (Rangoon Creeper), Hindi
(Madhumalti), Bengali (Modhumalati), Telgu
(Radha Manoharam), Filipino (Niyog-niyogan),
Spanish (Quiscual), China (Shih-chun-tzu),
Manipuri (Parijat), Marathi (Vilayati chambeli).
Kingdom- Plantae
Division- Magnoliophyta
Class- Magnoliopsida
Order- Myrtales
Family- Combretaceae
Genus- Quisqualis
Species- Q.indica 7, 8
Habitat and Distribution
It is vining and evergreen plant which is having
vigorous growth needing sturdy support and can
get quite out-of-hand on its favourable growing
site, it doesn’t require deep and anchoring roots.
It is widely distributed all over the w orld especially
on China, Philippines, Bangladesh, Myanmar and
Malaysia and now also broadly grown in India as
ornamental plant in most of the garden. Distributed
over 1) Thickets and secondary forests area
throughout the Philippines. 2) Ornamentally
planted for its flowers. 3) Also occurs in India to
Malaya. 4) Introduced in most tropical countries 9.
Cultivation and Collection
It generally requires an area with full sunlight,
regular watering to keep the soil moist and need a
support stand for the vine to grow on.For the
proper growth of any plant it should be provided
with basic requirements having well maintained
conditioning i.e. sunlight, water, fertilizer etc.
Generally these plants require:
Light - Prefers full to part sun and blooms best with
good sunlight.
Moisture- Water moderately and regularly, keeping
it evenly moist. Need more water during hot
seasons and less in cooler climate. During
establishment it cans tolerant drought condition
also.
Soil-Fertile humus soil with a mix of sand that can
retain water, yet well-drained soil.
Others: Require regular pruning to keep it within
control, as well as to encourage more blooms with
new branches as flowers appear on new growth.
When newer shoots observe emerging from the
base of the vine we can remove them also if we’d
rather have one main strong stem continuing its
growth at the top, otherwise leave them be to
promote bushiness near its base. Require
fortnightly or monthly feed with a flowering
fertilizer to boost flowering. Relatively free from
pests and diseases.

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315
For subtropical regions - A tender evergreen that
goes semi dormant or die back in lower
temperature, but come back when weather warms
up in spring. Flowers fall during all over summer
season 10.
Botanical Description and Identification
Features
Quisqualis indica Linn. of the genus Quisqualis, is
an exceptionally impressive tropical vine, with a
few varieties, distinguishable by its flower colour
and leaf size. It can reach 21 m in the wild, but
generally its length in cultivation ranges between 2-
9 m. A large, woody and shrubby climber over
pergolas, trellises, etc and yet can be trained as a
specimen shrub. Under good growing conditions,
it’s typically seen with lush and fresh green foliage
on cascading branches with numerous axillary and
terminal drooping racemose inflorescences that is
simply spectacular.
Leaves with distinct venation, are oblong to
elliptic, 7-15cm in length with acuminate tip and
rounded base. They are simple and opposite. It
non-stop blooms profusely all year around in the
tropics. The original Rangoon Creeper with thorny
stems produces single flowers in red while the Thai
hybrid has double flowers, and both exude an
intoxicating fragrance at night as an added bonus.
The beautifully coloured flower clusters with
pendulous trumpet-shaped blooms open first white,
then turn pink and end deep pink, bright red or
reddish purple over a 3-day period, displaying the
various colouring stages altogether on one and the
same flower stalk.
Its fruit is narrowly ellipsoidal, 2.5-3 cm long with
5 sharp, longitudinal angles or wings. The 12-
15mm long seeds are pentagonal (shaped like the
fruit-shell) and black. The 30 to 35 mm long fruit is
ellipsoidal and has five prominent wings. The fruit
tastes like almonds when mature 7,8,10.
Useful Parts of Plant
Rangoon creeper is generally an ornamental plant
but due to presence of phytoconstituent it was used
as traditional medicines over a long period of time
either used individually or it was given with other
synergistic ingredients simultaneously. Generall y
the parts which are traditionally used of these
plants are leaves, flower, seeds, fruits and roots.
These parts contains some active ingredients which
is responsible for giving particular pharmacological
activity, but it will taken under some expert
supervision as it giving some side effects also such
as stomachaches or headaches, especially when the
seeds will taken freshly or eaten frequently 9, 11 .
PHYTOCONSTITUENTS
Every plant contains several phytoconstituent in its
different parts showing various pharmacological
activities and / toxicities, likewise Quisqualis
indica Linn. also showing many pharmacological
activities activities due to the presence of
medicinally active compounds.
Quisqualis indica Linn contains phytoconstituent
such as trigonelline (alkaloid), L-proline (α-amino
acid), L-asparagine (α-amino acid), quisqualic acid
(agonist for both AMPA receptors), rutin
(flavonoid) and two forms of the cysteine synthase,
isoenzyme A and isoenzyme B (enzyme). Rutin
and pelargonidin-3-glucoside have also been
isolated from flowers. Fruits contain a sugary
substance similar to levulose and an organic acid
similar to cathartic acid. Seeds contain a fixed oil,
which consists of linoleic, oleic, palmitic, stearic
and arachidic acids, a sterol, an alkaloid with
anthelimintic properties and a neuroexcitator y
amino acid, quisqualic acid. 12
UTILIZATION
Traditional Uses
Decoctions of the root, seed or fruit can be used as
antihelmintic to expel parasitic worms or for
alleviating diarrhea. Fruit decoction can also be
used for gargling. The fruits are also used to
combat nephritis. Leaves can be used to relieve
pain caused by fever. The roots are used to treat
rheumatism. Flowers are used to relieve headache.
The seeds of this plant and related species, Q.
fructus and Q. chinensis, contain the chemical
quisqualic acid, which is an agonist for the AMPA
receptor, a kind of glutamate receptor in the brain.
The chemical is linked to excitotoxicity (cell
death).
Leaves and roots extracts are anthelimintic. Juice
of leaves relieve flatulence. Infusion of leaves is
used externally to treat boils and ulcers. Seeds are
anthelimintic given to children to expel the worms
7, 8.
Industrial Uses
Medicinal plants are the richest bioresource of
drugs for traditional systems of medicine, modern
medicines, nutraceuticals, food supplements, folk
medicines, pharmaceutical intermediates and
chemical entities for synthetic drugs. The first step
in the value addition of medicinal bioresources is
the production of herbal drug preparations, using a
variety of methods from simple traditional
technologies to advanced extraction techniques.
The extract is further processed to be incorporated
in any dosage form such as tablets and capsules.
With the increasing demand for herbal medicinal
products, nutraceuticals, and natural products for

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316
health care all over the world, medicinal plant
extract manufacturers and essential oil producers
have started using the most appropriate extraction
technologies in order to produce extracts and
essential oils of defined quality with the least
variations from batch to batch. Such approach has
to be adopted by MAP-rich developing countries in
order to meet the increasing requirement of good
quality extracts and essential oils for better revenue
generation within the country, as well as for
capturing this market in developed countries 13.
PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITY
Quisqualis indica Linn. showing various
pharmacological activities such as anti-
inflammatory activity, antipyretic activity,
immunomodulatory activity, anti-staphylococcal
activity, anthelmintic activity, antiseptic activity etc
due to its presence of various active constituents all
over the parts of plants. This plant contains some
medicinally active phytochemical constituents
which are responsible for various pharmacological
activities.
Anti-inflammatory Activity
Inflammation is a normal, protective response to
tissue injury caused by physical trauma, noxious
chemicals or microbiologic agents 14. Inflammation
is defined as a local response to cellular injury that
is marked by capillary dilatation, leukocyte
infiltration, redness, heat, pain, swelling and often
loss of function and that serves as a mechanism
initiating the elimination of noxious agents and
damaged tissue 15. Inflammation is of two types,
acute inflammation a short term process which
appears within few minutes and chronic
inflammation a long term process.
Anti-inflammatory action is considered to be
inhibition of PG synthesis particularly it inhibit the
COX at the site of injury, as the decrease the
prostaglandin E2and prostacyclin reduces
vasodilation and indirectly, oedema. Accumulation
of inflammatory cells is not reduced that it does
not depress the production of other mediators like
leukotrines, PAF, cytokines, etc so there are many
targets for anti-inflammatory actions 16,17 .
The hydroalcoholic extract of Quisqualis indica
has anti-inflammatory activity in acetic acid-
induced vascular permeability and cotton pellet
granuloma model. The phytochemicals analysis
revealed the presence of polyphenols and
flavonoids. The polyphenols have potent anti-
inflammatory activity by inhibiting prostaglandin
synthesis. So anti inflammatory activity of
hydroalcoholic extract of Quisqualis indica Linn
can be attributed to bradykinin and PG synthesis
inhibition property of polyphenols 18, 19.
Antipyretic Activity
Fever or pyrexia is produced during infection
through the generation of pyrogens which occurs
when IL-1 releases PGs in the CNS, where they
elevate the hypothalamic set point for temperature
control, thus causing fever 16,17. This can be caused
by PGE2synthesis, which is stimulated when an
endogenous fever producing agent a pyrogens, such
as cytokine, is released from white cells that are
activated by infection, hypersensitivity, malignancy
or inflammation 20.
Fever is a common medical sign characterized by
an elevation of temperature above the normal range
of 36.5–37.5 °C (98–100 °F) due to an increase in
the body temperature regulatory set-point 21 . This
increase in set-point triggers increased muscle tone
and shivering. As a person's temperature increases,
there is, in general, a feeling of cold despite an
increasing body temperature. Once the new
temperature is reached, there is a feeling of warmth
22, 23.
Antipyretic are the drugs that reduces the elevated
temperature of the body which resets the thermostat
toward normal and it rapidly lowers the body
temperature of febrile patients by increasing heat
dissipation as a result of peripheral vasodilation
and sweating 20.
The methanolic leaf extract of Quisqualis indica
Linn plant was extensively investigated for its
antipyretic activity against Brewer’s yeast induced
pyrexia model in rats. The methanolic extract of the
plant at a dose level of 100mg/kg and 200mg /kg
exhibited competent, potent and comparable results
promoting Quisqualis indica Linn plant as a
promising antipyretic plant species 24.
Immunomodulatory Activity
Immodulation is a process in which a substance
alters the immune response by augmenting or
reducing the ability of the immune system to
produce antibodies or sensitized cells that
recognize and react with the antigen that initiated
their production. Immunomodulators include
corticosteroids, cytotoxic agents, thymosin, and
immunoglobulins. Some immunomodulators are
naturally present in the body and certain of these
are available in pharmacologic preparations 26.The
term immunomodulation denotes a change, a
strengthening of suppression, of the indicators of
cellular and humoral immunity and nonspecific
defense factors 27.
Hydroalcoholic extract of Quisqualis indica Linn.
flower extract is a potent immunostimulants,
stimulating specific and non-specific immune
mechanisms. The role of phagocytosis is the
removal of microorganisms and foreign bodies,
dead or injured cells. The primary target of most of
the immunomodulators is believed to be

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317
macrophages which play a major role by engulfing
pathogens or foreign substances and initiating
innate immune response. The phagocytic index of
(100 mg/kg) and QI flower extract (150 mg/kg)
showed significant(p<0.05) increased in phagocytic
index when compared to control group 2 8.
Anti-staphylococcal Activity
Staphylococci (staph) are gram positive spherical
bacteria that occur in microscopic clusters
resembling grapes. Bacteriological culture of the
nose and skin of normal humans invariably yields
staphylococci. S. aureus is a successful pathogen is
a combination of bacterial immuno-evasive
strategies 29.
S. aureus can cause a range of illnesses, from
minor skin infections, such as pimples, impetigo,
boils (furuncles), cellulitis folliculitis, carbuncles,
scalded skin syndrome, and abscesses, to life-
threatening diseases such as pneumonia,
meningitis, osteomyelitis, endocarditis, toxic shock
syndrome (TSS), bacteremia, and sepsis. Its
incidence ranges from skin, soft tissue, respiratory,
bone, joint, endovascular to wound infections. It is
still one of the five most common causes of
infections and is often the cause of postsurgical
wound infections. Each year, some 500,000
patients in American hospitals contract a
staphylococcal infection 30- 32.
The extract of stem bark of Quisqualis indica Linn
which was macerated with methanol followed by
sequential solvent-solvent partitioning with n-
hexane, carbon tetrachloride and chloroform act as
a antibiotic against staphylococcal infection 33. The
effectiveness of the respective antibiotics is
expressed as ‘Therapeutic Index’ (TI) according to
the formula,
TI = LD50 /MIC
Which calculates the toxicity of antibiotics towards
microorganisms in vitro (MIC = Minimal
Inhibitory Concentration in ppm) and the toxicity
towards animals invivo (LD50 = a dose causing
death of 50% of test animals in mg/kg/body
weight) 34.
Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors
Acetylcholine (Ach) is a major neurohumoral
transmitter at autonomic, somatic as well as central
sites 35. The preganglionic fibers terminating in the
adrenal medulla, the autonomic ganglia and the
postganglionic fibers of the parasympathetic
division use acetylcholine as a neurotransmitter.
Cholinergic neurons innervate the muscles of the
somatic system and play an important role in the
CNS 36.
Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors are also called as
anticholinesterases, the agents which inhibit
Cholinesterase, protect Ach from hydrolysis
produce cholinergic effects in vivo and potentiate
Ach both invivo and invitro. It gives action by
reacting with enzyme in the same way as Ach. The
carbamates and phosphates respectively
carbamylate and phosphorylate the esteric site of
the enzyme, whereas the acelyted enzyme reacts
with water extremely rapidly and the esteric site is
freed in a fraction of a milliseconds, the
carbamylated enzyme reacts slowly and the
phosphorylated enzyme reacts extremely slowly.
The methanol extract of flowers gave high total
polyphenol content and exhibited strong
antioxidant activity. There was research works
suggested that the phytochemical antioxidants
might act as Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.
Currently, the effective chemicals for Alzheimer's
disease therapy are Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors,
which elevate the attenuated acetylcholine
concentrations in the Alzheimer's disease affected
brain by enhancing cholinergic function. Although
the use of Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors e.g.
Donezepil, Rivastigmine and Galantamine, a
symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer's disease,
causes the adverse effects due to cholinergic
stimulation in the brain and peripheral tissues.
Therefore the searching for new
Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors particularly edible
flowers which may cause lower side effects is very
interesting for extensively investigated 38 .
Antioxidants Activity
An antioxidant is a molecule capable of inhibiting
the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a
chemical reaction that transfers electrons or
hydrogen from a substance to an oxidizing agent.
Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals. In
turn, these radicals can start chain reactions. When
the chain reaction occurs in a cell, it can cause
damage or death to the cell such as nucleic acids,
proteins, lipids or DNA and can initiate
degenerative disease. Antioxidants terminate these
chain reactions by removing free radical
intermediates, and inhibit other oxidation reactions.
They do this by being oxidized themselves, so
antioxidants are often reducing agents such as
thiols, ascorbic acid, or polyphenols 39.
The methanolic plant extract Quisqualis indica
Linn show 95% antioxidant activity was due to the
redox properties, which allowed them to act as
reducing agents by scavenging free radicals such as
peroxide, hydroperoxide or lipid peroxyl and thus
inhibit the oxidative mechanisms that lead to
degenerative diseases. The present study showed
that the partitionates of the methanolic extract of Q.
indica (stem bark) especially the chloroform
soluble fraction possesses significant antioxidant
potentials 40.

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318
TOXICITY
India is richly endowed with a wide variety of
plants having medicinal value 41.A number of herbs
are thought to be likely to cause adverse effects
42.Furthermore, adulteration, inappropriate
formulation, or lack of understanding of plant and
drug interactions have led to adverse reactions that
are sometimes life threatening or lethal 43. Proper
double-blind clinical trials are needed to determine
the safety and efficacy of each plant before they
can be recommended for medical use 44 .
In general, quality control is based on three
important pharmacopeial definitions which directly
or indirectly depend on the toxicity:
Identity: The herb should be that only the
one we are using.
Purity: They are not contaminants, e.g., in
the form of other herbs which should not
be there.
Content or assay: The active constituents
should be within the defined limits 45, 46.
The OECD guidelines defined the acute, sub-acute
and chronic toxicity of the herbs and modern
medicines 41.
Acute (short-term) toxicity tests, a single dose of a
test substance is given to an animal. One measure
of acute toxicity is the lethal dose 50 (LD50), or the
dose of a substance that kills 50 percent of the
animals tested.
Subchronic toxicity studies are 13 to 26 weeks in
duration. The animals are dosed daily by the same
route that the substance would normally be
administered to humans. They are then observed
for any toxicity, as well as changes in body weight
or food consumption. At the end of the dosing
regimen, the animals are euthanized and their
tissues evaluated for evidence of toxicity.
Chronic toxicity studies assess the longer-term
toxic as well as carcinogenic potential of various
substances. The test animals are observed for the
same parameters as those on subchronic testing,
only the observation period are longer up to two
years and checked for tumors. Postmortem analysis
includes evaluation for toxicity as well as
carcinogenicity 47.
Quisqualis indica linn plant yields fatty oil, 15%
gum resin. The nut yields 12.96 percent moisture:
yellow oil, 28.37 percent of the original nut.
Studies yield quisqualic acid, quisqualin A. An
analysis of the seed reported the presence of oleic
and palmitic acids in the oil, in addition to
sitosterol, and an acetyl derivative from the
saponifable matter 9.The dose limits were selected
on the basis of previously performed oral acute
toxicity studies in rat according to the OECD
guidelines Acute toxicity studies were performed
which is different as per pharmacological activity
[46] generally Quisqualis indica Linn did not
showing any signs of toxicity up to the dose of 150
mg/kg p.o. From acute toxicity test we concluded
that two doses (maximum dose- 1/10th of maximum
tolerable dose i.e. LD50) i.e. (100 mg/kg and 150
mg/ kg) were found safe for the experimental
animals.
CONCLUSION
India is richly endowed with a wide variety of
plants having medicinal value. The term “herbal
drugs” denotes plants or plant parts that have been
converted into phytopharmaceuticals by means of
simple processes involving harvesting, drying, and
storage 46, 47 .The plant processing encompasses
drying, mechanical disruption, and solvent
extraction such as aqueous or organic solvent, e.g.,
ethanol, and will influence the final quality of the
herbal product. Analytical procedures can be used
to determine the active constituents that are present
in herbal substances 48.Herbal medicine uses are
based on historical medicinal practices. Historical
practices determine the way herbal medicines are
formulated and used. In some cases e.g. China,
there are well-defined procedures that are well
documented in pharmacopoeias dating back nearly
2000 years and other monographs.
The Quisqualis indica Linn plants are widely used
either directly as folk remedies or indirectly as
pharmaceutical preparation of modern medicine.
Quisqualis indica Linn or Rangoon Creeper is an
easy to grow vining plant, it’s now more popularly
and widely cultivated as an ornamental vine in the
gardens, it has a variety of traditional medicinal
uses, which sometimes require that it be blended
with other plant or natural ingredients 8. By
considering the ethnomedicinal background and
several research articles on Quisqualis indica Linn,
it has been concluded that this plant carries some
important phytochemicals constituents showing
various pharmacological activities such as anti-
inflammatory activity, antipyretic activity,
immunomodulatory activity, anti-staphylococcal
activity, anthelmintic activity, antiseptic activity
etc.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my gratitude to all those
who gave me the possibility to complete this work,
specially my family who always give me support
and encouraging me at every moment. I am deeply
indebted my guide Balakrishna Dubey. I have
furthermore to thank to my dear friends Pooja
Sonakpuriya and Brijesh Baghel.

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319
Table-1: Parts of Quisqualis indica Linn used for Medicinal Purpose
Sr.
No. Part of Plant Medicinal Properties
1
Flower
Relieve headache
2
Leaf
Gastric pain, Dysentery, anthelmintic, boils, ulcer
3
Fruit
Tonic,
nephritis
and astringent
4
Seed
Diarrhea,
antiseptic, febrifuge for high fevers,
vermifuge
5
Root
Rheumatism
,
ant
helmintic
Table-2: Active constituent presents in parts of Quisqualis indica Linn.
Sr.
No. Part Phytoconstituent
1
Leaf
T
rigonelline, L
-
proline, L
-
asparagine, quisqualic
acid, rutin and two forms of the cysteine
synthase, isoenzyme A and isoenzyme B.
2
Flower
P
olyphenol contents, Rutin and pelargonidin
-
3
-
glucoside
3
Seed
F
ixed oil(contain linoleic, oleic, stearic
and
arachidic acids, a sterol, an alkaloid
and
quisqualic
acid)
4 Fruits Sugary substance similar to levulose and an organic acid similar to cathartic acid
5 Roots Fixed oil
Figure -1 : Flowers and Leaves Parts of Quisqualis indica Linn.

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*Corresponding Author: Jyoti Sahu,
T.I.T. College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology
Anand Nagar, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
Email ID: jyotisahupharma@gmail.com
Mobile No. +91-9098168632