• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.253-263
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• 2006

The plant is used in India as well as several countries since several centuries for treating different types of ailments. The plant is an important constituent of the Ayurvedic Materia Medica and finds mention in several ancient texts including Caraka Sanhita ($6^{th}$ century A.D.) and the Bhavprakasa ($16^{th}$ century A.D.). The scientific studies on this plant have reported several activities of this plant. Though the plant has cardiotonic, vasoconstrictor, sedative, neuro-muscular blocking, and anticancer activities, it is more popular as memory enhancer. Traditionally, a poultice made of the boiled plant is placed on the chest in acute bronchitis and coughs of children. The plant contains saponins: bacosides A and B, hersaponin, sapogenins: bacogenin $A_{1}$, $A_{2}$, and $A_{3}$ stigmasterol, and flavonoids: luteolin and luteolin-7 glucoside, nicotine, brahmine, and herpestine. This review focuses on the scientific data published since 1931.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2009

Medicinal herbs are significant source of synthetic and herbal drugs. In the commercial market, medicinal herbs are used as raw drugs, extracts or tinctures. Isolated active constituents are used for applied research. For the last few decades, phytochemistry (study of plants) has been making rapid progress and herbal products are becoming popular. According to Ayurveda, the ancient healing system of India, the classical texts of Ayurveda, Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita were written around 1000 B.C. The Ayurvedic Materia Medica includes 600 medicinal plants along with therapeutics. Herbs like turmeric, fenugreek, ginger, garlic and holy basil are integral part of Ayurvedic formulations. The formulations incorporate single herb or more than two herbs (poly-herbal formulations). Medicinal herb contains multitude of chemical compounds like alkaloids, glycosides, saponins, resins, oleoresins, sesquiterpene, lactones and oils (essential and fixed). Today there is growing interest in chemical composition of plant based medicines. Several bioactive constituents have been isolated and studied for pharmacological activity. R. cordifolia is an important medicinal plant commonly used in the traditional and Ayurvedic system of medicine for treatment of different ailments. This review illustrates its major constituents, pharmacological actions substantiating the claims made about this plant in the traditional system of medicine and its clinical applications.