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Mangrove plants are specialized woody plants growing in the swamps of tidal-coastal areas and river deltas of tropical and subtropical parts of the world. They have been utilized for medicinal and other purposes by the coastal people over the years. Heritiera fomes Buch. Ham. (family: Sterculiaceae) commonly known as Sundari (Bengali) is a preeminent mangrove plant occurring in the Sundarbans forest located in the southern part of Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal province of India. The plant has applications in traditional folk medicine as evidenced by its extensive use for treating diabetes, hepatic disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, goiter, and skin diseases by the local people and traditional health practitioners. A number of investigations indicated that the plant possesses significant antioxidant, antinociceptive, antihyperglycemic, antimicrobial, and anticancer activities. Phytochemical analyses have revealed the presence of important chemical constituents like saponins, alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, steroids, flavonoids, gums, phytosterols, and reducing sugars. The present study is aimed at compiling information on phytochemical, biological, pharmacological, and ethnobotanical properties of this important medicinal plant, with a view to critically assess the legitimacy of the use of this plant in the aforementioned disorders as well as providing directions for further research.

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Ceriops decandra is a mangrove tree species, reputed for its folkloric uses in the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders, infection, snakebites, inflammation, and cancer. Different parts of the plant are rich with various phytoconstituents which include diterpenoids (ceriopsin A-G), triterpenoids (lupeol, α-amyrin, oleanolic acid, ursolic acid), and phenolics (catechin, procyanidins).These phytoconstituents and their derivatives could form a new basis for developing new drugs against various diseases. The objective of the present study is to compile the phytochemical, ethnobotanical, biological, and pharmacological significance of the plant to provide directions for future research to find out therapeutically active lead compounds for developing new drugs against diseases of current interest including diabetes, inflammation, and cancer.

Traditional medicines including Ayurveda, Unani have been used as therapeutics in the Indian subcontinent since 5000 BC. Because of the abundance of secondary metabolites, medicinal plants are becoming priceless natural resources for better drug development. Till date almost no ethnopharmacological evidences were available on Colocasia genus except Colocasia esculenta. As a part of our continuing assessment of evidence based use of traditional medicine, we have identified bioactive polyphenols in the ethanolic leaves extract of Colocasia affinis Schott using HPLC-DAD method and evaluated its anti-allergy, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic potentials for the first time. Chromatographic investigation showed the presence of p-coumaric acid, trans-ferulic acid, rosmarinic acid, myricetin and kaempferol in the leaves extract. Pharmacological profile exploration demonstrated its anti-inflammatory activity at a dose of 250- and 500-mg/kg in xylene-induced ear edema in mice. The extract significantly reduced the allergy like symptoms such as sneezing, scratching, rhinorrhea, redness and swelling in Tolune diisocyanate (TDI) sensitized allergy model mice at 250- and 500-mg/kg doses. Besides, the extract also exhibited reduction in the level of neutrophils, lymphocytes and eosinophils in a dose dependent manner in the experimental animal. The extract also confirmed reduction of blood glucose levels in the experimental mice at a dose of 250- and 500-mg/kg. Therefore, it is evident that C. affinis demonstrated possesses medicinal values through its anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic and anti-hyperglycaemic potentials. Bangladesh Pharmaceutical Journal 24(1): 1-10, 2021