Calotropis procera and Gymnema sylvestre are a perennial shrub and woody climber, respectively, and belonging to the family Asclepiadaceae. They are commonly known as milkweed family herbs. The Calotropis commonly have two species, i.e., C. procera and C. gigantean. All parts of plant exude white milky latex when cut. It has been widely used in traditional medicine due to its pharmacological active compounds found in all parts of plants such as bark, roots, and leaves and especially its latex which exudes from damaged or broken stem and leaves. G. sylvestre an ayurvedic herb came to be known as "destroyer of sugar" because in ancient times Ayurveda physicians observed that chewing a few leaves of G. sylvestre suppressed the taste of sugar. It also reported to possess antidiabetic, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory, antiulcer, and anticancer potential. The gymnemic acid is the main constituent which is responsible for number of pharmacological activities. The present review assembles the data on pharmacognostic and pharmacological potential of C. procera and G. sylvestre.

Inflammation is a protective mechanism of the body which involves vascular tissues, plasma proteins or cells and chemical mediators for the removal of hazardous stimuli like pathogens, allergens, irritants or cell damage and initiates the healing process. Anti-inflammatory drugs like steroidal and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used to treat inflammation. Recently, the synthetic drugs shows a number of side effects such as kidney failure, ulceration and bleeding, liver damage etc. Therefore a search for the other substitute with no or less side effects is necessary. Plants are used from ancient times to treat various serious disorders. Plant constitutes a large number of chemicals which are responsible for the treatment of disease in an archaistic manner. The present review was pile up various plants with anti-inflammatory potential.

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Momordica charantia L. is growing in many tropical and subtropical regions; the fruits of bitter melon are also gradually becoming popular for treating diabetes and associated diseases. Over 248 compounds belonging to the lipids, phenolics and terpenoids class are reported by diverse studies. However, M. charantia L. appears to be an inimitable species that synthesizes a diverse range of natural products in the fruits, leaves, stems and roots. The cucurbitane types of triterpenes exist in the various tissues of the plant in their aglycone as well as glycosylated forms. The bitter melon seems to exert their lipid lowering and antiobesity effects via several mechanisms like PPARs, LXRs, SREBPs, and Sirts mediated fat metabolism in various tissues, prevent adipocyte hypertrophy and visceral fat accumulation. M. charantia L. has been comprehensively studied worldwide for its therapeutic properties to treat a number of diseases like diabetes, dyslipidaemia, obesity, and certain cancers. This chapter apparently displays an encompassing literature review on vast potential of bitter melon as antiobesity agent and assembles data on complex phytochemistry.

Momordica charantia L. (Bitter melon) has been used to treat hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in many parts of the world. The present study revealed antihyperlipidemic activity of ethanolic leaf extract of M. charantia L. (named as EMC). The ethanolic extract of leaves was prepared and phytochemical constituents were identified using liquid chromatography linked with mass spectrophotometry. LC-HRMS study indicates the presence of phenolic compound (m-hydroxy benzoic acid, octyl gallate, 3-hydroxycoumarin), triterpenoids (momordicin II, momordicoside E and momordicoside K), saponin E and fatty acids were the major constituents in EMC. Whereas, Triton X-100 induced hyperlipidemic rat model was used to evaluate antihyperlipidemic activity of EMC at a dose of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg, b.w. or atorvastatin (10 mg/kg, b.w.). The plasma total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL and VLDL level, hepatic cholesterol and triglyceride, fecal cholesterol and triglycerides level were checked. Triton X-100 significantly (P < 0.01) increased the serum total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL with a concomitant reduction in HDL cholesterol. These alterations were ameliorated by EMC at dose dependant manner. EMC (200 mg/kg, b.w) showed significant (P < 0.01) reduction in lipid level among three doses of extracts in comparison with the standard drug atorvastatin. Overall results findings suggest that bitter melon may have potential to use as supplementary ingredient for the prevention of hyperlipidemia and related conditions.