The Botany, Chemistry, Pharmacological and Therapeutic Application of Psoralea corylifolia L. – A Review

Abstract

Psoralea corylifolia Linn. is an endangered and medicinally important plant indigenous to tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Its medicinal usage is reported in Indian pharmaceutical codex, the Chinese, British and the American pharmacopoeias and in different traditional system of medicines such as Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha. The review reveals that wide ranges of phytochemical constituents have been isolated from the plant and it possesses important activities like antibacterial, antiinflammatory and antitumer. Various other activities like hepatoprotective, antioxidants and antithelminitic have also been reported. These repots are very encouraging and indicate that herb should be studied more expensively for its therapeutic benefits.This article briefly reviews the botany, pharmacology, biochemistry and therapeutic application of the plant. This is an attempt to compile and document information on different aspects of Psoralea corylifolia and highlight the need for research and development.

Anti-oxidant modulation in response to gamma radiation induced oxidative stress in developing seedlings of Psoralea corylifolia L.

“…Psoralen along with other antioxidants; Bavachinin, bakuchiol, barachin, isobavachin and isobarachalcane have anti-oxidative activities that were found to prevent lipid peroxidation (Wand et al, 2001;Uikey et al, 2010). These phenolic compounds in P. corylifolia were shown to be effective in protecting biological membranes against various oxidative stresses.…”

“…Using TLC method, it was observed that the accumulation of psoralen is closely correlated with developmental stages of vegetative and reproductive parts. Psoralen distribution patterns within reproductive structures are of special interest in connection with their suggested roles as germination regulators for plant itself, as allelopathic agent, and as chemical defense against biotic and abiotic stress (Kumari et al, 2009;Uikey et al, 2010).…”

Estimation of psoralen from herbal formulations containing Psoralea corylifolia using the RP-HPLC-DAD method and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

“…[1] Seeds of P. corylifoila have been used as a remedy to treat a wide variety of diseases like tuberculosis, psoriasis, leprosy, cancer, gynecological bleeding, vitiligo and so on. [2] These therapeutic effects may be attributed to the phytochemical constituents of P. corylifoila like psoralen, isopsoralen, psoracorylifols (A-E), corylifols (A-C), psoralidin, bavachalcone, bavachin and so on; [3] among them, psoralen [ Figure 1] and isopsoralen have specifically been reported to possess antitumor, antibacterial and antiviral activities. [4] Among the various analytical tools; the use of HPLC in the marker-based standardisation of traditional herbs and their complex preparations is well-supported by the recent reports.…”

Seed dormancy testing and germination frequency determination of Psoralea corylifolia L., an endangered medicinal plant

“…It is an erect herb of height 30-180 cm that grows in winter season high. Leaves are broadly elliptical in shape, Flower shows indense axillary long-peduneled heads pods small 3.5-4.5 mm × 2.0-3.0 mm, seeds are compressed mucronate dark chocolate to almost black one, smooth, adhering to the pericarp (Uikey et al 2010). The plant is harvested by drug industry when it sets in to flowering.…”