Traditional Importance, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, and Toxicological Attributes of the Promising Medicinal Herb Carissa spinarum L.

Abstract

Carissa spinarum L. (Apocynaceae), commonly known as Garna or Jungli Karonda, has a rich history of use in indigenous traditional medicinal systems owing to its tremendous medicinal and nutritional benefits. The present review aims to discuss the traditional uses, ethnopharmacology, bioactive composition, toxicity analysis, and biotechnological applications of Carissa spinarum L. (CS) to identify the gap between current applications and research conducted on this plant. We collected the literature published before December 2022 on the phytochemical composition, pharmacological properties, and biotechnological applications of CS. Literature in English from scientific databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Springer, and Wiley, along with books on CS, was analyzed and summarized to prepare this review. The plant taxonomy was verified using the “World Flora Online” database (http://www.worldfloraonline.org/). The in vitro and in vivo pharmacological studies on CS revealed its anthelmintic, anticonvulsant, anti-arthritic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, vasorelaxant, antihypertensive, antitumor, wound-healing, anti-venom, and antipyretic effects. Toxicological studies on CS also indicated the absence of any adverse effects even at high doses after oral administration. Although CS showed remarkable therapeutic activities against several diseases—such as diabetes, cancer, inflammation, and hepatitis B virus—there are several drawbacks in previous reports, including the lack of information on the drug dose, standards, controls, and mechanism of action of the extract or the phytocompounds responsible for its activity. Extensive research with proper in vivo or in vitro model systems is required to validate its reported activities.

Exploring the nutritional and sensory potential of karonda fruit: Physicochemical properties, jam production, and quality evaluation

“…Carissa spinarum was widely distributed throughout the collection site and has tremendous nutritional and medicinal potentials. The pharmacological studies by in vitro and in vivo experiments on C. spinarum discovered its anticonvulsant, anthelmintic, anti‐arthritic, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, anti‐inflammatory, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, vasorelaxant, antitumor, antihypertensive, wound‐healing, antipyretic effects, and anti‐venom properties (Sharma et al, 2023 ).…”

Fabrication of liposome-chitosa N-ZnO nanohybrid integrated with Carissa Spinarum extract for antibacterial application

“…Carissa spinarum kept much attention in the community as a magic tree (Slathia et al, 2017), attracting the users with its potential for treating several ailments. Carissa spinarum leaves are highly distributed with polyphenols (Sharma et al, 2023) and have traditionally been used for the treatment of diseases such as pneumonia (Ibrahim et al, 2010;Maobe et al, 2012). For instance, the analysis of phytochemicals in Carissa spinarum leaf extract was reported by Tiruneh et al (2022) to be trihydroxyl pentanoic acid, a polyphenol reported to contribute antibacterial activity against tested respiratory infectious pathogens (S. aureus, S. pneumoniae, and K. pneumoniae).…”