A brief review on a traditional herb: abrus precatorius (L.)

• Author Details:   
• Anamika Das
• Vernika Jain
• Amarnath Mishra

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Abrusprecatorius is commonly known as Gunja or Jequirity belonging to Fabaccae- a pea family, abundantly found all throughout the plains of India, from Himalaya down to Southern India and Ceylon. The plant is considered as a valuable source of unique natural products for development of medicines against various diseases. The roots, seeds and leaves are used in traditional folklore medicine. Much research work has been conducted on Abrusprecatorius. The pharmacological studies have shown that Abrusprecatorius possesses a number of biological activities such as anti-bacterial, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-fertility, nehroprotective, anti-seratonergic, etc. As this plant has some potential medicinal value, it has some toxic effect too due to presence of "abrin" component which is fatal to human being. The present review represents the nature, pharmacological actions, chemical constituents, toxicity and forensic significance related to Abrusprecatorius.

Keywords: Toxicology, Chemical composition, Pharmacological activity, Toxic effect, Photochemical analysis, Analytical techniques, Forensic significance