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Medicinal plants are nature's best gift to cure a number of diseases of men and
animals. There are about 121 clinically useful prescription drugs
worldwide that are derived from higher plants. About 70% of them came to the attention of pharmaceutical houses because of
their use in traditional medicine (Abelson, 1990). The drugs used in indigenous system of
medicines like Ayurveda in India has about 18,000 species of
angiosperms, of which about 3,000 species are considered as important sources of medicinal and aromatic chemical
compounds (Rajasekaran, 2001). In India, Tamil Nadu is
at a strategic geographical location and possesses an invaluable treasure of medicinal plants holding a major share in
the cultivation and export of the plant species Solanum sp. Medicinal plants are of great interest in
the field of biotechnology as most of the pharmaceutical industries depend largely on the
utilization of living plant cells for the production of pharmaceutical
compounds, particularly for alkaloids, flavonoids, essential oils, steroids and terpenoids. Solanum viarum Dunal is an important medicinal plant belonging to
the family Solanaceae, commonly known as `Medicinal
solanum' or `Marunthu kathiri' or `Solanum khasianum' or `Soda
apple', and serves as a supplementary source of steroidal raw material for industries in India. Solasodine, a steroidal
compound obtained from berries and roots, is used as a substitute for diosgenin in the synthesis of
steroidal hormones (Saini, 1966). It is also used in the manufacture of oral contraceptive tablets.
The extracts also possess some nematicidal and bactericidal properties.
The leaves of S. viarum were collected from the agricultural fields of Coimbatore,
India. The plant was identified and confirmed using standard manuals. |
