Pharmacological Potential of the Stinging Plant Tragia Species: A Review

Tragia is well known in the botanical world a stinging plants. Apart from this, the genus also occupies an important constituent of alternative systems of medicine as well as ethnobotany. Among the various species of Tragia, the most studied and experimented species is T. involucrata. This genus is used for several ethnobotanical uses such as cancer, diarrhea, constipation, scorpion bite, rheumatism, whooping cough and diabetes. Apart from this the genus is also an important constituent of ayurvedic and siddha medicines. Owing to these properties several researches has been conducted to validate the traditional uses, finding out new uses and understanding the phytochemical profile. Alkaloids, phenols, terpenoids and tannin are present in the genus Tragia. Calcium oxalate and shellsol is responsible for the stinging property. Various species of Tragia has been validated for its important properties such as antibacterial, antifungal, cytotoxic, wound healing and anti-inflammatory activities. All these properties has been related to the occurrence of secondary metabolites. However the exact lead metabolite for the pharmacological properties has to be identified. Based the experimentally proved pharmacological properties, Tragia possesses significant potential on a medicinal species.