A Brief Review of Synonyms and Properties of Gudūcī (Tinospora cordifolia (Thunb.) Miers) from Selected Nighantus (Ayurvedic Drug Lexicons)

The use of Herbal medicines are continuously on the rise as they are known to be very efficient without causing much undesired effects. Herbs are the main source for Traditional Chinese Medicine and Persian and extensive literature and scientific research is being done in this aspect. Ethnobotanical studies are being conducted in specific areas to understand and analyse the relative priority, agreement percentage and the use value. Phytochemical and Pharmacological Tests are also carried out to substantiate the use.¹ Plant toxins and plant poisoning have been reported in children.² Unfortunately, though herbs are generally considered to be safe, it does contain chemical constituents that can be helpful or harmful when consumed individually or in combination with other herbs or drugs. For more and more scientific studies to come up, the basic literature review has to be done. Ayurveda is an Ancient System of Medicine practiced in India since centuries. The practice is based on Classical Ayurvedic Texts and the Nighantus that came in the later period. In this article, Guduci- Tinospora cordifolia (Tco) - a commonly used plant in Ayurveda that holds a great medicinal value.³ has been chosen and the review of the Synonyms and Properties of this plant mentioned in selected Nighantus has been done. The different properties of the plant like anti hyperglycemic action, antioxidant, hepato-protective activity, etc have already been researched and proven.⁴ Retrospectively, here a comparative analysis of synonyms and properties of Tco as mentioned in the Nighantu’s from the Ayurvedic Point of view has been done.