A Comprehensive Review of Rubia cordifolia (Linn).

Bagwan Shahid, Abdul Basit, Khorajia Mohammad, Shah Adnan Wasi,

Ansari Arqam*.

J.I.I.U’S Ali-Allana College of Pharmacy Akkalkuwa, Dist- Nandurbar (425415) Maharashtra, India. *Correspondence: arqam1951@gmail.com; Tel.: (7977063714)

INTRODUCTION

Plants play a vital role in maintaining human health and contribute towards improvement of human life. They are significant ingredients in cosmetics, medications, colors, beverages, etc. The focus on plant study has greatly risen globally in the current era. Thousands of plant species have the potential to provide direct therapeutic impact when used alone or in combination.

The focus on plant study  has  greatly  risen  globally  in  the  currentera. Thousands of  plant  species  have  the  potential  to  provide  direct therapeutic  impact  when  used  alone  or  in  combination. Moreover, the origins of a lot of western medications are plant extracts. Many herbal remedies are effectively utilized to treat neurological, metabolic, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal diseases Studies on ethnobotanica, ethnopharmacological, and other aspects of these plants continue to draw researchers from throughout the globe. Rubia cordifolia Linn belonging to family Rubiaceae is a well-known ayurvedic herb popularly known as Indian Madder (English), manjeshta (Marathi), majit or manjit (Hindi), manjishtha, aruna, chitra, raktaangi, manjusha (Sanskrit) manjeeth iraani (Unani), manjitti (Siddha) ^1-2 . Synonyms are Rubia manjista Roxb. R. secunda Moon, R. mungisth Desv The commercial variety of Indian madder is made up of short rootstocks with several quill-sized, smooth, straight, and cylindrical roots. These have a thin layer of brownish cork covering them, which peels off in flakes to reveal reddish-brown bark with longitudinal furrows. The root is sweetish followed by acrid and bitter taste ³.  Many Asian nations have used madder as a dye to provide cotton and woolen garments hues of mauve, brown, crimson, and scarlet. In addition, madder has a long history in India and its adjacent nations. skin treatment and upkeep and it has been applied internally to urinary system diseases. Geographical distribution It is distributed throughout the lower hills of Indian Himalayas in the North and Western Ghats in the South, and Japan, Indonesia, Ceylon, Malay, Peninsula, Java and tropical Africa in moist temperate and tropical forests, up to an altitude of 3500 m. ^1-2. It is a broad genus of resilient climbers that are found in temperate and tropical regions, with perennial root systems. India is home to over 15 species. Among these are Naga madder (Rubia sikkimensis Kurz), Indian madder (Rubia cordifolia Linn.), and Rubia tinctorum(European madder).

1)      Rubia cordifolia :  Flower                           2) Stem/Bark                  3) Powder

Botanical description:

 Systematic position of the plant ⁴

 Class: Dicotyledoneae.

 Subclass: Sympetalae.

 Order: Rubiales.

 Family: Rubiaceae.

 Genus: Rubia.

 Species: cordifolia

 Rubia comprises about 60 species and is distributed in Europe, Africa and Asia, with three species in tropical Africa. It is closely related to Galium. The ayurvedic herb Rubia cordifolia is a perennial climber with elongated, cylindric, flexuose roots and thin red bark ¹. Long, gritty, grooved, and becoming slightly woody at the base are the stems. White bark covers sparse, quadrangular, glabrous, and shiny branches The leaves are oblong, sharp, and broader at the base than the upper. They are 3.8–9 X 1.6–3.5 cm long and are arranged in four whorls. All of the leaves are scabrous above, with tiny white prickles on the margins and on the nerves below. The terminal panicled glabrous cymes of flowers with spreading bracts that are oblong, sharp, and leafy, and the branches are trichotomous. The calyx is globose, glabrous, and 0.85 mm long. Corolla: greenish, 5-lobed, elliptical, acute, and 3 mm

long. Divided almost to the base. Stigmas are global, styles two. Fruit has a diameter of 4-6 mm, is smooth, shiny, purplish-black, and can be globose or didymous ¹. One significant example of speciation is Rubia cordifolia. Every plant group has a different speciation process, and every species evolves differently. [The mode of germination is generally fixed through out a genus or a family. Both epigenous and hypogenous germination have been observed in Rubia cordifolia group. In most cases, the germination mode remains constant within a genus or family. In the Rubia cordifolia group, both epigenous and hypogenous germination have been noted. Greenish flowers and fruits that turn yellow-brown or orange before turning purplish-black when fully ripe are characteristic of R. cordifolia. There are 22 somatic chromosomes and hypogenous cotyledons. The dull orange flowers of the Himalayan R. manjith Roxburgh are followed by reddish fruits that turn purplish black when fully grown. There are 66 somatic chromosomes. The species is found at elevations typically lower than 2,000 meters above sea level throughout the Himalayas and Khasia. At higher altitudes, one can frequently find another Himalayan race. Its somatic chromosome number is 44 or 132, and it has black berries and greenish-colored flowers ⁵.

Ecology: Rubia cordifolia has a wide ecological adaptability. It is found in forest edges and clearings, scrub vegetation and dune forest, less commonly in grassland or open, rocky areas, from sea-level up to 2600 m altitude. Propagation and planting: Rubia cordifolia is occasionally cultivated in India (Darjeeling). It can be propagated by seed, cuttings and micro-propagation methods. Seed germinates best when sown immediately after ripening; stored seed takes time to germinate. Plants should be grown in light shade. Ayurvedic properties ^6-7.

Rasa: Kashaya (astringent), tikta (bitter), madhur (sweet)

Guna: Guru (heavy), ruksha (dry)

Veerya: Ushna (hot)

Vipaka: Katu (pungent)

Dosha: Pacifies kapha and pitta

Karma: Varnya, Jwarahara, Mutrajanana, Swedajanana, Twachya

Safety profile: No adverse effects have been reported at recommended doses and the herb is usually categorised as GRAS (generally recognized as safe) ⁶.

Dosage: Powdered root: 1-3 g; Decoction: 56-112 ml.

TRADITIONAL USAGE:

 The root of Rubia cordifolia is bitter, sweet, acrid, heating, alexiteric, antidysenteric, antipyretic, analgesic, and anthelmintic. It also helps with complexion, voice, and kapha, and treats illnesses of the uterus, vagina, and eyes, ears, blood; cures leucoderma, erysipelas, ulcers, urinary discharges, jaundice, piles. The roots are very effective in purifying blood. The leaves are sweet and oleaginous; increase appetite; cure ‘vata’ and biliousness. The fruit is described to cure diseases of the spleen ¹.

ETHNOVETERINARY USAGE:

 Rubia cordifolia is used in the treatment of liver fluke, dysentery, maggots, wounds and intestinal worms in animals ⁸.

Pharmacognosy: primarily consists of adulterant identification ⁹. Replacements and adulterations: Together, Rubia cordifolia and other Rubia species are marketed as "madder" at the moment. Rubia cordifolia should not be confused with Oldenlandia umbellata L., also known as Indian madder, which is found in Africa but not in eastern India, Myanmar, or Sri Lanka and contains alizarin, a component of red dye.

R. cordifolia is used in the treatment of liver fluke, dysentery, maggots, wounds and intestinal worms in animals ²⁰.

CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS:

Quinones: Plants belonging to family (Rubiaceae) are known to contain substantial amounts of anthraquinones, especially in the roots. The colouring matter present in the roots of R. cordifolia is a mixture of purpurin (trihydroxy anthraquinone) and manjistin (xanthopurpurin-2-carboxylic acid). From roots of Rubia cordifolia L. many anthraquinones are isolated like 4-dihydroxy 2-methylanthraquinone and 1, 5-dihydroxy 2- methylanthraquinone and 3-prenyl methoxy 1, 4- naphthoquinone. Mollugin (1-hydroxy-2-methyl-9,10- anthraquinone), alizarin (1,3-dihydroxy-2-ethoxymethyl-9,10- anthraquinone), lucidin primeveroside, ruberythric acid anthraquinones, 2-methyl-1,3,6-trihydroxy-9,10- anthraquinone, 2-methyl-1,3,6-trihydroxy-9,10-anthraquinone 3-O-(6'-O-acetyl)-α-rhamnosyl-(1→2)-β-glucoside and 2- methyl-1,3,6-trihydroxy-9,10-anthraquinone 3-O-α-rhamnosyl (1→2)-β-glucoside. The cytotoxic activity of naphthohydroquinones and naphthohydroquinones dimmers had been tested ^10-11. Rubiasins, anthracene derivatives have been isolated from the roots and stems of Rubia cordifolia ¹². In one study, it was successfully established that the bioactive component mollugin could be isolated and purified directly from the ethanol extract of R. cordifolia using a preparative high-speed countercurrent chromatography (HSCCC) method ¹³.

Iridoids: 6-Methoxy geniposidic acid is found along with manjistin, garancin and alizarin ²⁸. Triterpenoids: Oleananes such as rupiprasin A, B and C along with arborane triterpenoids including rubiarbonol A, B, C, D, E and F have been isolated ^14-15.

Pentacyclic triterpenes : Rubicoumaric acid and rubifolic acid isolated from Rubia cordifolia have been shown to be 30- hydroxy-3β-p-hydroxycoumaryloxy-urs-12-ene-28-oic acid and 3β,30-dihydroxy-urs-12-ene-28-oic acid(30-hydroxyursolic acid) respectively on the basis of 1H NMR, 13C NMR and mass spectral and chemical evidences ¹⁶ . Naphthoic acid esters: These are isolated from the roots of Rubia cordifolia ¹⁷. Bicyclic Hexapeptides: Hexapeptides have been isolated from roots of Rubia cordifolia which are found to be cytotoxic with further investigations ^18-19

Anti-acne property:

 An anaerobic bacteria called Propionibacterium acnes induces specific inflammatory mediators, which plays a significant role in the etiology of acne. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and pro-inflammatory cytokines are examples of these mediators. ROS, in the study, The two main factors utilized were tumour necrosis factor-Y (TNF-Y) and interleukin-8 (IL-8). the assessment of its anti-inflammatory properties. These leukocytes are polymorphonuclear (PMNL) and monocytes received treatment with P culture supernatant. Acne whether there is a herb present or not. It was discovered that R. cordifolia suppresses ROS from PMNL in a statistically meaningful way. Thus, R. cordifolia showed anti-inflammatory activity by suppressing the capacity of P. acnes-induced ROS and pro Inflammatory cytokines, the two important inflammatory mediators in acne pathogenesis ²². R. cordifolia is used as a dye from natural sources therefore a study was taken up to test if some natural dyes have inherent antimicrobial activity with a view to develop protective clothing from these. R. cordifolia was tested against common pathogens Escherichia coli.

Antimicrobial action:

Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus vulgaris and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Due to the natural dyes' below-MIC absorption, the textile material impregnated with them exhibited decreased antibacterial action. The antibacterial activity of the extracts of R. cordifolia roots prepared with solvents of different successive polarities was evaluated by the agar well diffusion method. It inhibited both gram positive and gram negative strains ^23-24. Many compounds were isolated, established by chemical and spectroscopic methods from the roots of R. cordifolia L. Some of the compounds showed certain antibacterial activities ²⁵. In one study some antimicrobial agents, emodin and physcion were isolated as the most active constituents ²⁶.

Antiproliferative activity:

 The antiproliferative property of R. cordifolia extract has been studied on two different cell types, A-431 cells (epidermal carcinomoid cells) and 3T3 fibroblast cells. A fraction of R. cordifolia significantly inhibited the incorporation of 3H-thymidine induced by fetal bovine serum, in a dose-dependent manner. It also inhibited the phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-induced expression of c-fos genes in A-431 cells. Inhibition of DNA synthesis underlies the mechanism for its antiproliferative properties ²⁷.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT:

We are thankful to the Principal and Management Ali-Allana College of Pharmacy Akkalkuwa for providing the specific requirements for this project.

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