Indigofera tinctoria Linn - A Phytopharmacological Review

International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences ISSN: 2229-3701___________________________________________Review PaperIndigofera tinctoria Linn - A Phytopharmacological ReviewSaraswathi Motamarri N 1* , Karthikeyan 1 M, Rajasekar S 1 and Gopal V 21Faculty of Pharmacy, PRIST University, Thanjavur, Tamilnadu, India.2College of pharmacy, Mother Theresa Post Graduate and Research Institute of HealthSciences, Puducherry-6, India.___________________________________________________________________________ABSTRACTA Large proportion of the world population especially the developing countries rely on the traditional systemof medicines. The use of herbs in medicine is getting popularized because of its natural origin with no or lesserside effects. Indigofera tinctoria is a branching shrub used in traditional medicines, Ayurveda, sidda and unani.A galactomannan, composed of galactose and mannose in molar ratio of 1:1.52, Glycoside (Indian), Coloringmatter (Indigotin), Flavonoids, terpinoids, alkaloids and glycosides, Indigotine, Indiruben, rotenoids arephytochemical constituents of Indigofera tinctoria are mainly responsible for its wide therapeutic actions.Studies conducted on Indigofera tinctoria showed that it posses Anti hyperglycemic activity, Anti bacterial, Antioxidant, Cytotoxicity Effect, Anti-inflammatory activity, Anti hepatoprotective activity, Antidiabetic activity,Anticonvelsive agent. In Traditional system of medicine it has medicinal properties as it is used in constipation,liver disease, heart palpitation, gout, bitter, thermogenic, laxative, trichogenous and expectorant. The presentreview attempts to provide comprehensive information on phythopharmacological properties of Indigoferatinctoria Linn for further research.Key Words: Indigofera tinctoria Linn, phytoconstituents, pharmacological activities, Therapeutic uses.INTRODUCTONIndia is a country with rich natural resources withvariety of medicinal plants. In contrast to syntheticdrugs, Herbal drugs enjoy the advantages ofcomparatively less toxic than synthetic drugs, moreharmony with the biological system and affordableto all classes of people 5 .In the last few decades,Herbs and plants have been in use as a source oftherapeutic compounds in traditional medicinalsystem. Medicinal plants play an important role intraditional health care systems as well as ininternational herbal and pharmaceutical markets.The most important bioactive constituents of plantsare alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids and phenoliccompounds that produce a definite physiologicalaction on the human body 1 . The world healthorganization has reported that nearly 65-80% of theworld’s population in developing countries dependson the traditional medicine for their primary healthcare and treatment. This is because that the herbalmedicines are cheap, and have natural origin 2,3 . Theplant Indigofera tinctoria belongs to the familyFabaceae which popularly known as Neeli in Tamiland found throughout India. The roots, stems andleaves of Indigofera tinctoria are bitter,thermogenic, laxative, trichogenous, expectorant,anthelminthic, gastropathy, splenomegaly,cephalalgia, cardiopathy, hepatoprotectiveanticancer, epilepsy, neuropathy, chronicbronchitis, asthma, ulcers, skin diseases, diureticand are useful for promoting the growth of hair 4 .The plant was found to contain indirubin andindigtone where the juice extracted from the leavesis useful in the treatment of hydrophobia 5 .Biological SourceNili (leaf) consists of Dried leaf of Indigoferatinctoria Linn belongs to the Family Fabaceaea.Indigofera tinctoria is a shrub, 1.2-1.8 mhigh,found throughout and widely cultivated inmany parts of the country 7 .Toxonomy of PlantKingdom : PlantaeDivision : MagnoliophytaClass : MagnoliopsidaOrder : FabalesFamily : FabaceaeSubfamily : FaboideaeTribe : IndofereaeGenus : IndigoferaSpecies : L.tinctoriaBinomialname : Indigofera tinctoriaBotanical DescriptionThroughout India, Mainly as an escape fromcultivation 8 .Vol. 3 (1) Jan – Mar 2012 www.ijrpbsonline.com 164

International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences ISSN: 2229-3701Synonyms 7,8Eng : Indian indigoHin : NiliKan : karuniliMal : Neelamar AmarSan : NliliniTam : AvuriTel: Nili Chettu,NiliParts Used: Whole PlantDescription of PlantA branching shrub upto 2m high with 7-13leaflets. Leaves are green when fresh and greyishblack on drying, tender branches bluish red incolor, flowers many in nearly sessile lax spicaterecemes which are much shorter than the leaveswith red or pinkin colour; fruits cylindrical pods,pale greenish grey when young and dark brown onripening with 10-12 seeds[8].MacroscopicPlant occurs mostly in the form of leaflets andbroken pieces of rachis; leaflet 1-2.5 cm long and0.3 -1.2 cm wide, oblong or oblanceolate with veryshort mucronate tip; pale green to greenish -black;no charecteristic odour and taste.MicroscopicLeaf-Petiole- appears nearly circular in outline havingtwo lateral wings; epidermis single layered coveredexternally with thin cuticle and followed internallyby single layerd collenchymatous cells; pericyclepresent in the form of continous or discontinuousring, vascular bundles collateral and three innumber, large one present in central and twosmaller in lateral wings; pit composed of round tooval, thin-walled parenchymatous cells a fewprismatic crystals of calcium oxalate present inphloem and pith region.Midrib -Shows epidermis, cuticle and hair, similaras in petiloe; beneath epidermis on lower sidesingle or 2-3 layers of collenchyma on upper sidepresent, both followed by 2-3 layers of thinwalledparenchyma; vascular bundle singlecollateral and crescent shapedLamina- Show dorsiventral structure; epidermis,cuticel and hair, similar as in petiole and mid rib;palisade 2-3 layers; spongy parenchyma 2-4 layers,a few paches of veins scattered between palisadeand spongy parenchyma, prismatic crystals ofcalcium oxalate rarely present in mesophyll cells;paracytic stomata and hair present on both surfacesbut abundant in lower surface 7 .Phytochemical ConstituentsA galactomannan, composed of galactose andmannose in molar ratio of 1:1.52, isolated fromseeds and partially characterized Flavonoids,terpinoids, alkaloids and glycosides 1,9,7 Indigotine,Indiruben, rotenoids 11Traditional UsesIndigofera tinctoria is used in constipation, liverdisease, heart palpitation and gout 10The roots, stems and leaves are bitter, thermogenic,laxative, trichogenous, expectorant, anthelminthic,tonic, naturopathy, splenomegaly, echolalia,cardiopathy, chronic bronchitis, asthama, ulcers,skin diseases, diuretic and are useful for promotinggrowth of hair. The juice expressed from theleaves is useful in the treatment of hydrophobia. Anextract of the plant is good for epilepsy andneuropathy. The plant possesses anti-toxicproperty 8 .The plant is stimulant, alternativr,deobstruent and purgative. Indigo is antiseptic andastringent. The Juice of the leaves and indigo inpowder are used mixed with honey in enlargementof liver and spleen, epilepsy and other nervousaffections. In hydrophobia two ounces of freshjuice with an equal quantity of milk is given in themorning for 3 days as a prophylactic; Juice is alsogiven in asthma, whooping cough, palpitation ofheart, in some lung diseases and kidney complaintsas in dropsy. Decoction of the root is given incalculus; Juice of the young branches mixed withhoney is a used application for aphthae of themouth in children. An Infusion of root is given asan root is given as an antidote in cases of poisoningby arsenic. Externally, leaves crushed are used asstimulant, Poultice or plaster in various skinaffections, to haemorrhoids etc., and to cleanse anheal wounds and ulcers. Powdered indigo also isused for sprinkling on ulcers. It is applied mixedwith castor oil to the navel of children to promotethe action of the bowels and mixed with warm tothe pubes and hypogastria as it stimulates bladderand therefore useful in cases of retention of urine 12Pharmacological ActionsAnti hyperglycemic activityAmarnath V Bangar et al.,(2011) were postulatedthat investigate anti-diabetic and nephroprotectiveactivity of Indigofera tinctoria leaves, using STZinduceddiabetic rats as model for clinical type-1and type-2 diabetes. At a regular interval of anexperimental protocol blood glucose, urinarycreatinine, total proteins and organs to body weightratio were studied. The histo-pathological studywas carried out by STZ-induced diabetic and antidiabeticrat’s pancreas. Statistical analysis of theresults shown that in STZ-induced diabetic ratschloroform and alcohol extracts of I.tinctorialeaves at 40, 80, 160 and 200 mg/kg doses.Significant effect of alcoholic extract from 4th dayto 16th day of the study. I.tinctoria leaves extractimproved renal creatinine clearance and reducerenal total protein loss demonstratingVol. 3 (1) Jan – Mar 2012 www.ijrpbsonline.com 165

International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences ISSN: 2229-3701reduced following oral administration of the extractat a dose of 500 and 1000 mg/kg. No test animalgroup exhibited stage 4 seizure. The extract alsoexhibited antioxidant activities in both in-vivo andin-vitro studies. The ethanol extract of I.tinctoriawas found to be useful in controllinglithium /pilocarpine induced status epilepticus in albinorats 4 .Phytochemical Study and PhysilogicalEvaluationSauabh Jain et al., (2010) evaluate thephytochemical studies on I.tinctoria were it is EastAsia originated shrub belonging to the FabaceaFamily. The leaves of Indigofera tinctoria leaveswere collected locally, shade dried and extractedwith methanol and petroleum ether by usingSoxhlet apparatus. The yield of methanolic andpetroleum ether extracts of leaves were 21% and7.85% , respectively. For methanolic extracts ofI.tinctoria (leaves) the preliminary phytochemicalscreening was carried out for the presence ofalkaloids, flavonoids, carbohydrate glycosides,tannins, terpeniods, phenol and absence of steroidsand saponins. The physical evaluation was carriedout for the determination of water-solubleextractive value, Hexane-soluble extractive value,methanol-soluble extractive value, ash valueincludes total ash, acid insoluble ash and watersolubleash, and moisture content for leaves ofI.tinctoria 16 .Neurotransmitters concentrationsMadhan Mohan.E, et al.,(2010) evaluate the effectof methanolic extract of Indigofera tinctoria(MEIT) on neurotransmitters concentrations in ratbrain after induction of seizures by MES and PTZ.The leaves of Indigofera tinctoria Linn. (Family:Fabaceae) is traditionally used in the epilepsy andother nervous disorders, bronchitis and liverailments. The relationship between seizureactivities and altered the neurotransmitters such asnoradrenaline, dopamine and serotonin in forebrainof rats in MES and PTZ seizure models isestimated. In MES model, MEIT(200 & 400mg/kg) showed significantly restored the decreasedlevels of brain monoamines such as noradrenaline,dopamine and serotonin. Similarly in PTZ model,MEIT showed significantly increased theneurotransmitters in forebrain of rats. Thus, thisstudy conclude that methanol extract of Indigoferatinctoria increased the neurotransmitters on ratbrain, which may be decreased the susceptibility toMES and PTZ induced seizure in rats 17 .Antinociceptive propertySaravanakumar et al.,(2009) investigated theanalgesic activity of ethanol extract of Indigoferatinctoria Linn (Fabaceae) leaves (EEIT) inchemical models of nociception in mice. EEIT atdoses of 100, 200 and 400mg/kg p.o produced aninhibition of 21.71%, 42.62% and 72.38%, of theabdominal writhes by acetic acid induced in mice.In the formalin test, the administration of 100,200and 400mg/kg p.o had no effects in the first phase(0–5 min) but produced a dose-dependent analgesiceffect on the second phase (15–40 min) withinhibitions of the licking time of 26.62%, 46.5%and 60.07%, respectively. In hot plate method,EEIT at the dose of 400mg/kg showed the mildanalgesic and EEIT 100 and 200 mg/kg showednon significant analgesic effect due to peripheralanalgesic activity. Based on the results of thisstudy, we suggest that the peripheral analgesiceffect of Indigofera tinctoria may be attributed toinhibition of prostaglandin release and othermediators involved. Further studies are needed toevaluate the mechanism of action of the analgesicactivity of the Indigofera tinctoria 11 .Anthelminthic activityGunasekaran balamurugan et al.,(2009)investigated the anthelmintic activity of Indigoferatinctoria Linn (whole plant) against Pheretimaposthuma. Various concentrations (50 and 100mg/ml) of each extract were tested in the assay,which involved the determination of paralysis timeand death time of the earth worms. The methanolextract exhibited a maximum anthelmintic activitycomparable to standard drug Piperazine citrate (10mg/ml). The petroleum ether and chloroformextracts exhibited a modest activity. ThePreliminary phytochemical analysis indicated thepresence of various phytoconstituents in all thetested extracts 18 .Protective Effect of Flavonidal FractionKameswaran Ravichandran et al.,(2008) studiedthe chemopreventive effect of the flavonoidalfraction of Indigofea tinctoria in swiss albino miceusing 16 week medium term model ofbenzo(a)pyrene(BP)-induced lung tumor. lungtumor was induced biweekly trough oral incubationof BP for 4 weeks. The oral administration offlavonoidal fraction of I.tinctoria (100mg/kg)showed a significant increase in anti oxidantenzymes like super oxide dismutase (SOD),glutathione reductase(GR), catalase(CAT) and nonenzymatic antioxidants like reducedglutathione(GSH), vitamine C and vitamine E weresignificantly increase when compare to BP treatedgroups. The effect is much more pronounced inpretreatment regime than in post treatment regime.The levels of lung marker enzymes weresignificantly decreased in both the treatmentregimes when compared to cancer induced group.The levels of lipid peroxidation were significantlydecreased in the flavonoidal fraction of I.tinctoriatreated regimes. The elevated levels ofglycoproteins were normalized in the animalsVol. 3 (1) Jan – Mar 2012 www.ijrpbsonline.com 167

International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences ISSN: 2229-3701subjected to flavonoidal fraction of I.tinctoriatreatment. The histopathological studies conformedthe protective effect of the extract by showing thereappearance of alveolar spaces in the treatmentregimes, where the effect is pronounced much inthe pre treatment regime than the post treatmentregime. From the results obtained it is concludedthat flavonoidal fraction of I.tinctoria hadprotective effect on BP induced lung cancer 19 .Anti proliferate activityThiruvznmiyoor Ravichandran et al.,(2008) wasinvestigated the antiproliferative activity of aerialparts of the plants in human non Small Cell lungcancer cells A-549. The results showed that theflavonoidal fraction of methanolic extract of theaerial parts of the plant inhibited theproliferatiration of A-549 cells as measured byMTT assay. Flow cytometric analysis showed thatflavonoidal fraction of methanolic extract ofI.tinctoria blocked cell cycle progression in G0/G1phase. In addition flavonoidal fraction ofmethanoloic extract of I.tinctoria induced A-549cell apoptosis as determinded by propidiumiodide staining. We suggets that its over all chemopreventive effect of flavonoidal fraction ofI.tinctoria against lung cancer and can possibly beconsidered as for future therapeutic application 20 .Antidyslipidemic activityAnju Puri et al., (2007) investigated theantidyslipidemic activity of the alcoholic extractfrom Indigofera tinctoria as well as its three othercomponents, that is chloroform, butanol andaqueous fractions in dyslipidemic hamsters thatwere fed a high fat diet. The chloroform fractionshowed a significant decrease in the plasmatriglycerides(TG, 52%) (P < 0.001), totalcholesterol (TC, 29%) (P < 0.05), glycerol (Gly,24%) and free fatty acids (FFA, 14%). Thisdecrease was also accompanied by an increase inhigh density lipoproteins(HDL) by 9% and anincreased HDL-C/TC ratio of 52% at the dose of250 mg/kg of body weight 21 .CONCLUSIONThe vast study done on the plant proved that theplant has many important phytochemicalcompounds like galactomannan, composed ofgalactose and mannose in molar ratio of 1:1.52,Glycoside (Indian), Coloring matter (Indigotin),Flavonoids, terpinoids, alkaloids and glycosides,Indigotine, Indiruben, rotenoids and other relatedcompounds .These compounds were found to beresponsible for many pharmacological activitiessuch as Cyto toxicity Effect, Anti hyperglycemicactivity, Anti oxidant, Anti -inflammatory activity,Anti bacterial, Anti hepatoprotective activity, .Antidiabetic activity,Anticonvulsive agent. Plant hastherapuetic uses as medicinal properties as it isused in constipation,liver disease , heart palpitationand gout , bitter, thermogenic, laxative,trichogenous, expectorant, anthelminthic, tonicand diuretic and are useful for promoting growthof hair and in naturopathy, splenomegaly,echolalia, cardiopathy, chronic bronchitis, asthama,ulcers, and skin diseases. Hence ,this plant providesa significant role in the prevention and treatmentof a various disease and in the protection of thesystem from damage. The therapeutic potential ofI.tinctoria is effective and versatility is such thatfurther detailed research appears crucial.REFERENCES1. Verma SM, Suresh KB and Verma Amit.Antidiabetic Activity of Leaves of Indigoferatinctoria Linn (Fabaceae ). InternationalJournal of Toxicological and PharmacologicalResearch. 2010:1(2);42-43.2. Gaurav Kumar L, Karthik K, Bhaskara Rao V.A review on pharmacological andphytochemical properties zingier officinaleRoscoe(Zingiberaceae). Journal of Pharmacy.2011;4(9):2963-2966.3. Ashwini S, Gajalakshmi S, Mythili A andSathiavelu. Terminalia chebula-APharmacological Review. Journal ofpharmacy Research. 2011;4(9):2884-2887.4. Asuntha G, Prasannaraju Y and PrasadKVSRG. “Effect of Ethanol Extract ofIndigofera tinctoria Linn (Fabaceae) onlithium / Pilocarpine-Induced StatusEpilepticus and Oxidative Stress in WistarRats”. Tropical Journal of pharmaceuticalResearch. 2010;9(2):149-156.5. Muthulingam M, Mohandoss P, Indra N andSethupathy S. Antihepatotoxic efficacy ofIndigofera tinctoria (Linn.) on paracetamolinduced liver damage in rats. IJPBR2010;1(1):13-18.6. Selvakumar S and Karunakaran CM.Antimicrobial efficacy of Senna auriculata,Pongamia glabra and Indigofera tinctoriaagainst pathogenic Microorganisms.International Journal of Pharm Tech Research.2010;2(3):2054-2059.7. The Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia of India part-I,volume-II First Edition, Published by Thecontroller of Publications civil Lines,Delhi.1999;120-121.8. warrier PK, Nambiar VPK and C Ramankatty.“Indian Medicinal Plants”. Published byOrient Longman Private Limlited Chenni.2007;3:210-213.9. Ram P Ratogi and Mehrotra BN. Compodimof Indian medicinal Plants”. Central DrugResearch institute, Lucknow & NationalInstitute of Science Communication.2002;4:399.Vol. 3 (1) Jan – Mar 2012 www.ijrpbsonline.com 168

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