Abstract
Various species of KALANCHOE are used medicinally in Indo-China and Philippines Islands, whereas Kalanchoe pinnata Pers. (Family Crassulaceae) is naturalized throughout the hot and moist parts of India. The leaves and bark is bitter tonic, astringent to the bowels, analgesic, carminative, useful in diarrhoea and vomiting. Antiulcer, antiinflammatory, and antimicrobial activity1 of leaf extract was reported. Oral treatment with leaf extract significantly delayed onset of disease in BALB/c mice infected with Leishmania amazonensis as compared to untreated mice or mice receiving K. pinnata by the intravenous or topical routes. Potent cytotoxic compounds bersaldegenin-1,3,5-orthoacetate and bufadienolidebryophyllin B were isolated. Other chemical constituents from this plant are bryophyllol, bryophollone, bryophollenone, bryophynol and two homologous phenanthrene derivatives 2(9-decenyl)-phenanthrene (I) and 2-(undecenyl)-phenanthrene (II) from leaves. Isolation and structure elucidation of 24-epiclerosterol [24(R)- stigmasta-5, 25-dien-3β-ol], 24(R)-5α-stigmasta-7, 25-dien- 3β-ol, 5-stigmast-24-en-3-ol and 25-methyl-5α-ergost-24 (28)-en-3β-ol from aerial parts was done. This species is also included in the plants species, which are used by the tribals of Kerala for treating cancer symptoms Juice of the fresh leaves is used very effectively for the treatment of jaundice in folk medicines of Bundelkhand region of India, but no systemic study to assess this activity has been carried out.
