Therapeutic Swertia chirata - An Overview

The plant Swertia chirata, aboriginal to Himalayas in India, Nepal and Bhutan, have been used for millennia, to cure variety of ailments and diseases. The chief bioactive constituents of plant are xanthones, flavanoids, iridoids, secoiridoids glycosides, which plays momentous role in its biological activities like antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, antipyretic, antimalarial, analgesic, anticarcinogenic, antibacterial, antiviral, gastroprotective, antileishmanial, anthelmentic. Its medicinal usage is declared in American and British pharmacopoeias, Indian Pharmaceutical codex and in different conventional systems of medicines like Ayurveda, Unani and Sidha. Various studies have successfully done to prove its medicinal uses which are traditionally mentioned. As a result of its range of pharmacological properties and active phytoconstituents, Swertia chirata is used in various polyherbal formulations which are available in market to cure different diseases. In this present review the attempt is made to compile and document information on different aspects of Swertia chirata, however the main focus is on its chemical constituents, pharmacological activities, and medicinal uses.