TREATMENT OF VARIOUS DISEASES BY CANNA INDICA L. - A PROMISING HERB

In recent years, ethnobotanical and traditional application of natural compounds, principally of plant origin established much attention as they are well tested for their effectiveness and generally believed to be non-toxic for human use. Canna indica L. is a tropical herb belonging to the family Cannaceae. It has been extensively used in a traditional remedy for the treatment of many complaints. The phytochemical analysis of C. indica exhibited that it contained various phytochemicals including alkaloids, cardiac glycosides, anthocyanin pigments, flavonoids, steroids, terpenoids, tannins, phlobatannins, saponins, carbohydrates, proteins, oils, and many other chemical compounds. The pharmacological studies showed that this plant exerted anthelmintic, antibacterial, antimicrobial, antiviral, antidiabetic, antidiarrheal, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, immunomodulatory, antioxidant, cytotoxic, hemostatic, hepatoprotective, molluscicidal, and other effects. This review attempts to illuminate the available literature on C. indica (L.) with respect to ethnobotany, chemical constituents, and summary of numerous pharmacological activities. Every part of C. indica has valuable properties that can serve humanity so the whole plant can be broadly studied for further research aspects.