Leucas aspera Spreng (Dronapushpi): A Review

Abstract

Leucas aspera is a plant species belongs to the genus Leucas and the family Lamiaceae. Species has different common names depending its location and most commonly known as Tumbai or Thumba, is distributed throughout India from the Himalayas down to Ceylon. It is known for its various uses in the fields of medicine and agriculture. This article aims to provide a comprehensive review on the pharmacognostic, phytochemical, and pharmacological aspects of Leucas aspera.Traditionally different parts of the plants are used as an antipyretic, insecticide, stimulant, emmenagogue, expectorant, aperient and diaphoretic. Leaves are found to be useful in chronic rheumatism, chronic skin eruptions specially in psoriasis. In case of snake bite, bruised leaves are applied locally. The plant mainly contains triterpenoids, oleanolic acid, b-sitosterol, diterpenes, ursolic acid, nicotine, sterols, glucoside and phenolic compounds. The plant, flower extract and essential oil shows various activities like antioxidant, anti-microbial, anti-fungal and antinociceptive etc.