Traditional uses, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of Asparagus adscendens Roxb.: A Review

Background: Musali (Asparagus adscendens Roxb.) is a traditionally important medicinal plant of the family Asparagaceae. It is used worldwide to treat several ailments due to the presence of various bioactive constituents, mainly concentrated in the tubers of plants. It has been used since time immemorial as a popular drug for treating chronic leucorrhea, spermatorrhea, general weakness, diarrhea, dysentery, and pharmacological purposes like rejuvenation, aphrodisiac, etc. This review aimed to gather information on the traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacology of Asparagus adscendens Roxb.   Materials and methods: Primarily, classical literatures of Ayurveda, including Brihat-trayi (greater triad), Laghu-trayi (lesser triad), and Nighantus (lexicons), were reviewed for the terms “Musali” and “Shweta Musali.". Establishing an overview, library resources, and online collections of books and original research articles, other online databases such as Pubmed Central, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, ERIC, IEEE Xplore, ScienceDirect, DOAJ, JSTOR, Henari, Google Scholar, and NepJoL were explored with search words like “Musali”, “Safed Musali”, “Shweta Musali” “Asparagus adscendens”, botanical characteristics, traditional and contemporary uses, pharmacognosy, phytochemical constituents, pharmacology, agriculture, and miscellaneous aspects. Ethnobotanical reports, wet laboratory experiments, pharmacognostic characteristics, phytoconstituents, and pharmacology (experimental works and clinical trials) are selected to include in this review. Evidence-based papers from indexed sources were also considered. Results and discussion: Asparagus adscendens has been used for the treatment of chronic leucorrhea, spermatorrhea, general weakness, diarrhea, dysentery, rejuvenation, and aphrodisiacs in Ayurveda by its various names and formulations since 1000 BC, the period of Agnivesa. This plant has great pharmacological actions such as antifertility, antioxidant, anthelminthic, antidiabetic, etc. Conclusion: Musali has been a unique gift of nature to mankind since time immemorial.  It is a major ingredient in many Ayurvedic formulations. It has several uses, including as a strong "Rasayana" (rejuvenator), a tonic and vitalizer that promotes health, a therapeutic remedy for prenatal and postnatal problems, a restorative agent that boosts immunity, and a strong aphrodisiac. It will take a number of scientific endeavors to investigate the pharmacological actions that are hidden and described in the classics. To assess the pharmacotherapeutics of Asparagus adscendens and provide a solid, evidence-based treatment, more clinical studies may be carried out.