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Natural Product Research: Formerly Natural Product Letters Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/gnpl20
Acorus calamus (The Healing Plant): a review on its medicinal potential, micropropagation and conservation a
a
Vikas Sharma , Isha Singh & Priyanka Chaudhary
a
a
Department of Biotechnology, Arni University, Kathgarh, Indora, Kangra, HP 176401, India Published online: 13 May 2014.
To cite this article: Vikas Sharma, Isha Singh & Priyanka Chaudhary (2014): Acorus calamus (The Healing Plant): a review on its medicinal potential, micropropagation and conservation, Natural Product Research: Formerly Natural Product Letters, DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2014.915827 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14786419.2014.915827
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/termsand-conditions
Natural Product Research, 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14786419.2014.915827
REVIEW Acorus calamus (The Healing Plant): a review on its medicinal potential, micropropagation and conservation Vikas Sharma*, Isha Singh and Priyanka Chaudhary
Downloaded by [University of Saskatchewan Library] at 03:15 27 May 2014
Department of Biotechnology, Arni University, Kathgarh, Indora, Kangra, HP 176401, India (Received 10 February 2014; final version received 14 April 2014) Acorus calamus L., a tall, perennial, grass-like monocot plant from the Acoraceae family, is a well-known plant in Indian traditional medicines for centuries. It is a highly valued herb as it acts as a rejuvenator for brain and nervous system. It is a main medhya drug, which has the property of improving the memory power and intellect. Rhizomes of the plant are widely used in the treatment of number of ailments such as epilepsy, mental ailments, chronic diarrhoea, dysentery, fever, abdominal tumours, kidney and liver troubles, and rheumatism. A. calamus leaves, rhizomes and its essential oil possess many biological activities such as antispasmodic, carminative and are compiled in a simple approach in this review. This review presents a pragmatic description that deals with chemical constituents, toxicology, ethnobotany and pharmacological properties of A. calamus for easy and better understanding of the outstanding medicinal potential of this very special plant and sirens for its conservation. Keywords: Acorus calamus; phytoconstituents; antimicrobial; anticarcinogenic; pharmacological activities; toxicity; conservation
Introduction Acorus calamus L. is the botanical name of the plant more commonly known as calamus. Other common names of calamus include calamus root, flag root, sweet calomel, sweet flag and sweet sedge. A. calamus is a tall, perennial, grass-like monocot plant from the Acoraceae family. The Acoraceae family comprises a single genus called Acorus. A. calamus has been known for its beneficial and medicinal value in Asia since long time (Batra et al. 2012). A. calamus is a semiaquatic plant found in moist habitats such as the banks of pond, rivers and streams, and in swamps throughout Asia, Europe and North America. The rhizomes as well as the leaves have a pleasant, slightly sweet odour that is caused by the presence of an essential oil. Dried roots have long been used in medicinal preparations as antispasmodic, in antiulcer preparations and for the flavouring of bitter liqueurs and appetizers. According to the Red Data Book list of threatened species, A. calamus has been identified as the vulnerable species. Therefore, many conservation programmes have come into existence such as in situ, ex situ/in vitro mode of conservation. Many research institutes are being involved in carrying out various kinds of investigations on this plant globally. This review discusses the studies on A. calamus under different research areas. A. calamus is probably indigenous to India, and it grows in marshy places up to 1800 m height, mainly cultivated in Kashmir, Nagaland and Manipur. This plant grows well in sandy loams and light alluvial soil, temperature ranging from 108C to 388C. The plants have long creeping roots that spread out just below the surface of the soil. These roots spread horizontally and can grow to almost 2 m in length. Leaves are erect, sharp-pointed and sword-shaped.
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] q 2014 Taylor & Francis
Downloaded by [University of Saskatchewan Library] at 03:15 27 May 2014
2
V. Sharma et al.
Flowers are very rarely grown in this plant, if grown then it is long, cylindrical and greenish brown in colour. Fruits are small and berry like containing few seeds. Flowering and fruiting occur in July –August. It is a highly valued herb because it acts as a rejuvenator for brain and nervous system. Rhizomes of the plant are widely used in the treatment of number of ailments such as epilepsy, mental ailments, chronic diarrhoea, dysentery, fever, abdominal tumours, kidney and liver troubles, and rheumatism (Sharma et al. 2004). A. calamus mature leaves act as insect repellent when cut up and stored in dry foods. It is also listed as an insecticide, an antifungal agent and an antibacterial agent. The dried rhizomes contain the yellow aromatic volatile oil with asarone as a main component; rhizome also contains choline, flavones, ethanol, zinc, methanol, camphor, eugenol, etc. (Chauhan 1999). Due to its immense medicinal potential and various uses, the unsustainable collection of plant from the wild by humans has put strain on its natural population and has also led to the destruction of the natural habitat resulting in an over-exploitation of the plant which has resulted in moving this plant towards rarity and making it an endangered species (Verma & Singh 2012). Therefore, it is necessary to initiate the systematic cultivation of medicinal plants in order to conserve biodiversity and protect the endangered species. It is also necessary to develop genetically superior planting material for assured uniformity and desired quality which warrants their mass propagation through plant tissue culture strategy. Tissue culture technology is potent and has opened extensive areas of research for biodiversity conservation. Tissue culture protocols have been developed for a wide range of medicinal plants, which include endangered, rare and threatened plant species. At present, in vitro method of vegetative multiplication of A. calamus has considerable benefits for the medicinal trade and germplasm conservation. Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Acorales Family: Acoraceae Genus: Acorus Species: calamus A. calamus is mostly propagated through rhizomes. It comes up in almost all types of soil with sufficient moisture or irrigation and also in waterlogged or marshy soils. Tropical to subtropical climate is suitable for this crop. The field is prepared similar to irrigated paddy field. First, the fields are puddled incorporating farmyard manure and green leaf manure to facilitate impounding water. The best planting season is March – April. Rhizomes obtained from earlier planting are stored preserved in the soil and the moist in constantly maintained (Tiwari et al. 2012). After emergence, the rhizomes are cut into small pieces and planted (Feigl et al. 2010). Sprouted rhizome pieces are planted at a spacing of 30 cm £ 30 cm and depth of 4 cm in the month of July – August. The best time for planting is the second fortnight of June (Balakumbahan et al. 2010). This is a water-intensive crop similar to irrigated paddy but the duration of sweet flag is 10 –11 months. Therefore, this crop is more suitable in places where water is not scarce. In the initial stage of the crop, the field is flooded with 5 cm deep water. As the crop grows, the depth of the water in the field is raised to 10 cm till 20 days before harvest. Total water requirement for 10 months period is 133-hectare inch or 34.58 million litres. The crop is weeded once every month for the first 4– 5 months when the plants block the rows in a thick cover. Fertilisers: chemical fertilisers of 45:12.5:12.5 kg of NPK per hectare (usually urea/17 All/DAP) are used for top dressing in 2– 3 split doses after 60 days of planting. Harvesting and on-farm processing: The leaf tips begin to turn yellow and this is the indication of crop maturity. Rhizomes are near the surface and grow 30 –60 cm long. They are harvested during the month of February – March, when the crop is 10– 11 months. They are cut into 5 –7.5 cm long pieces and
Natural Product Research
3
later sun dried for a day; later, they are beaten and rubbed. This process of drying in sun and later rubbing is continued 2 – 3 times, till the leaf scales and fibrous roots are removed. In recent days, farmers use hand- or power-operated machines to remove the leafy scales and fibrous roots. The average yield of rhizome is 40 qt/ha (Lokesh 2004). Plant protection: Mealy bugs and caterpillar are the pests affecting this crop. Spraying the shoots and drenching the roots of plants with methyl parathion or Quinalphos in water can be effective in controlling the shoot and root mealy bugs.
Downloaded by [University of Saskatchewan Library] at 03:15 27 May 2014
Chemical constituents A. calamus is reputed due to its medicinal and pharmaceutical value. This medicinal plant is a rich source of essential oil which is responsible for the medicinal and insecticidal properties (Singh & Singh 1991). A. calamus is also found to be good source of sesquiterpenes and phenylpropanes, cisisoasarone (b-asarone otherwise known as safrole) often together with eugenol methyl ether (80%), bitter substances (acorone, a sesquiterpene diketone with a spiran structure); ketones (shyobunones), tannins, mucilage, resins and small starch grains (Mazza 1985). Oil from dried rhizomes of an Indian specimen yielded 2.8% oil that contained 82% asarone, 5% calamenol, 4% calamene, 1% calameone, 1% methyleugenol and 0.3% eugenol. Two bitter principle compounds, acorin and acoretin, are also reported. Many previous studies have reported the chemical compositions and bioactives of A. calamus whole plant, different parts, such as rhizome and leaves, and essential oil obtained from the steam distillation of rhizome material. The essential oils of A. calamus have been reported to demonstrate antigonadal activities against insects (Koul et al. 1989). Aromatic oils obtained by the alcoholic extraction of the rhizomes are used in pharmaceutical industries (Du et al. 2008). Studies of chemical composition of Acorus spp. have revealed a- and b-asarones as the major active components in the extracts of different plant parts and essential oils (Bjomstad et al. 2009). Some other constituents such as caryophyllene, isoasarone, methyl isoeugenol and safrole present in lesser amounts have also been identified in the extracts of rhizomes and roots (Raina et al. 2003). The lectins found in the rhizomes of A. calamus possess mitogenic activity (Bains et al. 2005). Dong et al. (2010) have also reported the presence of two new sesquiterpenes, cadinane with a propan-2-ylidene in the ethanol extract of A. calamus rhizome tissues. Another study by Tong et al. (2010) has revealed the presence of a new cadinane-type sesquiterpenoid, tatarinowin-A, two phenylpropanoids, tatarinoids A and B and a trinorlignan, tatarinoid C and along with other 15 known compounds in Acorus. The aromatic constituents namely asarylaldehyde in roots and asarone in leaves are responsible for the smell of volatile oil (Venskutonis & Dagilyte 2011). Large numbers of sesquiterpenes have been isolated from A. calamus. A new tricyclic sesquiterpene, calamenone, and two known sesquiterpenes, calamendiol and isocalamendiol, are found to be present in the roots of the plant (Wu et al. 1994). Besides sesquiterpene, a number of monoterpenes have been reported in the plant. Some of the monoterpenes reported are a- and b-pinenes, myrcene, para cymene, terpinen-a, phellandrene-b, terpinene-g, terpinolene, thujane and limonene. They were isolated by steam distillation from volatile oil. Singh (2012) analysed the total phenolic and flavonoid content in different extracts of leaves and revealed that maximum phenolic and flavonoid content was found in the n-butanol extract of A. calamus. A lignan was also isolated from the rhizome, and it was designated as acoradin. It was eluated using benzene from the chloroform extract of A. calamus. The ethanol extract of the rhizomes of A. calamus revealed the presence of a new steroid glycoside, bsitosterol, along with six known steroids (Dong et al. 2008) (Table 1). Adulterants The rhizome of the sweet flag is adulterated with the rhizomes of Althae officinalis and common yellow flag Iris pseudocarus Linn. The powdered rhizome is reported to be adulterated with
4
V. Sharma et al.
Downloaded by [University of Saskatchewan Library] at 03:15 27 May 2014
Table 1. Chemical structures of the active compounds present in A. calamus. Name of the compound Chemical structure
Classification
Activity
Literature cited
b-Asarone
Phenylpropanoid Antifungal activity
Lee et al. (2004)
Caryophyllene
Sesquiterpene
Anticancer activity
Legault and Pichette (2007)
Eugenol
Phenylpropene
Antimicrobial Bevilacqua activity et al. (2010)
Methyl isoeugenol
Phenylpropanoid Antibacterial activity
Kim et al. (2011)
Monoterpene
Imelouane et al. (2009)
Natural Product Research: Formerly Natural Product Letters Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/gnpl20
Acorus calamus (The Healing Plant): a review on its medicinal potential, micropropagation and conservation a
a
Vikas Sharma , Isha Singh & Priyanka Chaudhary
a
a
Department of Biotechnology, Arni University, Kathgarh, Indora, Kangra, HP 176401, India Published online: 13 May 2014.
To cite this article: Vikas Sharma, Isha Singh & Priyanka Chaudhary (2014): Acorus calamus (The Healing Plant): a review on its medicinal potential, micropropagation and conservation, Natural Product Research: Formerly Natural Product Letters, DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2014.915827 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14786419.2014.915827
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/termsand-conditions
Natural Product Research, 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14786419.2014.915827
REVIEW Acorus calamus (The Healing Plant): a review on its medicinal potential, micropropagation and conservation Vikas Sharma*, Isha Singh and Priyanka Chaudhary
Downloaded by [University of Saskatchewan Library] at 03:15 27 May 2014
Department of Biotechnology, Arni University, Kathgarh, Indora, Kangra, HP 176401, India (Received 10 February 2014; final version received 14 April 2014) Acorus calamus L., a tall, perennial, grass-like monocot plant from the Acoraceae family, is a well-known plant in Indian traditional medicines for centuries. It is a highly valued herb as it acts as a rejuvenator for brain and nervous system. It is a main medhya drug, which has the property of improving the memory power and intellect. Rhizomes of the plant are widely used in the treatment of number of ailments such as epilepsy, mental ailments, chronic diarrhoea, dysentery, fever, abdominal tumours, kidney and liver troubles, and rheumatism. A. calamus leaves, rhizomes and its essential oil possess many biological activities such as antispasmodic, carminative and are compiled in a simple approach in this review. This review presents a pragmatic description that deals with chemical constituents, toxicology, ethnobotany and pharmacological properties of A. calamus for easy and better understanding of the outstanding medicinal potential of this very special plant and sirens for its conservation. Keywords: Acorus calamus; phytoconstituents; antimicrobial; anticarcinogenic; pharmacological activities; toxicity; conservation
Introduction Acorus calamus L. is the botanical name of the plant more commonly known as calamus. Other common names of calamus include calamus root, flag root, sweet calomel, sweet flag and sweet sedge. A. calamus is a tall, perennial, grass-like monocot plant from the Acoraceae family. The Acoraceae family comprises a single genus called Acorus. A. calamus has been known for its beneficial and medicinal value in Asia since long time (Batra et al. 2012). A. calamus is a semiaquatic plant found in moist habitats such as the banks of pond, rivers and streams, and in swamps throughout Asia, Europe and North America. The rhizomes as well as the leaves have a pleasant, slightly sweet odour that is caused by the presence of an essential oil. Dried roots have long been used in medicinal preparations as antispasmodic, in antiulcer preparations and for the flavouring of bitter liqueurs and appetizers. According to the Red Data Book list of threatened species, A. calamus has been identified as the vulnerable species. Therefore, many conservation programmes have come into existence such as in situ, ex situ/in vitro mode of conservation. Many research institutes are being involved in carrying out various kinds of investigations on this plant globally. This review discusses the studies on A. calamus under different research areas. A. calamus is probably indigenous to India, and it grows in marshy places up to 1800 m height, mainly cultivated in Kashmir, Nagaland and Manipur. This plant grows well in sandy loams and light alluvial soil, temperature ranging from 108C to 388C. The plants have long creeping roots that spread out just below the surface of the soil. These roots spread horizontally and can grow to almost 2 m in length. Leaves are erect, sharp-pointed and sword-shaped.
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] q 2014 Taylor & Francis
Downloaded by [University of Saskatchewan Library] at 03:15 27 May 2014
2
V. Sharma et al.
Flowers are very rarely grown in this plant, if grown then it is long, cylindrical and greenish brown in colour. Fruits are small and berry like containing few seeds. Flowering and fruiting occur in July –August. It is a highly valued herb because it acts as a rejuvenator for brain and nervous system. Rhizomes of the plant are widely used in the treatment of number of ailments such as epilepsy, mental ailments, chronic diarrhoea, dysentery, fever, abdominal tumours, kidney and liver troubles, and rheumatism (Sharma et al. 2004). A. calamus mature leaves act as insect repellent when cut up and stored in dry foods. It is also listed as an insecticide, an antifungal agent and an antibacterial agent. The dried rhizomes contain the yellow aromatic volatile oil with asarone as a main component; rhizome also contains choline, flavones, ethanol, zinc, methanol, camphor, eugenol, etc. (Chauhan 1999). Due to its immense medicinal potential and various uses, the unsustainable collection of plant from the wild by humans has put strain on its natural population and has also led to the destruction of the natural habitat resulting in an over-exploitation of the plant which has resulted in moving this plant towards rarity and making it an endangered species (Verma & Singh 2012). Therefore, it is necessary to initiate the systematic cultivation of medicinal plants in order to conserve biodiversity and protect the endangered species. It is also necessary to develop genetically superior planting material for assured uniformity and desired quality which warrants their mass propagation through plant tissue culture strategy. Tissue culture technology is potent and has opened extensive areas of research for biodiversity conservation. Tissue culture protocols have been developed for a wide range of medicinal plants, which include endangered, rare and threatened plant species. At present, in vitro method of vegetative multiplication of A. calamus has considerable benefits for the medicinal trade and germplasm conservation. Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Acorales Family: Acoraceae Genus: Acorus Species: calamus A. calamus is mostly propagated through rhizomes. It comes up in almost all types of soil with sufficient moisture or irrigation and also in waterlogged or marshy soils. Tropical to subtropical climate is suitable for this crop. The field is prepared similar to irrigated paddy field. First, the fields are puddled incorporating farmyard manure and green leaf manure to facilitate impounding water. The best planting season is March – April. Rhizomes obtained from earlier planting are stored preserved in the soil and the moist in constantly maintained (Tiwari et al. 2012). After emergence, the rhizomes are cut into small pieces and planted (Feigl et al. 2010). Sprouted rhizome pieces are planted at a spacing of 30 cm £ 30 cm and depth of 4 cm in the month of July – August. The best time for planting is the second fortnight of June (Balakumbahan et al. 2010). This is a water-intensive crop similar to irrigated paddy but the duration of sweet flag is 10 –11 months. Therefore, this crop is more suitable in places where water is not scarce. In the initial stage of the crop, the field is flooded with 5 cm deep water. As the crop grows, the depth of the water in the field is raised to 10 cm till 20 days before harvest. Total water requirement for 10 months period is 133-hectare inch or 34.58 million litres. The crop is weeded once every month for the first 4– 5 months when the plants block the rows in a thick cover. Fertilisers: chemical fertilisers of 45:12.5:12.5 kg of NPK per hectare (usually urea/17 All/DAP) are used for top dressing in 2– 3 split doses after 60 days of planting. Harvesting and on-farm processing: The leaf tips begin to turn yellow and this is the indication of crop maturity. Rhizomes are near the surface and grow 30 –60 cm long. They are harvested during the month of February – March, when the crop is 10– 11 months. They are cut into 5 –7.5 cm long pieces and
Natural Product Research
3
later sun dried for a day; later, they are beaten and rubbed. This process of drying in sun and later rubbing is continued 2 – 3 times, till the leaf scales and fibrous roots are removed. In recent days, farmers use hand- or power-operated machines to remove the leafy scales and fibrous roots. The average yield of rhizome is 40 qt/ha (Lokesh 2004). Plant protection: Mealy bugs and caterpillar are the pests affecting this crop. Spraying the shoots and drenching the roots of plants with methyl parathion or Quinalphos in water can be effective in controlling the shoot and root mealy bugs.
Downloaded by [University of Saskatchewan Library] at 03:15 27 May 2014
Chemical constituents A. calamus is reputed due to its medicinal and pharmaceutical value. This medicinal plant is a rich source of essential oil which is responsible for the medicinal and insecticidal properties (Singh & Singh 1991). A. calamus is also found to be good source of sesquiterpenes and phenylpropanes, cisisoasarone (b-asarone otherwise known as safrole) often together with eugenol methyl ether (80%), bitter substances (acorone, a sesquiterpene diketone with a spiran structure); ketones (shyobunones), tannins, mucilage, resins and small starch grains (Mazza 1985). Oil from dried rhizomes of an Indian specimen yielded 2.8% oil that contained 82% asarone, 5% calamenol, 4% calamene, 1% calameone, 1% methyleugenol and 0.3% eugenol. Two bitter principle compounds, acorin and acoretin, are also reported. Many previous studies have reported the chemical compositions and bioactives of A. calamus whole plant, different parts, such as rhizome and leaves, and essential oil obtained from the steam distillation of rhizome material. The essential oils of A. calamus have been reported to demonstrate antigonadal activities against insects (Koul et al. 1989). Aromatic oils obtained by the alcoholic extraction of the rhizomes are used in pharmaceutical industries (Du et al. 2008). Studies of chemical composition of Acorus spp. have revealed a- and b-asarones as the major active components in the extracts of different plant parts and essential oils (Bjomstad et al. 2009). Some other constituents such as caryophyllene, isoasarone, methyl isoeugenol and safrole present in lesser amounts have also been identified in the extracts of rhizomes and roots (Raina et al. 2003). The lectins found in the rhizomes of A. calamus possess mitogenic activity (Bains et al. 2005). Dong et al. (2010) have also reported the presence of two new sesquiterpenes, cadinane with a propan-2-ylidene in the ethanol extract of A. calamus rhizome tissues. Another study by Tong et al. (2010) has revealed the presence of a new cadinane-type sesquiterpenoid, tatarinowin-A, two phenylpropanoids, tatarinoids A and B and a trinorlignan, tatarinoid C and along with other 15 known compounds in Acorus. The aromatic constituents namely asarylaldehyde in roots and asarone in leaves are responsible for the smell of volatile oil (Venskutonis & Dagilyte 2011). Large numbers of sesquiterpenes have been isolated from A. calamus. A new tricyclic sesquiterpene, calamenone, and two known sesquiterpenes, calamendiol and isocalamendiol, are found to be present in the roots of the plant (Wu et al. 1994). Besides sesquiterpene, a number of monoterpenes have been reported in the plant. Some of the monoterpenes reported are a- and b-pinenes, myrcene, para cymene, terpinen-a, phellandrene-b, terpinene-g, terpinolene, thujane and limonene. They were isolated by steam distillation from volatile oil. Singh (2012) analysed the total phenolic and flavonoid content in different extracts of leaves and revealed that maximum phenolic and flavonoid content was found in the n-butanol extract of A. calamus. A lignan was also isolated from the rhizome, and it was designated as acoradin. It was eluated using benzene from the chloroform extract of A. calamus. The ethanol extract of the rhizomes of A. calamus revealed the presence of a new steroid glycoside, bsitosterol, along with six known steroids (Dong et al. 2008) (Table 1). Adulterants The rhizome of the sweet flag is adulterated with the rhizomes of Althae officinalis and common yellow flag Iris pseudocarus Linn. The powdered rhizome is reported to be adulterated with
4
V. Sharma et al.
Downloaded by [University of Saskatchewan Library] at 03:15 27 May 2014
Table 1. Chemical structures of the active compounds present in A. calamus. Name of the compound Chemical structure
Classification
Activity
Literature cited
b-Asarone
Phenylpropanoid Antifungal activity
Lee et al. (2004)
Caryophyllene
Sesquiterpene
Anticancer activity
Legault and Pichette (2007)
Eugenol
Phenylpropene
Antimicrobial Bevilacqua activity et al. (2010)
Methyl isoeugenol
Phenylpropanoid Antibacterial activity
Kim et al. (2011)
Monoterpene
Imelouane et al. (2009)
