Bombax ceiba L. : An Overlooked Plant with Immense Medicinal Properties

This communication is an attempt to throw light on the medicinal properties of 'Silk Cotton Tree'- Bombax ceiba L. (Angiosperms; Family: Bombacaceae), a common tropical tree growing in India. This plant has strong anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, analgesic and hypoglycaemic activity. In the Ayurvedic system of medicines, this plant is found to beneficial as stimulant, astringent, demulcent, diuretic, cooling, tonic, anti-dysenteric, etc. The plant is also known for the production of various phytochemicals like saponin, terpenoids, flavanoids, phenolics and C-flavonol glycosides (Shamimin), a secondary metabolite which plays an important role in curing a wide variety of ailments of human being. However, till date this plant remains under-utilized because of slow propagation.