A Review of Phytochemical and Biological Studies of Diospyros Species Used in Folklore Medicine of Jharkhand

Diospyros is one of the most important genus of Ebanaceae family. Out of its more than 475 species, about 100 are well explored phytochemically. The medicinal uses and chemical constituents of various Diospyros species have been reviewed earlier by Mallavadhani et.al in 1998 [1]. The present review has been focused only on 9 species of Diospyros which are potent and are being used in folklore medicines of Jharkhand to cure diarrhea, fever and ulcer. This review is an extension of the work of Mallavadhani et.al with regards to these 9 species.These days Diospyros species are being explored as a cytotoxic agent to cure cancer and AIDS also.Considering these facts an attempt has been made to present a review on phytochemical and biological studies of Dispyros species along with their traditional uses.