Purpose: Traditional herbal plants have been used ever since human civilization started for treating various notable disorders. Semecarpus anacardium (SA) commonly called as Bhilwa is an ancient plant known as half physician for its ability to cure almost half of the known disorders and is available in form of various formulations in Ayurveda and siddha system of medicine. In the current review, complete pharmacological utility of the plant along with its geographical location, chemical constituents, its role in apoptosis and various other uses will be discussed.
Approach: Information from the published research article available from Pubmed, google scholar and othersources were used in the preparation of this review article.
Finding: SA has been reported to be a potential plant for the cure of diseases such as diabetes, myocardial infraction, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, piles, cancer of liver, oesophagus, breast, mouth etc. It is a rich source of antioxidant having high free radical scavenging effect and is useful in treating heart diseases, CNS disorders and in cancer such as hepatocellular carcinoma, mammary carcinoma etc.
Conclusion: SA can be used as an alternative therapy for various ailments however the precise mechanism underlying its various effects has not been determined fully. The phyto constituents present in this plant need to be isolated and can be developed into phyto-pharmaceuticals.
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