A REVIEW OF THE BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF FRUIT EXTRACT OF TERMINALIA CHEBULA

Abstract

Medicinal properties of Terminalia chebula have been researched extensively for the past 30 years. Various parts of this plant like leaves, bark, fruit, seed and stem have been explored to harness its pharmaceutical potential. The fruit of T.chebula along with fruits of Terminalia bellerica and Phyllantus emblica is powdered to form Triphala an ancient ayurvedic medicine used to treat a variety of ailments like – constipation, inflammation, viral and bacterial infections, pain, arthritis, diabetes, leukorrhea and ageing.  T.chebula fruit is abundant in tannins like chebulic acid, chebulagic acid, chebulinic acid,  neochebulinic acid,  terchebin, gallic acid, ellagic acid, corilagin, terfavin, punicalagin, flavonoids like – luteolin, quercetin rutins, starches, amino acids such as -arginine, lysine, glutamic acid, proline and aspartic acid, beta-fatty acids, succinic acid, sitosterol and fructose. It has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-cancer, anti-oxidant, and anti-diabetic properties. The purpose of this review is to elucidate the reader on the diverse pharmacological properties of T.chebula fruit extract.