Medicinally Important Phytoconstituents of Sweet Flag (Acorus Calamus): A Critical Overview

Abstract

Now a day there has been a notable increase in interest in medicinal plants. The cause of this is growing knowledge of the limitations of synthetic chemotherapeutic drugs. Natural products and herbal remedies are currently highly sought after worldwide. Ayurveda serve as a “goldmine” for novel medicinal products to treat various chronic diseases. This review article provides the detailed description of Acorus calamus (Vacha) one of most important medicinal plant. Acorus calamus (Sweet flag) used in the treatment of various illnesses such as epilepsy, memory loss, dysentery, chronic diarrhea, intermittent fever etc. A broad range of chemical constituents isolated  from the rhizomes and leaves part includes A-asarone, b-asarone, c-asarone, calamene, calamenenol, calameone, a-pinene, b-pinene etc. From a long ago Acorus calamus has been used for various purposes and many of its uses has to be scientifically not proven. The present review attempt to explore its traditional uses and pharmacological bioactive compounds present in it.