Medicinal Plant Species: Pistacia integerrima galls – A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Karkatasringi, whose botanical name is Pistacia integerrima and belongs to the Anacardiaceae family, is a well-known medicinal plant. This plant is native to India and is distributed along the Northwest Himalayan region at about 500–2500 m above the sea level. Various parts of the plant including roots, bark galls, and leaves contain a number of secondary metabolites. Galls are most commonly used in unconventional medicines. There are various Ayurvedic formulations which include Chyavanaprasha, Shringyadi cuma, and Dasamularista and these formulations are used in the treatment of various diseases including ajeema (indigestion), jwara (fever), and yakrit roga (liver disorders) and also in the treatment of swasa (asthma), yakshma (tuberculosis), and hridyaroga (heart diseases). Furthermore, the galls contain secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, terpenoids, and alkaloids. The bark of this plant contains flavonoids and terpenoids. The roots and leaves contain terpenoids and tannins. The presence of tannins as major constituents is responsible for the astringent action. The plant species P. integerrima which belongs to the family Anacardiaceae is known for its many uses globally and thus represents the whole family for its high therapeutic value. It is used in the treatment of various diseases including some common conditions such as vomiting, fever, asthma, diarrhea, and cough and also used in modern medicine. Commonly known as crab’s claw, P. integerrima is a tree anciently found in Asia and is a botanically important tree. The galls of this plant have been used in treating dysentery, asthma, liver disorders, and cough and also used to cure snakebites. Using the extracts of P. integerrima, various secondary metabolites including sterols, phenolic compounds, and terpenoids have been isolated. In this review, we highlight the description of plant in classical literature of Ayurveda, and also in this review, we try to discuss about the therapeutic properties and chemical constituents of this plant. An attempt is made to assess the therapeutic potential of this plant in both conventional and modern systems of medicine. This review includes the traditional medicinal uses along with the phytochemical and biological evaluation of this plant species. Furthermore, after considering this review, one can build a foundation for further exploration on this topic and utilization of these resources for further research as well.