Ethnobotanical and Pharmacological Potential of Trichosanthes species

Plants are a vital source of drugs, serving both traditional and modern medicine, as well as pharmaceutical intermediates, synthetic drugs, nutraceuticals, and food supplements. The discovery of plants with novel medicinal properties is crucial for herbal drug development. In countries like India, China, Burma and Bangladesh, traditional medicine is widely practiced, with most medicinal plants sourced from the wild. Trichosanthes genus of family Cucurbitaceae, consists of about 84 species with several exhibiting important medicinal properties. Although many Trichosanthes species are used in traditional medicine, not all are fully investigated with respect to their active phytoconstituents. This review summarizes information available on the traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of 4 medicinally important species of genus Trichosanthes namely T. kirilowii, T. tricuspidata, T. dioica and T. bracteata. It further gives perspective on future research and possible investigations that need to be carried out in these and other species of genus Trichosanthes.