PIPER LONGUM (PIPPALIMOOL): A REVIEW ON MEDICINAL IMPORTANCE AND HEALTH CARING ACTIVITIES

Medicinal principles are present in different parts of the plant like root, stem, bark, heartwood, leaf, flower, fruit or plant exudates. These medicinal principles are separated by different processes; the most common being extraction. Extraction is the separation of the required constituents from plant materials using a solvent. Medicinal plants are known as the 'backbone of the traditional medicinal system. More than 3.3 billion people in developing countries rely on medicinal plants to treat various diseases. One such plant is Piper longum is also known as Javanese, long pepper, pippalimool (the root of Piper longum Linn.). The root is useful in bronchitis, stomach ache, diseases of spleen and tumours. Fruit is useful in vata and kapha, asthma, bronchitis, abdominal complaints, fever, leucoderma, urinary discharges, tumours, piles, insomnia and tuberculosis. There are some reported experimental studies that showed the pharmacological activities of P. longum such as neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antibacterial, antidiabetic, antiulcer and many more. The extract of P. longum fruit showed effective antibacterial activity against selected bacteria or microbes, the plant extracts exhibit significant antibacterial activity when tested against different bacterial pathogens such as Staphylococcus albus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, E. coli, Bacillus megaterium and Salmonella typhi.