The Genus Solanum: A Review of Its Species and Medicinal and Traditional Uses

Solanum species has many medicinal plants which belong to the family solanaceae. Some of great medicinal plant in this species are Solanum aculeastrum, Solanum sandwicense, Solanum torvum, Solanum quadriloculatum, solanum nigrum, which is used as medicinal herb from very long time. Now a day’s plants are used to make more effective and less side effect medicine. In recent times, commercial cultivation of such species has been done for extraction of compounds like Solasodine and Solasonin for pharma logical purposes. However, these species are neglected when it comes to research and development, especially in crop improvement aspects. Much work is needed in the area of genetic improvement in these plants to make them more feasible for cultivation and utilization of their pharmaceutical potential. The study has revealed 10 species of Solanum which are traditionally used for different purposes. Greater majority of the species have been reported to be used as food and medicine while 9 species have been reported to be used as food, 5 species as a medicine and 4 species have been reported to be used as both food and medicine. Fruits were reported to be frequently harvested parts used followed by leaves and tubers. This study revealed economic value of the Solanum species potential to sustain rural food and medicinal security.