Original Articles
TR Prashith Kekuda, BK Sahana,
Abstract
Since time immemorial plants have been used for various needs such as food, fodder, construction, dyes and medicine. Smilax zeylanica L., belonging to the monocotyledon family Smilacaceae, is a dioecious climbing shrub with woody stem. The plant is used as a substitute for Sarsaparilla. In this review, we present updated information on the ethnobotanical uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological activities shown by S. zeylanica by referring standard flora, journal articles and various search engines. Whole plant or certain parts of the plant (leaf, root, rhizome, fruit and stem) are used ethnobotanically in several countries for several purposes such as fodder, vegetable and in the treatment of diseases like skin diseases, piles, dysentery, venereal diseases, rheumatism, toothache, arthritis, and urinary complaints. The plant is reported to contain many chemicals and diosgenin, smilagenin, β-sitosterol, hydroxytyrosol, squalene and sarsapogenin are few among the important phytochemicals. A number of bioactivities such as antimicrobial, cytotoxic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antidepressant, antioxidant, antidiabetic and anticonvulsant activities have been shown by the plant. Overall, it can be concluded that S. zeylanica is a plant which is extensively utilized ethnobotanically for various therapeutic applications and is shown to exhibit a range of bioactivities, the results of which justifies the ethnobotanical uses of the plant. Further, S. zeylanica can be screened for developing bioactive phytochemicals which can be used as lifesaving drugs.