A Literature Update on Strategies for Harnessing and Conserving the Bioactive Phytochemicals from Tinospora cordifolia: Current Status, Challenges, and Future Prospects

Abstract

Tinospora cordifolia(Family Menispermaceae), commonly known as “Guduchi,” is an extensively used medicinal plant in modern as well as traditional Ayurvedic systems of medicine. The constitutive occurrence of various bioactive constituents such as terpenes, alkaloids, glycosides, aliphatic compounds, and flavonoids attributes to its inexplicable efficacy towards various chronic ailments due to its antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, immunomodulatory, antiperiodic, antileprotic, antispasmodic, antiarthritic, antioxidant, antistress, antimalarial, and antineoplastic activities. The whole plant parts viz. roots, stem, and leaves act as a repository of these important bioactive constituents and are utilized in the preparation of various pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmeceutical formulations. A scan of the published literature survey on T. cordifolia clearly indicates that an array of reviews is available on the phytochemical and pharmacological activities of this plant, but systematic compilation for its conventional and nonconventional mode of propagation, conservation, and strategies for the sustainable production of its metabolites is still lacking. Hence, the present review is an attempt in this direction focused on understanding the different means of propagation that act as an alternative platform for strategizing the production as well as the conservation of the bioactive constituents of this important medicinal plant. A critical evaluation of the future implications as well as breakthrough for the commercialization of T. cordifolia is also discussed. ©The Editor(s)(if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023