Journal of Medicinal Plants Research Vol. 6(5), pp. 641-644, 9 February, 2012 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/JMPR DOI: 10.5897/JMPR11.014 ISSN 1996-0875 2012 Academic Journals

Review

Monograph of Tribulus terrestris

Ghazala Shaheen1*, Irshad Ahmad2, Khan Usmanghani3 Naveed Akhter1, Mukhtiar Ahmad1, Sabira Sultana1 and M. Akram3

University College of Conventional Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy and Alternative Medicine, The Islamia University

Bahawalpur, Pakistan.

Accepted 19 December, 2011

Tribulus terrestris has long been used as a tonic and aphrodisiac, and a diuretic in Unani system of medicine. The diuretic effect was attributed to the presence of potassium salts in high concentration. So many studies have been done on pharmacological activities of T. terrestris. The major constituents of these plants are steroidal saponins namely: terrestrosins A, B, C, D and E, desgalactotigonis, F-gitonis, desglucolanatigoneis, gitnin etc. The biological activity exhibited by saponins include: pisicidal, antimicrobial, molluscicidal, haemolytic, antiviral, cytotoxic, antihepatotoxic, spermicidal, insecticidal, antioedematous, antiulcer analgesic, immunomodulatory, and sedative effects. Key words: Tribulus terrestris, steroidal saponins, aphrodisiac, diuretic.

INTRODUCTION Tribulus terrestris is a flowering plant of the family Zygophyllaceae. It is native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Old World in Southern Europe, Southern Asia, throughout Africa, and Australia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribulus_terrestris). Family: Zygophyllaceae Genus: Tribulus Species: Terrestris Linn. Botanical synonym: Tribulus languinosus Linn. English: Land-caltrops, Puncture-vine Part used: Dried spiny fruit Botanical description T. terrestris is an annual or perennial, prostrate herb with many slender, spreading branches and silky-villous young parts (Matthew et al., 1983). Leaves are abruptly simple, pinnate and opposite. Leaflets almost sessile, rounded or oblique at the base, mucronate at the apex, flowers bright yellow, solitary, pseudo axillary or leaf opposed. Fruits are 5 angled or winged spinous tuberculate woody schizocarp, separating into five cocci, each coccus having two long, stiff, sharp divaricate *Corresponding author. E-mail: ghazala.shaheen@iub.edu.pk.

spines towards the distal half and two shorter ones nearer the base, seeds one or more in each coccus (Matthew et al., 1983). Geographical distribution The plant grows wild throughout India, the shrub thrives in well irrigated black soil upto attitudes of 3000 m. (Matthew et al., 1983) (Figure 1). Traditional uses The roots and fruits are sweet, cooling, diuretic, aphrodisiac, emollient, appetiser, digestive, anthelmintic, expectorant, anodyne, anti-inflammatory, alterant, laxative, cardiotonic, styptic, lithotriptic and tonic. They are useful in strangury, dysuria, vitiated conditions of vata and pitta, renal and vesical calculi, anorexia, dyspepsia, helminthiasis, spermatorrhoea, anaemina, scabies, ophthalmia, ulocace and general weakness. The leaves are astringent, diuretic, aphrodisiac, depurative, anthelmenthic and tonic. They are useful in gonorrhoea, inflammation, menorrhagia, strangury, leprosy, skin diseases, verminosis and general weakness. The seeds are astringent, strengthening and are useful in epistaxis, haemorrhages and ulcerative stomatitis. The ash of the whole plant is good for external application in rheumatic-

642 J. Med. Plants Res.

Figure 1. Tribulus terrestris.

Figure 2. Diosgenin.

Figure 3. Ruscogenin.

arthritis.

The diuretic properties of the plant are due to the

large quantities of the nitrates present as well as the

essential oil which occurs in the seeds (Nadkarni et al., 1993). Phytochemistry The major constituents of this plants are steroidal saponins 1 namely terrestrosins A, B, C, D and E, desgalactotigonis, F-gitonis, desglucolanatigoneis, gitnin etc., which on hydrolysis yield jdiosgenis, hecogenis and neotigogenin etc. (Zafar et al., 1989). There are other minor constituents like alkaloids (uncharacterised) (Yan

et al., 1996) common phyto sterols namely, -sitosterol, stigmasterol, a cinnamic amide derivative - terrestiamide and 7-methylhydroisdamone (Mahato et al., 1978). Active constituents The fruit of T. terrestris contain of glycosides, especially saponin glycosides. The saponins on hydrolysis yields diosgenin, ruscogenin, gitogenin, three flavone glycosides etc. (Figures 2, 3 and 4). PHARMACOLOGY Antiurolithiatic activity In a preliminary study the diuretic effect of T. terrestris and Hygrophila spinosa water extracts in albino rats was evaluated. The diuretic effect was attributed to the presence of potassium salts in high concentration (Kumari and Iyer, 1967). The diuretic action with minimal side effect of T. terrestris in albino rats was confirmed

Figure 4. Gitogenin.

(Singh et al., 1991). Further studies were conducted to evaluate the therapeutic use of T. terrestris in various urinary disorders including urolithiasis. The ethanol extract was tested for activity against artificially induced urolithiasis in albino rats. The extract was administered orally at 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg daily for 4 months. It exhibited dose dependent antiurolithiatic activity and almost completely inhibited stone formation. Other biochemical parameters in urine and serum which were altered during the process of stone formation were normalized by the plant extract in a dose dependent manner (Anand et al., 1994). The effect of an aqueous extract of T. terrestris administered orally at a dose of 5 g/kg body weight was studied in rats with induced hyperoxaluria (Intraperitoneal injection of 4 OH proline at a dose of 2.5 g/kg body weight for three successive days) and maintained by sodium glycolate, twenty four hour urine was collected and analyzed for creatinine and oxalate. The oxalate excretion reversed to normal from 1.97 + 0.314 to 0.144 + 0.004 mg/mg creatinine (P

644 J. Med. Plants Res. T. terrestris has the action of dilating coronary artery and improving coronary circulation and thus has better effects on improving ECG of mycocardial ischemia. No adverse reaction on blood system, hepatic and renal functions were noticed (Bowen et al., 1990). Safety profile The ethanolic (95%) extract was tested in rats intraperitoneally and the LD50 was found to be 56.4 mg/kg (Dhar et al., 1968). The maximum tolerated dose in mouse was 100 g/kg, the extract used ethanol and water (1:1) intraperitoneally (Chakraborty and Neogi, 1978). REFERENCES

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribulus_terrestris