INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHYTOTHERAPY RESEARCH

ISSN 2278 – 5701

Review article

REVIEW ON PHARMACOLOGICAL AYURVEDIC

COMPOUND OF TERMINALIA ARJUNA

Rajni HS, Manish RA*

Medical Product of Science College of Pharmacy, Dist- Akola
G. N. A. Arts, Commerce and Science Collage Barshitakli, Dist- Akola

Corresponding Author: Ayesha Vaseem

ABSTRACT:
The traditional system of medicine contain Terminalia Arjuna is moderate tree used in various disease to
cure It is identify to confirm various compound present in them .Terminalia Arjuna has been applied to
balance the three humors Kapha, Pitta, Vata. Terminalia Arjuna is mankind of widely used herbal
medicinal plant through the Bangladesh and used in traditional system of Medicine like Ayurveda, Siddha
and Unani. Analytical Active Constituent containing Gallic acid and Arjunolic acid, B-sitosterol, Terminic
acid pyrocatechols, Calcium Magnesium Zinc copper it has been medicinal value on Pharmacological
agents as Anticancer, Antimicrobial, Antiacne, Antidiabetic, Antianthelmintic Anticholinesterase,
Antiinflammentary, Antioxidant, Antiasthmatic as well as Wound healing. Cardioprotective and
insecticidal activities it is also applicable for the treating of Cancer, Cardiomyopathy and Hypertension.

Key Word: Terminalia Arjuna, Gallic acid, Arjunolic acid, Antidiabetic, Cardiotonic, B-sitosterol,
Terminic acid.

INTRODUCTION
Terminalia Arjuna is a worldwide medicinal tree and native Bangladeshi tree having leaf
simple and smooth with thick bark belonging to the family Combretaceae (Lal et al
1963). It is mostly used in Unani, Ayurveda and Homeopathy medicine a Terminalia
Arjuna is a traditional system of medicine is used in India and also in other countries like
Bangladesh, Asia. Pharmacological active chemical present in this plant of Terminalia
Arjuna which is widely used for the treatment of No of Disease like an Cardiomyopathy,
Cardioprotective, Antiinflammentary, Anticholinesterase (Bajpeyee.,1995) . Terminalia
Arjuna decreases the effect of Stress and Anxiety, Antimutagenic, Hypolipidemic,
Antioxidant and Hypocholesterolamic. Terminalia Arjuna have the capability protect
liver and kidney tissue again CCl4 induce oxidative stress, Terminalia Arjuna with its
Phytochemical and pharmacological characteristic (Agarwal V and Chauhan BM.,1998).
HABITAT: It is world popular tree famous for medicinal used. The bark Terminalia
Arjuna has been used in India for more than 3000 years. Primarily has an heart remedy
(Delgando et al 1998 ) the first to used this product heart condition in this 7th century AD
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research on the Terminalia Arjuna has been going on since 1930. Terminalia Arjuna also
Amandier Indian, Amandier Tropical (Shailaja Chandra et al 2001), Argun Badamier
Arjuna axjun.

MACROSCOPIC CHARACTER:
TREE: It is moderate tree having thick bark.
LEAVES: Terminalia Arjuna contain simple and smooth leaf.
FRUITS: Fruits are obovoid - oblong dark brown fibrous woody indehiscent drupe.
INFLOURESENCE: Terminalia Arjuna the inflorescences are short axillaries spikes or
small terminal panicles.
FLOWER: Flower is small regular, sessile cup shaped polygamous, white creamy or
greenish white and robustly honey scented.
POWDER: The powder of Terminalia Arjuna containing yellowish white (Dhiman AK
2006 )
PHYTOCHEMISTRY: It was initially identify that containing water extract 16% tannin
and23 degree calcium salt existence. In it bark has been contain 34 % ash contain which
found pure calcium carbonate and where as the alcoholic extract contain very little
colouring matter and tannin (Nema et al 2012 ). The analysis reported that 12 % of
sugar present in tannin colouring matter of glycoside and carbonate of calcium sodium
and traces of chloride of alkali (Junior et al 2006)

MEDICINAL USE:
Antimicrobial activity : (Mann et al 2008 ) scientifically analysis reported that water
extract of Terminalia Arjuna barks shows maximum amount of antimicrobial
antimicrobial activities against Proteus Vulgaris, Klebsiella aerogenes, Eschrichia coli
and Pseudomonas aerogenis. The presence of antibacterial activity in the bark of
Terminalia Arjuna exhibiting selectively maximum activity against S. epidermidis
(Biotechnol., 1996).
Anticancer activity: Reporting that the different type of cancer to treat Terminalia
Arjuna extracts are compiled. Herbal extracts of Terminalia Arjuna shows to enhance
increased percentage of life. Arjuna extract inducing DNA damage in HepG2 cells
indicated that Terminalia Arjuna extract induces ROS production in HepG2 cells and
consequently causes apoptosis (Kumar et al 2009).
Antifungal activity: Terminalia species found five contain of organic extracts like (T.
arjuna, T. chebula, T. bellerica, T. catappa and T. alata) were tested with plant
pathogenic fungi i.e. A. flavus, A. alternata, A. niger, A. brassicicola, and H. tetramera.

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The present extract of five plant leaves shows inhibits the plant pathogens (Sharma et al.,
1982). The bark extracts were more useful than fungicide beneficial in this antifungal
test. Intense strongly antifungal activity against C. parapsilosis, C. krusei and C. albicans
was exist by a mixture of arjunolic acid with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)
values in the range of 50-200 µg/ml (Goun et al., 2003).
Antidiabetic activity: The Terminalia Arjuna extracts have ability to action on diabetic.
In the scientifically analysis diabetic rats model treated with Terminalia Arjuna extracts
showed two enzymes (glucose-6-phosphatase, fructose-1, 6- diphosphatase) much
reduced in liver and kidney. They have an ability to increase insulin secretion which can
react on repression of the gluconeogenic key enzymes (glucokinase and
phosphofructokinase) (Banting et al., 1992). Terminalia arjun bark extract exposed
antidiabetic activity by value the outermost utilization of glucose which has the ability to
kidney glycolysis and repairing the impaired liver and by decreasing its gluconeogenic
generation as like as insulin. The tannin, saponin, flavonoids and other constituent’s
presence in the bark this action may be due to ability of its ingrednts, which could act
valuable constitution in enhancing the effect of glycolytic and gluconeogenic enzymes
(Ribnicky et al., 2006). (Mythili et al 2012) have research the prophylactic medium of
arjunolic acid against streptozotocin (STZ) treat diabetes in the pancreatic tissue of Swiss
albino rats. STZ administration (at a dose of 65mg/kg body wt, injected into the tail vein)
causes an increase in the production of both ROS and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) in
the pancreas of labortical animals. Formations of these reactive intermediates minimize
the intracellular antioxidant defense, maximize the levels of lipid peroxidation, protein
carbonylation, serum glucose and TNF-α (Tiwari et al., 1989).

Antiacne activity: Topical formation made cream of Terminalia Arjuna extract

containing flavonoid (FF-I to III) and tannin fraction (TF-I to III) have been developed,
which were analysis antimicrobial activity against Propionibacterium acnes and
Staphylococcus epidermidis. The composition of FF-III (cream containing 2% flavonoid
fraction) has present maximum antibacterial activity against P. acnes (zones of inhibition
>17 mm) and S. epidermidis (zones of inhibition >20 mm) than other composition and
which is similar to that of standard marketed topical herbal preparation (Swanson et al.,
2003). Herbal anti-acne cream is non-toxic, safe, and effective and treat patient
compliance by the application of herbal extracts from Terminalia Arjuna would be highly
adoptable (Akiyama et al., 2001).
Anthelmintic activity: Bark crude methanolic extracts of Terminalia Arjuna formation
anthelmintic activity both in vitro (eggs, larvae and adult of Haemonchus contortus and
in vivo research against mixed gastrointestinal trichostrongylid nematodes of sheep
(Athanasiadou et al., 2001). Terminalia Arjuna bark acts as Anthelmintic activity and
may be mainly attributed to its tannin content that binds with a free protein formation in
the tubes for larval nutrition and decrease nutrient activity resulting in larval decreased
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gastrointestinal metabolism by straightly inhibiting the oxidative phosphorylation thereby

causing larval death (Niezen et al., 1995).
Wound healing activity: Terminalia Arjuna bark extract contain hydroalcoholic,
phytoconstituents was reported to be used in topical application on healing rat dermal
wounds. In rat wound created on back it have been treated with topical applied as simple
ointment. Results prove that fraction III prepared as 1% simple ointment react complete
epithelialization on day 20, whereas fraction I react complete epithelialization on day 9,
which necessary consists of tannins (Chopra et al., 1995). The ability shows of
Terminalia Arjuna to total epithelisation of excision wounds and maximum tensile
strength of incision wounds (Brzozowski et al 1998).
Cardioprotective activity: Terminalia Arjuna has an ability to use different therapeutic
ways cardiac disease that origin on empirical showing recorded in different treatment of
ancient medicine (Fugh-Berman et al 2003) .
Cardiotonic activities: In ayurvedic medicine arjunolic acid is used as a cardiac tonic for
centuries and it has been first identify from Terminalia Arjuna. The bark extracts have
wide component triterpenoid saponin is an arjunolic acid (Sindambiwe et al., 1998).
Physico reported carried on the experimental rabbit and frog heart exposed that
Terminalia Arjuna bark had cardiotonic (Ajees, 2002). It was consequently reported that
intravenous administration of the glycoside, formation from the bark of Terminalia
Arjuna, resulted in rise in blood pressure (Colabawalla, 1951). It was showed that the
bark powder has a cardiotonic property and diuretic. The analytical reported to isolated
frog heart exposed that the water base extract of the bark had chronotropic and inotropic
activities. The aqueous extract of the bark is identified from rat atria that resulted positive
inotropic activity (Gupta et al., 2001). Water base extract of the bark was identify from
rat atria that was again resulted in consequent work where produced inotropic action
which was showing by propanolol and cocaine (. Malhotra et al., 1981). The new element
16, 17-Dihydroneridienone, 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-6)-O-β-D-galactopyranoside is
identify from arjuna root and applicable as a cardiotonic (Jayant et al., 2000).
Coronary flow: (Rajak et al. 2001) analysis form bark to inject aqueous extract into
isolated rabbit heart to maximum in coronary flow. The dose was 1024 µg/ml that causes
highest increase in coronary flow.
Hypotensive effects: The analysis of injection of alcoholic and aqueous extract into
intravertebral and intracerebro-ventricular extract of bark that was dose-dependent
persistent bradycardia and hypoten- sion. Although the alcoholic extract show the
hypotensive effect in dogs was obtain by pre-treatment with atropine. In another way
tested in dogs where intravenous induce of aqueous extract of Terminalia Arjuna resulted
in dose-addict falls in blood pressure (Sharma et al., 2001).
Effect on aortic prostaglandins: Those rabbits Aortic prostaglandin E2 like activity was
enhanced that were administered Terminalia Arjuna compared to those who were on
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placebo. The finding of raised PGE2 like activity was significant because PGE2 is known
to produce coronary vasodilation. This may possibly show the pharmacological basis of
the increased coronary flow following Terminalia Arjuna infusion (Dwivedi et al., 1987).
This may also be participating to the important role of Terminalia Arjuna in coronary
artery disease (CAD) patients.
Anti-inflammatory: To take two crude herbal ethanolic extract of Datura stramonium
(leaves) Terminalia arjuna (bark) and Withania somnifera (root) that analyze polyherbal
preparation have anti inflammatory ability to resist the enzyme cycloxygenase (COX)
leading to resist of prostaglandin synthesis vausing inflammation at the 3rd stage. From
the analysis of this study, it can be accomplished that polyherbal preparation resulted
significant anti inflammatory and analgesic activities (Golan et al., 2008).
Insecticidal property: In the stem Terminalia Arjuna isolated from Arjunolic acid
exhibits significant resist activity towards 4th instar larvae of Spilarctia obliqua. More
concentration to less amount of feeding and growth of the larvae has been found to be
666.9 and 617.8 ppm, respectively (Bhakuni et al., 2002).
Antioxidant activity: In Terminalia Arjuna bark contain antioxidant activity test that
exhibited significant antioxidant activities with the IC50 value of 7.05 µg/ml. Because of
Methanol extract of Terminalia Arjuna has intense antioxidant activity and may have
ability use in medicine (Brand et al., 1995).
Antiasthmatic activity: Terminalia Arjuna contain Arjunolic acid and alcoholic extract
have significant mast cell stabilization activity and arjunolic acid exhibits well better
stabilization reactor than alcoholic extract of TA (Prasad et al., 2004). The antiasthmatic
and antianaphylactic activity may be due to the mast cell stabilizing ability and inhibition
of antigen induced histamine and acetylcholine release (Prasad et al., 2004).
Gastro protective effect: Terminalia Arjuna play important role as a gastroprotective
agent probably because its cytoprotective nature and free radical scavenging activity
(Gupta et al., 2001).
Decrease arsenic-induced toxicity: In its presents Arjunolic acid that play important
role against arsenic-induced cellular oxidative expose (Manna et al., 2007).

COCLUSION: The present analyze research which expose its references that Terminalia
Arjuna is very beneficial plant. The huge number of phytochemical and pharmacological
properties also medicinally and chemicals important. The most exciting aspects of the
plant were diagnosis of cardiac diseases, diabetics and cancer. It’s reported components
wide range as favor of mankind to cure disease like antimutagenic, anti-inflammatory,
antibacterial, antiviral, and wound healing activities. Thus this research can review be
made for human beneficial source for the researchers to carry out systematic knowledge
of herbal and poly-herbal drugs from Terminalia Arjuna.

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