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                                                                                                                                                                                       Current
                                                                                                                                                                                       Pharmaceutical
                                                                                                                                                                                       Biotechnology
                                                            Status of Selinum spp. L. a Himalayan Medicinal Plant in India: A Review                                                                             Impact
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Factor:
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  1.819
in-depth reviews in
Pharmaceutical
Biotechnology
                                                                                                                                                                                                                    BENTHAM
                                                                                                                                                                                                                    SCIENCE
Ravi Prakash Srivastava1, Pooja Dixit1, Lav Singh1, Praveen C. Verma2 and Gauri Saxena1,*
                                       1
                                        Department of Botany, University of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh 226007, India; 2CSIR-National Botanical Research Insti-
                                       tute, Lucknow 226001, India
                                                                           Abstract: There is a growing trend of herbal medicines in India as well as other parts of the world.
                                                                           The use of herbal medicines alone or alongside prescription drugs for disease management is quite
                                                                           common now. We hereby carry out a review of dominant species of Selinum mainly S. vaginatum C.B.
                                                                           Clarke and S. wallichianum (DC.) Raizada & H.O. Saxena which are potent source of herbal medicine
                                                                                     tio y
Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
ARTICLE HISTORY and whose potential is still not exploited. They are found in Northern Himalayas in the states of Kash-
                                                                                   bu nl
                                                                           mir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in India, and also distributed in adjoining countries like China,
                                                                                        n
                                       Received: August 20, 2018
                                                                           Nepal, and West Pakistan. It is a perennial, primitive, high altitude, therapeutic herbal plant belonging
                                                                                tri O
                                       Revised: November 29, 2018          to family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) traditionally used for various diseases like epilepsy, seizures, and
                                       Accepted: December 03, 2018
                                                                           hysteria, etc. The aim of this review was to provide a summary on botanical characterization, tradition-
                                                                           al uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological activity of Selinum spp. The available information will be
                                       DOI:
                                                                              is e
                                       10.2174/1389201020666181227150829   further tapped for commercial use of this plant without endangering its status. Based on the available
                                                                                   s
                                                                           evidence on the species pharmacology and chemistry, we highlight in which their therapeutic potential
                                                                           can be properly harnessed for possible integration into the country’s healthcare system and be further
                                                                            rD U
                                                                           passed on globally.
                                                                          Fo al
                                       Keywords: Coumarins, chemical composition, phytoconstituents, pharmacological, volatile oil, herbal medicines.
                                                                        ot on
struation and digestion. This study aims to explore the status     Selinum candollei Edgew, Selinum tenuifolium Salisb.),
of Selinum spp. for their therapeutic and industrial applica-      Selinum vaginatum C.B. Clarke and Selinum carvifolia (L.)
tions on a sustainable basis not only in India but worldwide.      L. are the accepted ones in the genus Selinum found in India.
Despite the fact that we have a spectrum of modern drugs at        There are however many Selinum species whose status re-
our command, it is still genuinely urgent to discover and de-      main unresolved. Many species reported from other parts of
velop new therapeutic agents. Rising incidences and evidences      the world like Ligusticopsis wallichiana (DC) Pimenov &
of microbial resistance against a broad array of antibiotics       Kljuykov, Selinum elatum (Edgew.) M. Hiroe, etc. have tax-
further essentialize this need. Several reports estimate that an   onomical ambiguity and their status is still debatable.
acceptable therapy is available for not more than one-third of
                                                                       In India, basically, two plant species of Selinum named
the known human ailments. Therefore, the fight against dis-
                                                                   S. vaginatum C.B. Clarke and S. wallichianum (DC) Raizada
eases must be carried on relentlessly. Traditional plant medi-     & H.O. Saxena have been dominant in the Himalayan re-
cines still enjoy a significant position in the modern-day drug
                                                                   gion. Selinum spp. also known as Bhutkeshi, Moor, Murva,
industries due to the minor side effects as well as the syner-
                                                                   Muramansi, Mathosal, Nesrawlo are erect, tall, glabrous and
gistic action of the combination of compounds. In this
                                                                   hairy, perennial herb with biennial tubers belonging to fami-
scenario, Selinum has the potential to become a source of
                                                                   ly Apiaceae. The plants find its place in the family Apiaceae
sustainable and suitable resource in drug industries. This
                                                                   (Umbelliferae). Botanical classification of the plants is as
review attempts to probe the same since very little infor-         follows:
mation is available on anatomical, morphological pharmaco-
logical and phytochemical properties of Selinum.
                                                                   Table 1.      Taxonomic classification of Selinum sp. up to the
                                    tio y
2. METHODOLOGY                                                                   kingdom.
                                  bu nl
     A detailed literature survey was conducted from different
                                       n
institutes (NBRI, CIMAP, IITR, CDRI and GBPNIHESD,                    Kingdom:                               Plantae
                               tri O
etc.) to gain an insight into the Selinum and its species. The
literature surveys carried out on the web by means of scientific       Phylum:                            Tracheophyta
engine Google scholar (https://www.google.com/scholar),
                             is e                                       Class:                           Mangnoliopsida
and via the databases, PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
                                  s
pubmed), Science Direct (http://www.sciencedirect.com),                 Order:                               Apiales
                           rD U
by consulting the PubChem (http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/        nal value before pre historic period especially in Ayurveda.
search/#collectioncompounds), and then redrawn using the           The seeds, roots and leaves of Selinum spp. have been used
                        Pe
freeware version of software ACD/ChemSketch (Freeware)             in the preparation of Ayurvedic medicines by several phar-
14.01.                                                             maceutical industries. Oil derived from the roots has
                                                                   leucodermal, hypotensive, incense sedative and analgesic
                                                                   properties [10]. The extracts from rhizomes of Selinum plant
3. BOTANY
                                                                   are used as a stimulant, a bitter tonic, and as antispasmodic
   According to “The Plant list” three species, Selinum            to treat epilepsy, hysteria in Ayurvedic system of medicines
wallichianum (DC.) Raizada & H.O. Saxena (synonym                  [3].
Fig. (1). S. vaginatum (A) and S. tenuifolium (B) in its natural habitat.
Local/common names: Bhutkeshi, Moor, Murva, Muramansi, Mathosal, Nesrawlo, etc.
1124   Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, 2018, Vol. 19, No. 14                                                   Srivastava et al.
    There are approximately 35 species of Selinum distribut-             Multiple environmental signals are required for embryo
ed throughout the world of which only few are resolved.              growth and germination for the seed of S. carvifolia (L) L.
These plants generally grow in temperate regions and alpine          The seeds of S. carvifolia germinated to high percentage
zone of South African and Andean M. The extracts from                when incubated at a variable temperature of 20º/10ºC and
rhizomes of Selinum plant are used as a stimulant, a bitter          15º/6ºC in both light and darkness. Seeds germinated during
tonic mountain slopes rich in humus [11]. Selinum plants are         36 weeks of incubation at 5ºC, 10ºC, 25ºC, 15º/6ºC, and
also distributed in China, Nepal, Bhutan and West Pakistan           20º/10ºC. Increased germination percentage was recorded
[12]. These plants are very common in alpine, subalpine, and         when seeds were transferred to a higher temperature after
temperate Himalayas and occur at an altitude of 2000-4000            cold stratification at 5ºC. The embryo of S. carvifolia elon-
meters, especially available in the western and central Hima-        gated rapidly after seeds were transferred to warmer temper-
layas covering Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, Uttarakhand and            ature conditions following 8 or 12 weeks of cold stratifica-
Sikkim in India, also found in Kangra, Holi range of Cham-           tion. The experiment suggested that the seeds of this species
ba, Parvati valley, Rohtang area of Kullu, Rampur and Rohru          had a physiological dormancy that needs to be broken before
division of Shimla district.                                         the embryo can elongate [17].
    Selinum vaginatum, in general, is an erect, tall, glabrous           Cell and tissue cultures of S. candollii were grown with
and hairy, perennial herb with biennial tubers that can be           and without mineral oil overlay on MS medium supplement-
easily distinguished by its clusters of small, white flowers on      ed with appropriate growth regulators and it was reported
long, thin stems. Selinum spp. are hollow and finely grooved         that the rate of growth and morphogenesis in cultures cov-
with leaf segments that are lanceolate, serrate, lobed or pin-       ered with mineral oil was greatly reduced as compared to the
natifid [13]. The rhizome is stunted and covered with a dense        controls. This lengthened the subculture period from 35-45
                                    tio y
tuft of bristly fibers and approximately 4 cm in length and 2        days to 150-240 days and resulted in significant savings of
                                  bu nl
cm in diameter. The roots are dirty brown, thick up to 15 cm         efforts, material and time. Subsequently, the shelf life of
                                       n
or more in length and 1 cm in diameter. Roots and rhizomes           encapsulated propagules of S. candolii, enhanced from 25-30
                               tri O
of Selinum spp. are strongly aromatic and bitter in taste. The       days to 150-240 days [18]. Somatic embryogenesis of
                                                                     S. candollii DC. was increased under a mineral oil overlay
transverse section of root of S. vaginatum shows outermost
                                                                     and it was found that cell suspension obtained on liquid Mu-
                             is e
cork composed of thin-walled, tangentially elongated cells,
                                                                     rashige & Skoog’s medium supplemented with 4.52 μ M 2,4
phellogen, secretory canals in the primary cortex, parenchy-
                                  s
                                                                     D and 1.16 μ M kinetin when plated on solid medium devoid
ma cells, secondary phloem and xylem. The rhizome depicts
                                                                     of 2,4-D proliferated into a callus and subsequently produced
                           rD U
and large intercellular spaces. Rhizome shows cambial activity       time [10]. Somatic embryogenesis and synthetic seed pro-
so that continuous ring of xylem and phloem are seen [14].           duction in S. tenuifolium Wall. with the help of a mature leaf
                        Pe
    Leaf optical property of S. vaginatum from two different         explant was observed for the first time in Murashige and
altitudes in natural habitat (3600 m) and artificial habitat         Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 3 μM 2, 4 dichloro-
(550 m) at lower altitudes showed some cuticular elevation           phenoxy-acetic acid (2,4 D) containing 3% (w/v) sucrose and
on the upper surface and finer cuticular cristae on the lower        0.7% (w/v) agar that resulted in a significantly higher fre-
surface as compared to those observed in the leaves of plants        quency of callus induction (67%) after 4 weeks of incubation
from higher altitudes (natural habitat). They gave the absorp-       [20].
tance, reflectance and transmittance curves of upper and                 The thermostability of acid phosphatase in S. vaginatum
lower leaves surfaces of two altitudes and found out that            from two different locations (low and high altitude) identi-
absorptivity at all wavelengths was higher in the plants             fied that tropical plants (lower altitude) possessed higher
grown at higher altitude (natural habitat) as compared to            thermos-stability as compared to the species of temperate
those at lower altitude [15].                                        and arctic zone [21].
    The rhizome of S. vaginatum was distinguished on the                 The decomposition patterns of Selinum candollii (Syno-
basis of macroscopic parameters such as organoleptic char-           nyms S. tenuifolium) reported a highly negative correlation
acter, odor and taste which are bitter and quite characteristic.     (r2 = 0.861 to 0.949) between nitrogen (N) concentration and
Microscopic studies revealed that S. vaginatum has broad             percent weight remaining during decomposition. The abso-
cortex having approximately 14-21 layers of cells, with              lute amount of N at various periods was calculated and N
schizogenous canals abundantly present and pith being ab-            was never found more than 100% of initial mass [22].
sent. He studied microscopic characteristics of S. vaginatum              The comparative morphology and anatomy of leaves
and found that its powder is brownish colored with a bitter          stem and roots of S. vaginatum and S. tenuifolium showed a
taste and characteristic odor. The surface view of the rhi-          wide range of inter-altitudinal variations in anatomical and
zome shows schizogenous canals, fragments of fibers, me-             morphological characters. This data can be utilized for iden-
dullary rays and starch grains [16].                                 tification purpose and might be further used in the develop-
Status of Selinum spp. L. A Himalayan Medicinal Plant in India          Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, 2018, Vol. 19, No. 14   1125
ment of regulatory document on this medicinally important           cance in crop improvement program [1]. Some chemical
species [23].                                                       constituents had been identified from S. candollii DC. that
                                                                    were helpful for chemotaxonomic identification of species in
4. PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTIES                                       genus Selinum [5]. The volatile oil from aerial parts of
                                                                    S. tenuifolium was analyzed by GC and GC-MS, and 31
4.1. Antimicrobial Activity                                         components were characterized in the oil, accounting for
    The anti-microbial activity and Minimum Inhibitory              95.16% of the oil. The chemical composition of essential oil
Concentration (MIC) of S. wallichianum essential oil                from underground part of S. tenuifolium Wall. was extracted
(SWEO) was determined, extracted from leaf extract and              by using a Clevenger type apparatus, and analyzed by
tender stem branches on two reference strain of E. coli,            GC/FID and GC/MS, nine constituents were identified repre-
(E3376 and E3382) and 94 bacterial strains of 10 genera             senting 97.7% of the total oil, five of which belonged to the
isolated from the clinical cases, environment and food items        class of polyacetylenes and four compounds namely nona-
and it appeared to be the first report of the potent antimicro-     3,5-diyn-2-one (1), nona-4,6-dine-3-one (2), non-3,5-diyn-2-
bial activity in essential oil of aerial part of S. wallichianum    ol (3) and nona-4,6-diyn-3-ol (4), account for 3.0, 2.5, 2.2
often used by people to cure different ailments [24].               and 3.1% of the total volatiles, respectively [28]. The essen-
                                                                    tial oil of S. candollii revealed twenty constituents compos-
4.2. Antioxidant Activity                                           ing 64.32% of the total essential oil. The aerial parts of S.
                                                                    tenuifolium had α-bisabolol which is an important compo-
    The DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scav-         nent and can be exploited in pharmaceutical and cosmetic
enging activity of Ligusticopsis wallichiana (syn.                  industries. The essential oil from air-dried aerial parts of S.
S. tenuifolium Wall Ex C. B. Clarke) phenolic compound, 3,          tenuifolium had 37 compounds that were identified by using
                                    tio y
5-di-O-caffeoyl-quinic acid and chlorogenic acid showed             GC-FID and GC-MS analysis. Major constituents of essential
                                  bu nl
potent antioxidant activity against DPPH free radical [25].         oil identified included α-bisabolol (71.80%), fernesol (3.50%),
                                       n
The methanolic root extract of S. vaginatum showed a                germacrene D (2.39%), citronellyl propanoate (2.35%), α-
                               tri O
significant amount of phenolic content with an antioxidant          bisabolol oxide B (2.26%), sabinene (2.00%), β-fernesene
property that may be used to break neurological disorder            (1.53%) and limonene (1.21%) etc. [9]. The volatile oil com-
like epilepsy, hysteria, syncope etc. [3]. The isolated com-
                             is e                                   position of S. vaginatum from their underground part had 37
pounds from leaves of L. wallichiana (DC), quercetin 3-O-           constituents that composed 96.4% of the total volatile part as
                                  s
β-D-glucopyranoside and rutin showed potent free radical            revealed by GC/FID and GC/MS [11]. The essential oil
                           rD U
scavenging activity [26].                                           composition from aerial and root parts of S. wallichianum
                                                                    from Munsiyari and Nanital region showed the presence of
4.3. Toxicity                                                       sabinene (31%), β-phellandrene (18.2%), and α-bisabolol
                         Fo al
                                                                                                            The roots of
                                                                                                                                 This is first report regard-
           Mathela et al.       Roots of                                               Preparative      S. tenuifolium were
                                                                                                                                   ing occurrence of 3, 5-
  1.                         S. tenuifolium               3,5-nonadiyne                gas chroma-     collected from Cheena
              (1984)                                                                                                                   nonadiyene in
                                  Wall.                                                 tography       peaks area in Nainital,
                                                                                                                                 S. tenuifolium Wall. roots.
                                                                                                            Uttarakhand
                                                 Bornyl acetate (60.4%), α-Pinene
           Chauhan et al.    Underground                                                 GC/FID         Rohtang pass (4000m        First report of volatile
                                                 (11%), camphene (6.8%), elemol
  2.                        parts of S. vagi-                                                           asl) in Himachal Pra-          composition of
              (2012)                              (3.4%), limonene (2.9%), non-          GC/MS
                                 natum                                                                           desh                   S. vaginatum
                                                         adiyene (1.2%)
                                                  Nona-3,5-diyne (85.6%), nona-          GC/FID                                   A total nine constituents
           Chauhan et al.    Underground         3,5-diyne-2-one (3%), nona-4,6-
                                                                                         GC/MS           Rohtang 4300m asl       representing 97.7% of the
  3.                        parts of S. tenui-    diyne-3-one (2.5%), nona-3,5-
              (2012)                                                                    Clevenger        Himachal Pradesh         total oil were identified
                              folium Wall.       diyne-2-ol (2.2), nona-4,6-diyne-
                                                                                      type apparatus                              and quantified in the oil
                                                            3-ol (3.1%)
                                                                                                                                 S. candollii roots having
                                                     14-Hydroxy-Δ-cadinene                                                       twenty constituents com-
           Chauhan et al.    Underground                                                 GC-FID           Tungnath in Ru-
                                                      (20.59%) & α-pinene
                                         tio y
  4.                                                                                                                              posed of 64.32% of the
              (2012)            parts                                                    GC-MS           draprayag District
                                                            (14.23%)                                                              total essential oil were
                                       bu nl
                                                                                                                                         identified
                                            n
                                                                                                                                   S. tenuifolium collected
                                    tri O
                                                                                                                                    from Niti, Chamoli of
                                                  α-Bisabolol (71.80%), fernesol                       Aerial plant parts col-
                                                                                         GC-FID                                   Garhwal region of Utta-
                                                 (3.56%), germacreneD (2.39%),                           lected at flowering
                                                                                                                                 rakhand is a new source of
           Mohan et al.
                                  is e
                            Air dried aerial     citronellyl propanoate (2.35%),                        stage from naturally
  5.                                                                                                                              α-bisabolol a compound
             (2013)              parts             α-bisabolol oxide B (2.26%),                        growing population of
                                       s
                                                                                                                                   highly appreciated and
                                                    sabenene (2%), β-farnesene                         Niti, Chamoli Uttarak-
                                                                                         GC-MS                                     required in the pharma-
                                                    (1.53%), limonene (1.21%)                                   hand
                                rD U
hydrolysis product of selinidin gave rise to selinitin [34].                         derivative [3]. The rhizome of Selinum vaginatum reported
Two new coumarin constituents were isolated from                                     ample quantity of valerenic acid [17].
S. vaginatum named selinidin and vaginidin and three known
coumarin compounds angelicin, oroselol and lomatin. The                              5.5. Other Compounds
molecular formula of selinidin and vaginitin are C19H20O5
                                                                                         The structure of two new (1, 2) and ten known com-
and C19H22O6 respectively [35]. Three furanocoumarins,
                                                                                     pounds (3-12) from the roots of Ligusticopsis wallichiana
bergapten, heracelenin, and heraclenol were isolated from                            (DC) Pimenov & Kljuykov (syn. S. tenuifolium Wall. Ex C.
the roots of S. tenuifolium and another coumarin from the                            B. Clarke, S. wallichianum (DC) Raizada & Saxena) and 1,
same source provisionally designated as ST-1 that has been                           1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging
proved to be a mixture of imperatorin and 8-geranyloxy-                              activity of the isolated compounds was analyzed. Two new
psolaren by analysis of various reaction products [36].                              diacetylene glycosides named bhutkesoside A (1) and
                                                                                     bhutkesoside B (2) along with ten known compounds named
5.4. Phenolic Compounds                                                              falcarindiol (3), chlorogenic acid (4), 5-O-p-coumarylquinic
   Phenolic profile and antioxidant activity of S. vaginatum                         acid (5), 3,5-di-O-caffeoyl-quinic acid (6), 4-hydroxy-7-
revealed antioxidant polyphenolics, named chlorogenic acid                           methoxy-phenylethanol (7), ferulic acid (8), dehydro-
and ferulic acid in the methanolic extract of S. vaginatum                           diconiferyl alcohol 4-O-β-glucopyranoside (9), 5,7-dihyroxy-
and also indicated the presence of hydroxyl-cinnamic acid                            2-methylchromone-7-O-rutinoside (10), schumanniofioside
Status of Selinum spp. L. A Himalayan Medicinal Plant in India                         Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, 2018, Vol. 19, No. 14     1127
                                                                                        Structure Identification
 Sr. No.         References              Plant Parts Used        Extraction Method                                     Major Isolated Compounds
                                                                                              Techniques
                                                                                                                                  Selinidin,
                                                                  Petroleum ether        TLC & UV-visible spec-                   Oroselol,
    2.      Sheshadri et al. (1966)   Roots of S. vaginatum
                                                                      extract                   trum                   Angelicin and coumarin ester
                                                                                                                                 Selinidin
             Sheshadri and Sood       Roots of S. vaginatum                             NMR &Column chroma-                     Angilicin and
    3.                                                           Benzene extraction
                   (1967)                    Clarke                                          tography                     A Flavanone (Selinone)
                                                                                                1
                                      Roots of S. carvifolium                                       H-NMR
    4.      Lemmich et al. (1971)                                 Ether extraction                                  New ester terpene & terpene alcohols
                                                L.                                       UV & IR spectra & MS
                                     tio y
                   (1974)
                                                                         tion                                            Heraclenol and Coumarin
                                   bu nl
                                        n
                                                                                                                             Angelin, oroselol,
                                tri O
             Sheshadri and Sood                                   Petroleum ether        UV, IR & NMR spectral
    6.                                Roots of S. vaginatum                                                                       lomatin,
                   (1996)                                             extract                   studied
                                                                                                                            Selidinin, vaginidin
                              is e
                                      Roots of S. cryptotaeni-   Extracted with 95%           HRESIMS &               Secryptotaenint, melissic acid, β-
                                   s
    7.        (Rao et al. (2003)
                                                um               EtOH (61 3 times)                   NMR                       sitosterol, etc.
                            rD U
    9.      (Devkota et al. (2018)    Kljukov (syn. S. tenui-    were extracted with            1                        methylquercetin 3-O-β-D-
                                                                                                    H-NMR
                                       folium Wall. ex C.B.         70% MeOH.                                       glucopyranoside, scopoletin, umbel-
                                                                                                13
                                             Clarke)                                                 C-NMR               liferone, eugenol 4-O-β-D-
                                                                                                                     glucopyranoside and pumilaside A
B (11) and marmesinin (12) were isolated from the roots                         and a eudesmane sesquiterpene glucoside, pumilaside A
[24]. The occurrence of 3, 5-nondiyne was reported from the                     were reported first time from the leaves of L. wallichiana
roots of S. tenuifolium Wall. [37]. The chemical constituents                   (DC) [25].
of S. cryptotaenium and a new pyranocoumarin, named
secryptotaenin A (1), with 13 known compounds                                   6. TRADITIONAL USES
umbelleferone (2), osthol (3), coumurrayin (4), (+)- heraclenol
(5), longshengensin A (6), anomalin (7), ferulic acid (8),                          The essential oil component of S. tenuifolium extracted
galactilol (9), stearic acid (10), melissic acid (11), lingoceric               from fresh leaves and flowers have been used as aroma addi-
acid (12), β-sitosterol (13) and daucosterol were isolated                      tives in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics [4]. The genus
from this plant for the first time [38]. The occurrence of                      possesses antispasmodic and diuretic properties. The smoke
valerenic acid was reported from rhizome of S. vaginatum                        product of S. tenuifolium has been used for killing or repel-
with the help of accurate high performance thin layer chro-                     ling insects. Aerial parts of S. tenuifolium were useful as
matography (TLC) [39]. The non-volatile compounds; a                            stimulant and carminative, whereas essential oil of the roots
benzofuran derivative, cnidioside A; three flavonoid deriva-                    showed antimicrobial and antibacterial properties [28].
tives, quercetin 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (1), rutin (2), and                    S. vaginatum has been used in various traditional herbal
4′-O-methylquercetin 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (3); two                           medicines to treat neurological disorders like epilepsy, hyste-
coumarin derivatives, scopoletin (1) and umbelliferone (2); a                   ria, syncope, convulsions and mental weakness [3]. Other
phenylpropene derivative eugenol 4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside                        Selinum spp. have been used in the treatment of different
1128        Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, 2018, Vol. 19, No. 14                                                                                   Srivastava et al.
Table 4. Identification of structure elucidation of natural compound found in Selinum sp. in chronological order.
CH3
                                                                                            O
                                                                          H3C                                   O
                           Seshadri et al. (1964)                                     O                                               A new Coumarin isolated from
       1.
                                                                                                                                             S. vaginatum
                                                                                    H3C
                                                                                                    O
                                                                                       H3C
                                                                                          Selinidin(І)
                                                                                                                O
HO
                                         tio y
                                                                                           O
                                                                                                                                      Coumarins found in the roots of
                                       bu nl
       2.                  Seshadri et al. (1966)                                          Oroselol
                                                                                                                                              S. vaginatum
                                            n
                                    tri O
                                  is e                                          O                       O            O
                                       s
                                                                                          Angelicin
                                rD U
                                                                                                                O         OH
                              Fo al
                            ot on
                                                               H3 C
                             Pe
                                                                                           Selinone
                                                                                                            O
                                                                                                    O
                                                                                      O
                                                                                                                    CH3
                                                                                                                                    A crystalline sequiterpene obtained
       4.                    Mesta et al. (1968)                                                                                     from roots of S. vaginatum C.B
                                                                                                                                                   Clarke
                                                                                          HO
                                                                            H3C
                                                                                           CH3
                                                                                          Vaginatin
                                                                                                O
H3C
                                                                                                        CH3
                                                                            2,3,4-trimethyl-benzaldehyde
(Table 4) Contd....
Status of Selinum spp. L. A Himalayan Medicinal Plant in India                           Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, 2018, Vol. 19, No. 14    1129
                                                                                         CH3
                                                                                     O
                                                                                               O       O
                                                                                 Bergapten
                                                                                         H3C
                                                                                                   O
                                                                                  H3C
Heraclenin
                                    tio y
                                                                                         HO        OH
                                  bu nl
                                       n
                               tri O
                                                                                           O
                             is e                                 O           O                        O
                                  s
                                                                                 Heraclenol
                           rD U
                                                                                                   O
                         Fo al
                                                                                               O
                       ot on
                                                                       HO
                      N rs
                                                                   H3C               O
                                                                     H3C
                        Pe
                                                                 H3C                      O
                                                                             O
                                                                   O             O                     O
Vaginidin
O O O
                                                                                     O
                                                                            Secryptotaenin A
                                                                                                                                         (Table 4) Contd....
1130        Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, 2018, Vol. 19, No. 14                                                                           Srivastava et al.
                                                                                               CH3
                                                                                           H
                                                                                               O         OH
                                                                                      Valerenic acid
                                                                                                         C           CH3
                                                                                                     C
                                                                                               C
                                                                                       C
                                                                 H3C
                                                                                      Nona-3,5-diyne
                                                                                                                 O
                                         tio y
                                       bu nl
                                                                                                          C          CH3
                                            n
                                                                                                     C
                                    tri O
                                                                                               C
                                                                                       C
                                                                H3C
                                  is e
                                                                                Nona-3,5-diyn-2-one                         Five Poly acetylene extracted from
                                       s
    10.                    Chauhan et al. (2012)                 H3 C                                                       the underground parts of S. tenuifo-
                                                                                                                                        lium Wall
                                rD U
                                                                                       C       C     C       C
                                                                           O                                         CH3
                              Fo al
                                                                                Nona-4,6-diyn-3-one
                                                                 HO                                                  CH3
                            ot on
                                                                               C       C       C     C
                                                                 H2C
                           N rs
                                                                                   Nona-3,5-diyn-2-ol
                                                                  H3C
                             Pe
                                                                                       C       C     C    C
                                                                          HO                                         CH3
                                                                                   Nona-4,6-diyn-3-ol
OH
                                                                  HO                               O
                                                                   HO
                                                                                           OH
                                                                                      Bhutkesoside A
                                                                                                                             Dried roots of Ligusticopsis wal-
                                                                                                                            lichianum (DC) Pimenov & Kljuy-
    11.                    Adhikari et al. (2015)                                                                             kov (syn. S. tenuifolium ex C.B.
                                                                                               O                            Clarke, S. wallichianum (DC) Rai-
                                                                                                         O             OH
                                                                                                                                      zada & Saxena)
                                                                                                                       O
                                                                                                                  O
                                                                                                                  OH
                                                                                                                 OH OH
                                                                                      Bhutkesoside B
(Table 4) Contd....
Status of Selinum spp. L. A Himalayan Medicinal Plant in India                                      Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, 2018, Vol. 19, No. 14          1131
CH2 CH2
                                                                                   HO                     O         O
                                                                                         Scopoletin
                                                                                        OH
                                         tio y
                                                                                                                                       First time isolated from the leaves
                                                                                                                                       of L. wallichianum (DC) Pimenov
                                       bu nl
                                                                                   HO           H
    13.                    Devkota et al. (2018)                                                     OGlc                              & Kljuykov (syn. S. tenuifolium ex
                                            n
                                                                                        Pumilaside A                                   C.B. Clarke, S. wallichianum (DC)
                                    tri O
                                                                                                                                               Raizada & Saxena.
                                                                                                            OH
                                                                                                                    OCH3
                                  is e s
                                                                       HO                   O
                                rD U
                                                                                                       OGlc
                              Fo al
                                                                                   OH       O
                                                                    4`-O-methylquercetin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside
                            ot on
Table 5.     Identification of traditional uses of different parts of Selinum sp. and their biological activities.
                           N rs
Activities
                                  S. wallichianum (DC) Raizada &                                            Oil derived from roots has leucodermal, hypotensive, incense,
     Joshi et al. (2005)                                                  Whole plant and roots
                                               Saxena                                                        analgesic properties and roots are used as nervine sedative.
     Joshi et al. (2006)                 S. tenuifolium Wall.                       Roots                                  Used in hypotension and sedative.
  Srivastava et al. (2010)                   S. vaginatum                           Roots                               Valerenic acid used an anti-inflammatory.
                                                                                                            Hypotension, as sedative aphrodisiac and has analgesic prop-
    Vineet et al. (2011)              S. vaginatum C.B. Clarke                      Roots
                                                                                                                                       erties.
                                                                                                              Showed anti-bacterial properties and smoke produced from
   Chauhan et al. (2012)                 S. tenuifolium Wall.                       Roots
                                                                                                                   the roots used for killing or repelling insects.
                                                                                                              It has aromatic anti-spasmodic, diuretic properties and also
   Chauhan et al. (2012)                     S. vaginatum                      Whole plant
                                                                                                                         used as flavor and fragrance purpose.
                                                                                                            Used as an incense and therapeutics in common ailment like
    Singh et al. (2012)                 S. wallichianum (DC)                   Whole plant
                                                                                                            cold, cough, fever, wounds, stomachache and toothache etc.
   Chauhan et al. (2012)                      S. candollii                     Whole plant                    Produces strong smell due to the presence of essential oil.
                                                                                                            Root decoction is useful in diarrhea, cuts, wounds and vomit-
                                     S. tenuifolium Wall. ex C.B.
    Mohan et al. (2013)                                                      Roots and fruits               ing. The mixture of root powder with mustard oil used to cure
                                                 Clarke
                                                                                                                                       swelling.
(Table 5) Contd....
1132     Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, 2018, Vol. 19, No. 14                                                                      Srivastava et al.
kinds of diseases, like root decoction that is useful for diar- jatamansi belonging to the family Caprifoliaceae [3]. Several
                                           tio y
rhea, cuts and wound, fever, stomachache and vomiting. The                       reports on anatomy, morphology and chemistry of
                                         bu nl
mixture of root powder and mustard oil has been used to cure                     S. vaginatum are available, S. wallichianum seems to be little
                                              n
swelling, which develops after delivery in women [9]. The                        worked out. However, the recent report on new of
                                      tri O
roots of S. wallichianum were used to treat body pain, fever,                    S. wallichianum opens vistas for identification of species
cough and cold and flower and leaves are used in stomach                         paving a way for resolving the status of several unresolved
                                    is e
ache, cuts and wounds. S. wallichianum has been traditional-                     Selinum species. The previous research on phytochemical
ly used in making of incense and as therapeutic in common                        and pharmacological studies substantiates that the various
                                         s
ailments like cough, cold fever, wounds, stomachache and                         compounds isolated from different parts of Selinum plant
                                  rD U
toothache, etc. [23]. The oil from the roots of S. tenuifolium                   retain various pharmacological activities like antimicrobial,
had hypotensive, aromatic, sedative and analgesic properties,                    anticancerous, antispasmodic, antioxidant and anti-
the whole plant or its root being used as nervine sedative and                   inflammatory. The presence of various alkaloids, coumarins,
                                Fo al
offered as a substitute for the species Nardostachys                             essential oils, flavonoids and polyacetylenes and other con-
jatamansi DC [16]. The seeds, leaves and roots of                                stituents showed that further studies are needed to gain an
                              ot on
S. wallichianum were used in the preparation of Ayurvedic                        insight into detailed biochemical and physiological mecha-
medicine by pharmaceutical businesses and as spice and                           nism responsible for the therapeutic effect of Selinum spp.
                             N rs
fodder by rural inhabitants [10]. S. cryptotaenium roots have                    More than 20 compounds have been isolated so far and iden-
been used as the Chinese traditional drug “Qian-Hu” which                        tified using different separation tools and techniques, how-
is used for the treatment of many ailments such as cough,                        ever, extensive or in-depth pharmacological studies of these
                               Pe
bronchitis, asthma and so on [40]. The roots of S. vaginatum                     compounds are lacking. Most of the pharmacological studies
formed an aromatic drug, used in the fumigation of houses                        conducted have used uncharacterized crude extracts of the
[41].                                                                            plant prepared with organic solvents. It is difficult to repro-
                                                                                 duce results from these studies because of the unknown
CONCLUSION                                                                       chemical constituents used. Thus, there is a need for
                                                                                 bioassay-guided identification to pinpoint bioactive com-
    Many medicinally active species of Selinum are available                     pounds. Furthermore, there is also a need for more advanced
all over the world. Phytochemicals from these species are                        research on their chemistry and pharmacological properties
being characterized and tested for their biological activities                   both in vivo and in vitro. Additionally, further investigation
and these may be beneficially used for the treatment of dif-                     is needed to provide more effective and persuasive evidence
ferent types of ailments. These plants can be a potential                        for other traditional uses of this species in the treatment of
source of many antibacterial, anti-fungal, insecticidal, anti-                   various kinds of diseases and ailments such as dysentery,
oxidant, anti- repellent, anti-cancerous, anti-feeding, anti-                    diarrhea and irregular menstruation etc. The data available
inflammatory and anti-plasmodial compounds, etc. This re-                        thus far, together with phytochemistry and pharmacology
view article summarizes botany, pharmacological, pharma-                         potential of this plant, brings to light the therapeutic potential
cognostic and pharmaceutical properties of natural com-                          of Selinum spp., which can be used as an alternative medi-
pounds in Selinum spp. found in India and their uses. It also                    cine for some of the important ailments affecting humans.
highlights the importance of this plant in Indian medicinal                      There is very little reported on the pharmacological activity
system for exploitation as a potent drug and the current sta-                    correlated or assigned to a particular chemical component. It
tus of Selinum spp. with a comprehensive summary of vari-                        needs to be mentioned here that no clinical trials have been
ous natural compounds, uses and recent findings of research                      conducted so far and hence no dose administration has been
into its processing, phytochemistry and pharmacology. The                        determined. At the same time, no toxicity or related adverse
plant is being used as an alternative source of Nardostachys                     effects have been reported till date. The present review gives
Status of Selinum spp. L. A Himalayan Medicinal Plant in India                         Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, 2018, Vol. 19, No. 14       1133
only a preliminary insight into the uses and pharmacological                    [6]      NBN Atlas, 2017. Threatened Species List: Red List Great Britain
activities of Selinum spp. in India, and while such activities                           2001. Availbale from: https://lists.nbnatlas.org/speciesListItem/list/
                                                                                         (Accessed May 12, 2018).
can support the therapeutic potential of this plant, clinical                   [7]      Chawla, A.; Rajkumar, S.; Singh, K.N.; Lal, B.; Singh, R.D.;
trials are a must to establish the same.                                                 Thukral, A.K. Plant species diversity along an altitudinal gradient
                                                                                         of Bhabha Valley in western Himalaya. J. Mountain Sci., 2018,
ADULTERANT                                                                               5(2), 157-177.
                                                                                [8]      IUCN, 2018. The IUCN Red List of Threatened species. Available
   The rhizomes and roots of the plants have been of im-                                 from: http://www.iucnredlist.org/search (Accessed May 14, 2018).
                                                                                [9]      Mohan, M.; Singh, P.; Gupta, V.K.; Lohani, H.; Gupta, S. Chemi-
mense medicinal value and therefore, studies in present and                              cal composition of Selinum tenuifolium Wall ex CB Clarke: A new
past are more focused on its chemistry. Selinum spp. are used                            source of α-bisabolol from North-Western Himalaya. J. Essen. Oil
as an adulterant of Nardostachys sp. because of similar es-                              Bea. Plants, 2013, 16(4), 439-442.
sential oil composition and morphological characters of roots                   [10]     Joshi, M.; Rawal, R.S.; Dhar, U. Breaking seed dormancy of Seli-
and rhizome.                                                                             num wallichianum, a medicinal plant of the Himalaya. Seed Tech.,
                                                                                         2006, 28(1), 87-92.
                                                                                [11]     Chauhan, R.S.; Nautiyal, M.C.; Gilles, F.; Chalard, P. Volatile
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS                                                                    composition of underground parts of Selinum vaginatum and possi-
                                                                                         ble uses. J. Chem. Nat. Compd., 2012, 48, 901-902.
DPPH         = 2, 2-Diphenyl-1-Picryl Hydrazyl                                  [12]     Himalayan voices. Himalayan Voices is a non-profit initiative, the
                                                                                         goal being to create awareness on the Himalayas
2,4D         = 2,4dichloro-phenoxy-acetic acid                                           www.himalayanvoices.org/sites/default/Selinum%20tenuifolium.
GC/FID       = Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization De-                                   (Accessed April 24, 2018).
                                                                                [13]     Himalayan voices. Himalayan Voices is a non-profit initiative, the
               tector                                                                    goal being to create awareness on the Himalayas Availbale from:
                                      tio y
GC/MS        = Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry                                      www.himalayanvoices.org/sites/default/Selinum%20vaginatum.
                                                                                         (Accessed: April 24, 2018).
                                    bu nl
IUCN         = International Union for Conservation of Na-                      [14]     Mehra, P.N.; Jolly, S.S. The identity and pharmacognosy of adul-
                                         n
               ture and Natural Resources                                                terant of Nardostachys jatamansi DC. Planta Med., 1963, 11(1), 8-
                                 tri O
                                                                                         15.
MAPs         = Medicinal and Aromatic Plants                                    [15]     Purohit, A.N.; Nautiyal, A.R.; Thapliyal, P. Leaf optical property
                                                                                         of an alpine perennial herb Selinum vaginatum Clarke grown at two
MS
                               is e
             = Murashige and Skoog                                                       alititudes. Biol. Plant, 1998, 30(5), 373-378.
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                                    s
MeHg         = Methylmercury                                                             the Jatamansi, their substitute and adulterant species. Ind. J. Trad.
                             rD U
      Not applicable.
                                                                                         (Apiaceae). Seed Sci. Res., 2007, 17, 283-291.
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                         ot on
CONFLICT OF INTEREST                                                                     Growth and morphogenesis of plant tissue cultures under mineral-
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   The authors declare no conflict of interest, financial or                    [19]     Mathur, J. Enhanced somatic embryogenesis in Selinum candollii
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                                                                                         DC. under a mineral oil overlay. Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cul.,
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                                     tio y
                                   bu nl
                                        n
                                tri O
                              is e s
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                            rD U
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