Gloriosa superba, ext. Usage And Synthesis

Anticancer Research

G. superba, a perennial semi-woody herbaceous climber of the Liliaceae family, isused as an Ayurvedic medicinal herb to treat various diseases (Ashokkumar 2015).The medicinal properties of the plant are due to presence of alkaloids, mainly colchicineand gloriosine. The rhizomes and seeds contain colchicine, isoperlolyrine,and related tropolane alkaloids, β-sitosterol and its glucoside, 2-hydroxy 6-methoxybenzoic acid. It is used for curing gout, arthritis, inflammation, rheumatism, ulcers,skin diseases, bleeding piles, leprosy, snakebites, and impotency (Jana andShekhawat 2011). The hydroalcoholic extract of G. superba evaluated against thelung cancer cell lines showed anticancer activity (Santny 2016).