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Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth.: Kutki

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Immunity Boosting Medicinal Plants of the Western Himalayas

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Abstract

Immuno-stimulation is the generation of non-specific immunological responses to boost the immune system. Allopathy medicines cause enormous number of adverse effects and are extremely expensive. Thus, searching for new therapeutic modalities which should target the host’s weakened immune status might serve as a potential alternative. Consequently, herbal immunostimulants are now viewed as an effective, superior, and non-toxic choice for treatment of fatal ailments and related complications. The natural compounds crack the ideology of most dangerous and unbeaten health issues. The Western Himalayas has a diverse range of medicinal plants and Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth. are the most popular herbs of this region. Various parts of the Picrorhiza kurroa contain a remarkable number of secondary metabolites. Among the active phytoconstituents, iridoid glycosides like picrosides and kutkoside are in clinical trials as hepatoprotective and antitumor. It has wide therapeutic potential against bronchitis, malaria, dysentery, asthma, and hepatitis. This plant is utilized for the upgrading of digestion, hepatoprotection, dermal complications like vitiligo, gastric ulcers, neuralgia, and rheumatoid arthritis. This herb has been classified among the plants which are in danger of extinction due to extensive utilization, slower growth of plant and lack of knowledge about plant cultivation and uprooting. This review aims to present the phytochemistry, pharmaceutical potential, safety, and toxicity of P. kurroa.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Mata Gujri College, Fatehgarh Sahib, India

    Kamalpreet Kaur

  2. Department of Zoology, Mata Gujri College, Fatehgarh Sahib, India

    Gurpreet Kaur

  3. Department of Botany, Mata Gujri College, Fatehgarh Sahib, India

    Vijay Singh

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  1. Kamalpreet Kaur
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  2. Gurpreet Kaur
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  3. Vijay Singh
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  1. Department of Chemistry, Chandigarh University, Mohali, Punjab, India

    Ajay Sharma

  2. Department of Food Science & Technology, Government Degree College, Shopian, Shopian, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Gulzar Ahmad Nayik

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Kaur, K., Kaur, G., Singh, V. (2023). Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth.: Kutki. In: Sharma, A., Nayik, G.A. (eds) Immunity Boosting Medicinal Plants of the Western Himalayas. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-9501-9_15

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