Botanical and phyto-pharmacological reports on Stephania japhonica

Medicinal plants play a key role in the human health. The use of plants, plant parts and their derived products is ancient. To date, a number of medicinal plants have gained attention of the medicinal scientists for their important phytoconstituents and in the treatment of various diseases. The plants of the genus Stephania (Family: Menispermaceae) are widely distributed, and are being used in the folk medicine for the treatment of various ailments, such as asthma, tuberculosis, fever, dysentery, hyperglycemia, malaria, and cancer. Stephania japonica belonging to this genus has been reported for many important phytochemicals and folk usages in the treatment of fever, diarrhea, dyspepsia, convulsions, skin diseases, cough, asthma, and urinary disorders. The scientific evidences suggest that, S. japonica has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, cytotoxic, anti-diabetic, anti-diarrheal, and analgesic activities. This review presents a current morphological and phyto-pharmacological scenario on this hopeful medicinal plant.