Pharmacognostic study of Sphaeranthus indicus Linn.: A Review

Sphaeranthus indicus Linn. has the vernacular name of, “Mundi” and “East Indian globethistle, family Asteraceae. It is a spreading aromatic herb. It is indigenous at Rater of Chhindwara District, M.P and even found in most of the moist damp places of tropical zones of Garhwal Himalaya. The herbs contain a deep cherry coloured essential oil and a bitter alkaloid Sphaeranthine. It also contains many other active ingredients, namely, eudesmenolide-7α- hydroxy eudesm-4-en-6, 12-olide, 2-hydroxycostic acid, β-eudesmol, ilicic acid, methychavicol, α-ionone, d-cadinene, α-terpinene, citral, geraniol, geranyl acetate, sphaerene, indicusene and sphaeranthol. The herb has been investigated for many diseases and used in ethnomedicne. The review of this medicinal plant can revealed some important and valuable information with respect to pharmacognostical, phytochemical and pharmacological aspects. The main objective of this paper is to gather some valuable information with respect to its standardization, which has been done along with active ingredients by some researchers.