In Ayurveda, Boerhavia diffusa (BD) is categorised as a plant of rasayana
category and it is an important herbal constituent of various Ayurvedic formulations
including Chyawanprash. It is a plant with tremendous widespread use .This perennial
creeping weed is commonly known by the name “punarnava” which literally
translates as “rejuvenator”. The whole plant as well as its different
parts (leaves, roots and stems) and plant extracts have been widely used in various
traditional and folklore systems of medicine for treatment of various ailments.
In Ayurvedic texts, many formulations of different types contain it as major ingredient.
The whole plant of B. diffusa fresh or dried is the source of the drug punarnava
in Ayurvedic medicine system.
Boerhavia diffusa is prominent source of medicinally important natural
compounds. Boerhavia diffusa is believed to have therapeutic effect in
many disease conditions. In Ayurveda, it has been classified as “rasayana”
ayurvedic herb which is said to possess properties like antiaging, preserving
youthfulness, strengthening life and increases immunity. The extracts obtained from the leaves of the plant are
known to contain antioxidants. Purnanava is effective as an anti bacterial and especially
the leaf and root extracts of B. diffusa have been found to have antimicrobial activity
against several bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites. It provides protection against
the common Gram negative bacteria. Boerhavia diffusa is known to exert
a positive effect on the adaptability of an organism against any type of stress-
physical, chemical, or biological. With many essential amino acids it is also considered
to be a good nutritional supplement.
Boerhavia diffusa is a plant of repute in traditional systems of medicine in various
parts of world. It contains diverse chemical compounds which have shown multiple
therapeutic activities.
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Reference:
- Mishra, Shikha et al. “Phytochemical, Therapeutic, and Ethnopharmacological
Overview for a Traditionally Important Herb:Boerhavia Diffusa ” BioMed
Research International 2014 (2014): 808302. PMC. Web.
31 Jan. 2017.
- Phytopharmajournal.com
- BioMed Research International. Volume 2014 (2014), Article ID 808302, 19 pages.
Phytochemical, Therapeutic, and Ethnopharmacological Overview for a Traditionally
Important Herb: Boerhavia diffusa Linn. Shikha Mishra