Catunaregam spinosa (Thunb.) Tirveng: A Review of Traditional Uses, Phytochemistry, Pharmacological Activities, and Toxicological Aspects

Catunaregam spinosa (Thunb.) Tirveng. (Syn. Randia dumetorum (Retz.) Lam.), belonging to the Rubiaceae family, is distributed in south Asian countries. It is used as a traditional medicine to treat gastrointestinal and hepatic problems and as an anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agent. The main aim of this review is to collect and analyze the available scientific information on traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacological activities of C. spinosa. The scientific information related to C. spinosa was collected from various resources and databases such as SciFinder, Scopus, PubMed, and other databases. C. spinosa was found to be an important crude drug of the traditional medicinal systems such as Ayurveda. It was found to be used by the people of India as an alternative medicine, while the fruit of this plant was found to be used in dietary regimens as well. Active phytochemicals such as catunarosides, randianin, and several other saponins and triterpenoids possess various pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, antibacterial, and immunomodulatory activities. Many studies have been performed to isolate the active compounds; however, there is a need for more activity-guided isolation studies. Various in vitro studies showed promising results but there are not many studies related to mechanism of actions using animal models. Hence, future studies on C. spinosa should focus on correlating the traditional uses with active phytoconstituents and modern pharmacological activities.