OVERVIEW OF INDIAN MEDICINAL TREE: BAMBUSA BAMBOS (DRUCE)

India has a great wealth of various naturally occurring plant drugs which have a great potential for pharmacological activities. Bambusa bambos family Graminae is highly reputed Ayurvedic medicinal tree commonly known as bamboo. It is tall sized tree growing throughout India. It also occurs in Srilanka, Malaya, Peru and Myanmar. Bambusa bambos has been proven to have great pharmacological potential with a great utility and usage as folklore medicine. It is widely used in folk medicine for its anti-inflammatory, astringent, laxative, diuretic, anti-ulcer, anti-arthritic, anti-obesity and abortifacient activities. The various chemical constituents reported in this plant are oxalic acid, chorogenic acid, ferulicacid,coumeric acid, protocatechuic acid, vanillinic acid, caffeic acid, reducing sugars, resins, waxes, hydrogen cyanide (HCN), benzoic acid, diferuloylarabinoxylanhexasaccharide, diferuloyl oligosaccharide, (5, 5’-di-(diferul9,9’-dioyl)-[α-L-arabinofuranosyl-(1→3)-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl-9-(1→4)-D-xylopyranose] (taxiphyllin), arginine, cysteine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenlyamine, threonine, valine, tyrosine, niacin, riboflavin, thiamine, betain, choline, proteolytic enzymes, nuclease, urease. Pharmacological evaluation of various parts of the plant have demonstrated antioxidant, anthelminthic, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer, anti-diabetic, anti-bacterial, anti-fertility, hypothermic, anti-thyroid anti-tumour and ecbolic activities. Various phyto-pharmacological evaluations have been reported in this literature which indicates the potential of Bambusa bambos as a therapeutic agent. This review mainly focuses on traditional, botanical, phytochemical and pharmacological information of Bambusa bambos