Ethnobotanical survey of genus Leucas

Plants of genus Leucas (Lamiaceae) are widely distributed throughout Asia, Africa and India. The plant is used in traditional medicine to cure many diseases such as cough, cold, diarrhea and inflammatory skin disorder. A variety of phytoconstituents have been isolated from the Leucas species, which include lignans, flavonoids, coumarins, steroids, terpenes, fatty acids and aliphatic long-chain compounds. Anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-diarrheal, antimicrobial, antioxidant and insecticidal activities have been reported in the extracts of these plants and their phytoconstituents. An overview of the ethnobotanical, phytochemical and pharmacological investigations on the Leucas species is presented in this review.