A Complete Profile on Blind-your-eye Mangrove Excoecaria agallocha L. (Euphorbiaceae): Ethnobotany, Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Aspects

Traditional system of medicine consists of large number of plants with various medicinal and pharmacological importances. This article provides a comprehensive review of the complete profile of an important mangrove plant Excoecaria agallocha L. (Euphorbiaceae) and elaborately describing the ethnobotany, phytochemistry and pharmacological properties. It is used traditionally in the treatment of various diseases such as epilepsy, ulcers, leprosy, rheumatism and paralysis. The latex obtained from the bark is poisonous in nature and may cause temporary blindness, thus it is also known as the blind-your-eye mangrove plant. Many phytoconstituents were isolated from the plant, which were mainly diterpenoids, triterpenoids, flavonoids, sterols and few other compounds. The plant also showed many pharmacological activities such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antiulcer, anticancer, antireverse transcriptase, antihistamine-release, antifilarial, DNA damage protective, antidiabetic and antitumor protecting activities. Hence, this review could help guide researchers anticipating to undertake further investigations in these directions.