REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1665446
Ethnomedicinal, phytochemical, pharmacological, and conservation studies of an endangered plant: The Desert Teak (Tecomella undulata (Sm.) Seem.)
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Banasthali University, Vanasthali, India
- 2Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Banasthali Vidyapith, Rajasthan, India, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Banasthali University, Vanasthali, India
- 3University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Tecomella undulata (Sm.) Seem, an endangered plant, is native to India, Afghanistan, Iran, Oman, and Pakistan. Traditionally, in India, the stem bark is commonly used for the treatment of leucorrhoea, pain, sexual disorders, digestive disorders, eczema, and skin infections. On the other hand, in Pakistan, both flowers and stem bark are used as a remedy for different ailments (hepatitis, jaundice, sexual disorders, anorexia, constipation, and menstrual disorders). Phenolic metabolites and their derivatives, flavonoids, steroids, alkaloids, terpenoids, fatty acids and their derivatives, quinones, are the primary bioactive metabolites identified from this plant using different spectral and chromatographic techniques.T. undulata possesses hepatoprotective, antimicrobial, analgesic, antidiabetic, antioxidant, anti-obesity, acaricidal, and miticidal activities. However, these bioactivities have been partially validated scientifically.Thus, comprehensive reports exploring the mechanism of action of plant extracts/ metabolites are needed to ascertain the therapeutic effect of T. undulata. Use of plants in Ayurvedic formulations, as a source of timber, and in a few patents highlights their commercial importance. Preliminary toxicity studies suggest that the plant is reasonably safe; however, more in-depth data from animal models and clinical studies are needed to confirm its safety.There are a few reports on the micropropagation of this endangered plant, which can be used as a conservation strategy. Being included in the Red Data Book, it becomes imperative to explore its tissue culture for the sustainable production of lead bioactive metabolites. Overall, this review compiles information on the ethnomedicinal uses, bioactive metabolites, pharmacology, commercial applications, toxicity, and micropropagation of T. undulata for further exploitation of the plant as a therapeutic agent.
Keywords: T. undulata, Endangered plant, Ethnomedicine, Pharmacology, phytochemistry, conservation
Received: 14 Jul 2025; Accepted: 07 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Vats, Bhandari and Ganie. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Sharad Vats, vats_sharad@yahoo.co.in
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.