Sansevieria roxburghiana Schult. & Schult. F., Agavaceae: phytochemistry, traditional uses and its pharmacological activities - a review

Sansevieria roxburghiana is a stem less evergreen perennial plant commonly known as “Indian bowstring-hemp”. It has various traditional uses and recently various pharmacological uses are pursuing. Traditionally it is used as a cardiotonic, expectorant, febrifuge, purgative, tonic in glandular enlargement and rheumatism etc. The plant is known to possess antitumor, antibacterial, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, anticancer, antioxidant and analgesic activity. It contains carbohydrates, alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, carotenoids gallic acid, palmitic acid, caftaric acid, isorahmnitin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, buphanidine, diethyl phthalate, 6-methyl-1-octanol, 3,3-dimethylhexanal, proteins, and phytosterols. It also contains a rare homoisoflavonoid Cambodianol. Peer-reviewed articles on S. roxburghiana were acquired on Scopus, scholar, Researchgate, ScienceDirect and SciFinder, there was no specific timeline set for the search. A focus group discussion was held with different communities in satkhira to further understand ethnobotanical uses of the plant. This review is an attempt to provide a comprehensive overview of the ethnobotany, phytochemistry and biological activity of Sansevieria roxburghiana in a succinct form so that curious researchers get all about the medicinal properties of Sansevieria roxburghiana at a glance and possibly make recommendations for further research.