Cleome viscosa Linn: A natural source of pharmaceuticals and pesticides

Abstract

Cleome viscosa is an indigenous medicinal plant that shows large seasonal biodiversity in Northâ€Western states of India. It is a common weed mainly found in crop fields, in waste lands, wet and grassy places all over the plains of India. Plant bears yellow flowers and long slender pods containing seeds that resemble those of mustard with strong penetrating odor in rainy and post rainy season. Seeds are oil producing and are used for making cattle cake. C. viscosa leaves and young shoots are used to cook like a vegetable, which is having sharp mustardâ€like flavor. Fatty oils of the seeds of C. viscosa contain major fatty acids, as methyl esters, of the oils mainly palmitic acid (10.2–13.4%), stearic acid (7.2–10.2%), oleic acid (16.9–27.1%) and linoleic acid (47.0–61.1%). Oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acids and nutrients, especially Vitamins A and C, minerals, calcium, iron and protein. Plant also contains free gallic acid, gallotannins,iridoid, saponins and terpinoid polyphenolic compounds, which are wellâ€known antioxidizing agents. Its oil is very similar in fatty acid composition to the nonedible oils of rubber, jatropha, soybean, safflower, linseed and rapeseed edible oils. Due to the presence of oils, plant can be used as a good source of green biodiesel. In the present review article, both pharmaceuticals and insecticidal properties of C. viscosa have been described in detail with special emphasis on its commercial use for production of non edible oil that can be used as biodiesel. Plant grows in tropical and subtropical climatic conditions.

Key words: Cleome viscosa, folk medicine, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, secondary metabolites