Phytochemical and Pharmacological Uses of Acacia Nilotica - A Review

The present review aims to provide up-to-date a summary of the phytochemical and pharmacological usage of Acacia nilotica tree. Acacia nilotica is an important multipurpose medicinal plant; it was used for the treatment of various diseases and is widely distributed throughout the tropical and sub-tropical regions. It belongs to a family: Fabaceae; genus: Acacia and spices: nilotica. The different parts of Acacia nilotica like roots, leaves, bark, gum, flowers and pods were recognized as a component of traditional medicine in different countries. Acacia nilotica is commonly known as ‘Algarad' in Sudan and have long been used for the treatment of some diseases from the time immemorial. An exhaustive survey of literature has revealed that the phytochemical of different extracts of acacia were evaluated for phenolic, flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, fatty acids, anthraquinones, saponins, steroids, triterpenoids protein and polysaccharides. The qualitative phytochemical studies of different part of plant extract showed that, the bark contains terpenoids, tannins, alkaloids, saponins, sterols and glycosides; leaves contain tannins, alkaloids, sterols, saponins, cardiac glycosides and flavonoids; roots contain saponins, flavonoids, terpenes, tannins, sterols, phenols, alkaloids, and anthraquinones; pods contain alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, carbohydrate, and sterol; Flowers showed presence of phenolic compound. The pharmacological studies reviewed many significant medicinal usages of the different parts extract of the Acacia Nilotica tree as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antidiarrhoeal, antihypertensive and antispasmodic, antibacterial, antifungal, antiplasmodial, analgesic, antipyretic, antiviral, antiplatelet aggregatory and anticancer activities. Through this review I am tried to explore the therapeutic potential of A. nilotica and thus may be a promising route for a new, safe, inexpensive, biodegradable and renewable source of natural drugs with high therapeutic index