Chemical Constituents and Biological Activities of Promising Aromatic Plant Nagarmotha (Cyperus scariosus R.Br.): A Review

Cyperus scariosus R.Br. (Nagarmotha) is pestiferous perennial, delicate slender sedge found wildly in various parts of the country, especially in damp or marshy areas and collected wildly for extraction of its essential oil using steam distillation. The rhizomes of C. scariosus possess pleasant aromatic odour, the essential oil is used as anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-fungal agent and it is also used as one of the ingredients in several formulations for the Ayurvedic systems of medicine. Phytochemical studies have shown that the major chemical components of this herb are polyphenol, flavonol, glycoside, alkaloid, saponins, sesquiterpenoids and essential oil. Rhizome of the plant is used in fever, arthritis, diuretic, nervine tonic, treatment of diarrhea and dysentery, leprosy, bronchitis, amenorrhea and blood disorders. The fruits of the plant are used as carminative, diuretic tonic and have stomachic. The details of plant and its essential oil, chemical constituents and biological activities have been described in this review.