Kasni (cichorium Intybus L.) a Propitious Traditional Medicinal Herb

The Kasni, Cichorium intybus of family Asteraceae Class Magnoliopsida, which is also known as Chicory, is well known traditional herb included in many system of medicine like Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha system of medicine. The genus Cichorium has six species with majorly distributed in Europe and Asia. It is cultivated in countries such as the UK, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Germany, South Africa, USA and India. Kasni is a small aromatic biennial erect perennial herb around 1 m. in in height with a fleshy taproot up to 75 cm in length and mainly it contain alkaloids, inulin, sesquiterpene lactones, coumarins, vitamins, chlorophyll pigments, unsaturated sterols, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, carbohydrates, glycosides, fats, gums and minerals. Fresh chicory typically contains 68% inulin, 14% sucrose, 5% cellulose, 6% protein, 4% ash, and 3% other compounds, while dried chicory contains approximately 98% inulin and 2% other compounds. Kasni is used as antidiabetic, liver tonic, cardiotonic, diuretic, stomachic, cholagogue, depurative and emmenagogue etc.. The present article reviews the historical, phytochemical, pharmacological, therapeutic and toxicological aspects of Kasni well supported by the available literature based on animal and clinical studies. INTRODUCTION: Kasni commonly known as chicory (Cichorium intybus L.), belongs to family Asteraceae (Compositae) and widely distributed in Asia and Europe 1 . All parts of this plant have great medicinal importance due to the presence of a number of medicinally important compounds such as alkaloids, inulin, sesquiterpene lactones, coumarins, Vitamins, chlorophyll pigments, unsaturated sterols, flavonoids, saponins and tannins 2, 3, 4, 5 . QUICK RESPONSE CODE DOI: 10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.IJP.2(8).368-380 Article can be accessed online on: www.ijpjournal.com DOI link: http://dx.doi.org/10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.IJP.2(8).368-380 It has been reported that fresh chicory typically contains 68% inulin, 14% sucrose, 5% cellulose, 6% protein, 4% ash, and 3% other compounds, while dried chicory contains approximately 98% inulin and 2% other compounds 6 . Due to this, medicinal herb has been used in Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha system of medicine for disease of hepatobiliary system and renal system. C. intybus has been traditionally used for the treatment of fever, diarrhoea, jaundice and gallstones 7, 8 . The studies on rats have shown that C. intybus possesses antihepatotoxic and antidiabetic activities 9 . It has been also reported that C. intybus have antibacterial 3 , anti-inflammatory 10 , antihyperglycaemic and antiulcerogenic activities 11 . Additionally, it has been found to be a useful biomonitor of heavy metals such as Pb, Zn, Cu, and