A Review on Vitex negundo L. – A Medicinally Important Plant

Vitex negundo L. (Verbenaceae) is a hardy plant, flourishing mainly in the Indian subcontinent. All parts of the plant, from root to fruit, possess a multitude of phytochemical secondary metabolites which impart an unprecedented variety of medicinal uses to the plant. It is interesting to note that a single plant species finds use for treatment of a wide spectrum of health disorders in traditional and folk medicine; some of which have been experimentally validated. The plant is a component of a number of commercially available herbal formulations and has also shown potential as an effective bio-control agent. Employment of techniques such as cell and tissue culture would provide means of rapid propagation and conservation of the plant species and, from the point of view of phytochemistry, give scope for enhancement of the quality and quantity of the bioactive secondary metabolites occurring in the plant.