Thevetia peruviana : अश्वाघना : the Good Luck tree

This paper studied Thevetia peruviana, of the family Apocynaecae a plant that is native of North America and Mexico, that has been used as an anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and an anti-oxidant. The paper has made an attempt in presenting a comprehensive review of the six decades of extensive research conducted on this plant; with respect to its medicinal significance. A comprehensive account of its chemical constituents and the pharmacological activities are presented in this paper, in view of the many recent findings of importance with regards to this plant. A wide range of secondary metabolites such as Enolides, Flavones; Thevetoside; Theveside; Glycosides; and Flavanones have been isolated from this plant, exhibiting diverse and extreme array of biological activities. Extracts from seeds, flowers, leaves, and bark of this plant, possess useful pharmacological activities. In conclusion, it is inferred that Thevetia peruviana is a well studied plant of medicinal value. It has scientifically proven to show anti-microbial activity from the oil of the plant that contains flavonoids; anti-inflammatory activity from the extracts of the flowers that contain quercetin, kaempferol and quercetin-7O-galactoside; strong immunomodulatory activity due to Kaempferol; β-sisterol present in the bark of the plant shows presence of anti-fungal and anti-bacterial activity and thevefolin isolated from seeds showed anti-cancer activity and cardiotonic activity.