Exploring the pharmacological and chemical aspects of pyrrolo-quinazoline derivatives in Adhatoda vasica

Adhatoda or Justicia is one of the biggest and complex genera of the Acanthaceae family. Adhatoda vasica is commonly known as ‘Adosa’. It is an ayurvedic medicine with a medicinal history of more than a thousand years in India. Traditionally, it is used to treat cough, asthma, phlegm, bleeding hemorrhoids, for both adults and youth. This plant possesses antiarthritis, antiseptic, antimicrobial, anti-tuberculosis, anti-inflammatory and abortifacient properties. Alkaloids are the major phytoconstituents present in the plant in the form of pyrrolo-quinazoline derivatives viz vasicine, vasicinone, vasicinol, adhatodine, adhatodinine, adhavasinone and anisotine etc. The asserted objectives are to conduct a systematic review on the phytochemistry, pharmacology and traditional uses of A. vasica, as well as highlighting the challenges found in the research. This will promote the utilization of A. vasica at extract level and further development of new drug leads based on the compounds isolated and used for treatment of various ailments. The present review covers the literature survey from 1888 to 2023. The relevant data has been collected from various peer-reviwed journals, and books via Sci-Finder, PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, EBSCO, online electronic journals, SpringerLink and Wiley. This paper aims to present a systematic review of known traditional applications, pharmacological and chemical aspects in Adhatoda vasica.