Cichorium intybus: A Potential Medicinal Plant

Cichorium intybus is an annual herbaceous herb and commonly known as chicory. It is a useful medicinal plant and in past it was utilized to cure diarrhea, fever, jaundice, gallstones, prostate, pulmonary disease, cough, cancer, liver complaints as well as mild digestive disorders¹.

Variety of potential substances are found to be reported in this plant, including derivatives of caffeic acid, insulin, proteins, phenolic, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenes, essential and volatile oils as well as vitamins^2,3 etc. These compounds carry several pharmacological characteristics such as hepatoprotective, gastroprotective, cardiac, anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-microbial, anti-protozoal as well as anti-inflammatory activity^1,3,4.

Moreover, few phytochemical compounds having antimicrobial activities are also present in roots of this plant⁵. Leaves of chicory plant also possess antioxidant (prevent against oxidative damage) and some phytochemical constitutes as well⁶.

Accordingly, scientists decided to conduct a new research to determine the phytochemical constituents (phenolic, flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins and saponins), antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the aqueous as well as methanol extracts of the dried aerial parts of C. intybus⁷.

At the end of this experiment, the methanol extract of C. intybus aerial parts exhibited to have more phytochemicals as compared to water extract. As, these phytochemicals are rich source of antioxidants; therefore, this fact explains the traditional medicinal uses of this plant. Conclusively, a scientific base can be established to utilize this precious plant for enhancement of healthcare protocols of local users.

REFERENCES

1. Al-Snafi, A.E., 2016. Medical importance of Cichorium intybus-a review. IOSR J. Pharm., 6: 41-56.
2. Shad, M.A., H. Nawaz, T. Rehman and N. Ikram, 2013. Determination of some biochemicals, phytochemicals and antioxidant properties of different parts of Cichorium intybus L.: A comparative study. J. Anim. Plant Sci., 23: 1060-1066.
3. Shaikh, T., A. Mujum, K. Wasimuzzama and R.A. Rub, 2010. An overview on phytochemical and pharmacological profile of Cichorium intybus Linn. Br. J. Pharmacol., 2: 298-307.
4. Mathur, N. and M. Mathur, 2016. Phyto-pharmacology of Cichorium intybus as hepatoprotective agent. Int. J. Pharm. Sci. Rev. Res., 39: 116-124.
5. Nandagopal, S. and B.D.R. Kumari, 2007. Phytochemical and antibacterial studies of Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.)-A multipurpose medicinal plant. Adv. Biol. Res., 1: 17-21.
6. Abbas, Z.K., S. Saggu, M.I. Sakeran, N. Zidan, H. Rehman and A.A. Ansari, 2015. Phytochemical, antioxidant and mineral composition of hydroalcoholic extract of chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) leaves. Saudi J. Biol. Sci., 22: 322-326.
7. Jasim, R.S., 2018. Antioxidant, antimicrobial activities and phytochemical constituents of Cichorium intybus L. aerial parts. Int. J. Bot., 14: 24-29.