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J Food Sci Technol (July 2016) 53(7):28952901 DOI 10.1007/s13197-016-2292-y
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Coleus aromaticus: a therapeutic herb with multiple potentials
Dadasaheb D. Wadikar1 Prakash E. Patki1
Revised: 19 November 2013 / Accepted: 26 November 2013 / Published online: 9 September 2016 Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2016
Abstract The herb Coleus aromaticus belonging to Lamiaceae family and Coleus genus is known by numerous names in different parts of the world and several language specic vernacular names. The herb has been extensively studied as well as reported in several elds of science. The multiple potential of the herb includes allelopathic potential, antibacterial property, antimicrobial activity, insecticidal property; free radical scavenging and radio-protective components from herb extracts and most recently the appetizing potential of the herb have been reported. The herb has carvacrol and thymol as the major components responsible for the avour; while chlorogenic acid, rosmarinic acid etc. as the phenolic components. The herb has been used in therapeutic and medicinal applications as well as in culinary preparations.
Keywords Coleus aromaticus Therapeutic herb
Antioxidant activity Antimicrobial activity Appetising
effect
Introduction
The use of medicinal plants as culinary adjuncts for treating or as a precautionary measure is an ancient practice as the great scholar Hippocrates said Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy foods. The herb Coleus aromaticus (CA) has got multiple potentials and is used for
variety of reasons in different pockets of the world. The herb Coleus aromaticus/amboinicus belong to the botanical family Lamiaceae (Labiatae) and Coleus (now referred as Plectranthus) genus. It is a large succulent aromatic perennial herb with approximately 3090 cm in height and with thick eshy stem and leaves. Much branched, eshy highly aromatic pubescent herb with distinctive smelling leaves. The plant is distributed through out India, cultivated in the gardens. It is a folkloric medicinal plant used to treat malarial fever, hepatopathy, renal and vesical calculi, cough, chronic asthma, hiccough, bronchitis, helminthiasis, colic, convulsions, and epilepsy (Kirtikar and Basu 1975; Chopra et al. 1956; Nadkarni 1996; Warrier 1994). The various names of the herb have been summarized in Table 1. The leaves of CA are used in many places around the world to add a punch to their dishes. Several...