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ABSTRACT:
The contemporary appraisal expanses an illumination on the extraction, screening, chemical synthesis, purity assessment, quantification, molecular and biological aspects, and pharmacokinetic studies of Scopoletin isolated from the fruit of Mengkudu (Morinda citrifolia-Rubiaceae), an edible and medicinal tropic plant. A comprehensive assortment of phytoconstituents principally alkaloids, coumarin, flavonoids, terpenoids, phenolics, vitamins, minerals, and many supplementary compounds whose activities have been proved are in existence in the Mengkudu fruit extract. This fruit has been used in traditional medicines to preclude, treat, and alleviate both communicable and noncommunicable ailments. Thus this review overlays boulevard for scopoletin extracted from fruit of Mengkudu to provide a direction for further exploration.
KEYWORDS: Mengkudu, Noni, Rubiaceae, Scopoletin, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Nutraceutics.
INTRODUCTION:
"To take medicine only when you are sick is like digging a well only when you are thirsty - is it not already too late?" (Chi Po, c 2500 BC). This proverb suggests that prevention is more important than treatment [', 2]. Plants have always been usable sources of drugs, and many currently available drugs are directly or indirectly derived from plants. Many of the oral agents that are presently in use for the treatment of "life style diseases" suffer from implication in a number of serious and adverse effects [3]. Therefore, it is important to investigate the biologically active components of plants with hypoglycemic actions which include flavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides, polysaccharides, and peptidoglycan [4, 5].
The "functional food" industry has produced and marketed foods enriched with bioactive compounds, but there are no universally accepted criteria for judging efficacy of the compounds or enriched foods. The lack of understanding on bioactive compounds and their health benefits should not serve to reduce research interest but should instead encourage plant and nutritional scientists to work together to develop strategies for improvement of health through food [6].
An edible and medicinal tropic plant-Morinda citrifolia L (Noni)
The ancestors of Polynesians are believed to have brought many plants with them, as food and medicine, when they migrated from Southeast Asia 2000 years ago[7]. Of the 12 most common medicinal plants they brought, Noni was the second most popular plant used in herbal remedies to treat various common diseases and to maintain overall good health[8]. It bears botanical name Morinda citrifolia possesses several chemical...