DAROONAJ AQRABI - A review

Doronicum Hookeri of family Asteraceae is an important medicinal drug distributed in Himalayas at Lachen and Tungu, Sikkim, Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet between 12,000 to 14,000 ft. Its roots are widely used as folk medicine and are commonly known as “Darunaj-aqrabi” in Unani and as “Leopard’s bane” in English. Roots are traditionally used as a constituent of, act as a stomachic and dissolves trapped gases. Antibacterial and antifungal activities of D. hookeri roots have been previously reported. The methanolic extract of root part possessed higher phenolic content and thus higher free radical scavenging and reducing activities. The methanolic extract of this plant showed scavenging and antioxidant activities in DPPH (2,2- diphenyl-1-picryhydrazy) radical scavenging assay.