Eureka Mondal and Kaushik Chakraborty
Abstract
Thorn apples or Datura (Datura sp.) is a widely distributed well-known sacred plant in India. Not only in India, the greatest diversity of species occurs in different parts of Asia, Central America and Mexico. Datura has various regional names with different meanings. They are woody, bushy, herbaceous annuals and short-lived perennials species. It is a natural product which has much to offer in solving global agricultural, environmental and public health problems from time immemorial. Mainly the leaves, fruits and seeds of this plant are used. They are mostly used in the powdery or in the extract form. They are high in different minerals, antioxidants, vitamins and proteins. Not only that both primary and secondary metabolites are present in this plant. The phytochemical screening revealed that it contains phenols, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, alkaloids, steroids and glycosides etc. It is a wild plant with a variety of medical and pharmacological qualities. It is used in traditional herbal medicine in tropics. Datura based pesticides play a vital role in pest management and hence have been widely used in agriculture. It acts in many ways like insect growth regulator, feeding deterrent, oviposition deterrent etc. Actually, it is meant to serve as an ecofriendly and sustainable-agriculture initiative. Actually, the present review corroborates a detailed analysis on the multi-dimensional role of this plant with many of their phytochemicals.