Volume-2 ,Issue-5, May-2026

Helicteres isora L. (Avartani or Indian screw tree), a small tree or shrub of the family Malvaceae, is widely used in Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, and tribal/folk medicine across India, Nepal, Myanmar, and Thailand for the management of gastrointestinal, metabolic, infectious, and gynaecological disorders. Ethnopharmacological surveys document the use of its fruits, roots, bark, and seeds in decoctions, powders, and pastes to treat diarrhea, dysentery, abdominal colic, intestinal parasites, cough, postpartum weakness, and snakebite, reflecting its multi system ethnomedical significance. Phytochemical analyses reveal a rich profile of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, triterpenoids, phenolic acids, steroids, and diosgenin related compounds across various plant parts, which underlie reported antidiarrheal, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, anti inflammatory, and antiviral like activities in preclinical models. Acute and subacute toxicity studies in rodents indicate a relatively wide safety margin, with no mortality at 2000 mg/kg p.o., although chronic and mechanistic safety data remain limited. Despite robust traditional and preclinical evidence, no human clinical trials have been reported, underscoring key research gaps in clinical validation, pharmacokinetics, quality standardized formulations, and long term safety. These findings highlight the need for well designed clinical studies and standardized product development to translate H. isora into evidence based phyto therapeutics for metabolic, infectious, and inflammatory conditions.

Keyword: Helicteres isora, Avartani, ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, clinical evidence gap