Chenopodium album L. Scientific Name: Chenopodium album L. Synonyms: Chenopodium album var. album , Chenopodium album var. lanceolatum , Chenopodium album var. missouriense , Chenopodium album var. polymorphum , Chenopodium album var. stevensii , Chenopodium amaranticolor , Chenopodium giganteum , Chenopodium lanceolatum , Chenopodium suecicum Family: Chenopodiaceae Genus: Chenopodium Species: album Common Name: Lamb’s-quarters, Wild Spinach, Fat Hen, Pigweed, Goosefoot, Cheelbhaji. Parts Used: Leaf, seed, whole plant Plant Description: C. album is herbaceous vegetable plant locally known as Bathu. It is 0.3–3m high erect or ascending mealy or green and reddish, inodorous, stem often stripped. Leaves are very variable in size and shape reaching in cultivated plants sometimes 15 cm long, oblong, rhombic, deltoid or lanceolate, obtuse or acute, entire, toothed or irregularly lobulated, petioles long slender. Embryo is annular. Chemical Constituents: Plant contains essential oil; carotene and Vitamin C. Leave are rich in an essential oil and mineral matters. Particularly in potash salts; a considerable amount of albuminoids and other compounds of nitrogen. The main chemicals found in Chenopodium album includes alpha-pinene, aritasone, ascaridole, butyric-acid, d-camphor, essential oils, ferulic-acid, geraniol, l-pinocarvone, limonene, malic-acid, menthadiene, menthadienehydroperoxides, methyl-salicylate, myrcene, p-cymene, p-cymol, safrole, saponins, spinasterol, tartaric-acid, terpinene, terpinyl-acetate, terpinyl-salicylate, triacontyl-alcohol, trimethylamine, urease, and vanillic-acid. Isolated chemical constituents of Chenopodium album L. α-pinene ascaridole p-cymene Butyric acid 147 d-camphor Ferulic acid Geraniol l-pinocarvone Limonene Malic acid Menthadiene Methyl salicylate Myrcene Safrole Spinasterol 148 Tartaric acid Terpinene Trimethylamine Vanillic acid Actions of Herb: Laxative, anthelmintic, diuretic, febrifuge, emollient, anti-rheumatic, antiscorbutic, diaphoretic, carminative, stomachic, tonic, appetizer, digestive, amebicide, anti- bacterial, anti-cancerous, anti-malarial, anti-parasitic, anti-tumorous, ascaricide (kills Ascaris parasitic worms), insecticidal, molluscicidal (kills snails), vermifuge (expels worms) Medicinal Uses: Plant is used in hepatic disorder and enlarged spleen. It is also used emollient for throat and chest, nutritive and thirst quenching. The plant is much esteemed as a pot-herb in piles. Leaves are taken in the form of infusion or decoction, as a laxative and anthelmintic. Seeds are considered as effective against jaundice, dropsy, dysuria and micturition. Decoction of seeds is regarded as advantageous in expelling dead fetus. The oil of seeds is regarded as anthelmintic for hookworms, round worms and intestinal amoeba in veterinary medicines. To get rid of excess bilious malhumour, with seeds, salt, hot water and honey are administered to cause vomiting. Paste of seeds is useful for removing unwanted marks remain on the skin due to various causes. Paste of leaves is also regarded as effective in resolving inflammations of warm origin, itching, scabies, and pruritis. Dosage: Seeds 5-7 g. (approximately), Decoction: 1/2 cup once daily. For intestinal parasites: one-half cup of a leaf decoction once daily on an empty stomach for three days. A decoction of the leaves is employed (in ½ cup dosages) for menstrual, respiratory, and digestive problems on an as-needed basis. Compound Preparations: Arq-e-Ahmar, Sherbet Kasni, Arq-e-Yarqan Side Effects & Toxicity: Excess consumption may lead to gastric pain and disorders of nervous system. Contraindications: Pregnancy and lactation. Patients with cardiovascular diseases or pulmonary diseases such as symptomatic asthma, and/or who are receiving cardiovascular drugs such as beta blockers, may be at higher risk for severe adverse reactions. Physico-chemical screening of C. album Solvent extractive values in different organic solvent, ash value, stomatal number, stomatal index, veinislet number, veinlet termination number and palisade ratio of C. album leaves were determined. 149 Table: Successive solvent extraction of leaves of C. album L. Sikarwar I, Wanjari M, Baghel SS, Vashishtha P.A Review on Phytopharmacological Studies on Chenopodium album L. Indo American Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 2013. 3(4): 3089-3098. Table: Evaluation of C. album L. leaves Sikarwar I, Wanjari M, Baghel SS, Vashishtha P.A Review on Phytopharmacological Studies on Chenopodium album L. Indo American Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 2013. 3(4): 3089-3098. Phytochemical Screening C. album shows the presence of saponin, tannin, lignin, protein, carbohydrates, suberin, glucoside, flavin, and traces amount of oil and absence of alkaloids and sugars in color reaction tests. 150 Table: Phytochemical tests of C. album Sikarwar I, Wanjari M, Baghel SS, Vashishtha P.A Review on Phytopharmacological Studies on Chenopodium album L. Indo American Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 2013. 3(4): 3089-3098 . Powder Microscopic Examination of C. album Transverse section of C. album revealed straight walled polygonal collenchyma and yellow coloured bean shaped mass with mesh like striations. Multi-cellular covering type of trichomewas observed with bunch of parenchymatous polygonal cells. A single piece of xylem and phloem with centrally located cambium layers were seen clearly . Pande M, Pathak A. Preliminary Pharmacognostic Evaluations and Phytochemical Studies on Leaf of Chenopodium album (Bathua Sag). Asian J. Exp. Biol. Sci. 2010; 1 (1): 91-95. 151 Straight-walled polygonal parenchyma yellow colored mass of cells Multi-cellular covering trichome Parenchymatous polygonal cells Xylem, Phloem & Cambium Figure: Powder Microscopy of C. album Linn. Pande M, Pathak A. Preliminary Pharmacognostic Evaluations and Phytochemical Studies on Leaf of Chenopodium album (Bathua Sag). Asian J. Exp. Biol. Sci. 2010; 1 (1): 91-95. Transverse section study of C. album In TS of leaves of C. album L. circular arch of xylem was observed covered with phloem. Thick walled parenchymatous cells were observed in upper epidermis but in lower epidermis replaced by thin walled collenchyma. The multi-cellular covering trichome was also observed on horizontal layer of parenchyma. 152 Pande M, Pathak A. Preliminary Pharmacognostic Evaluations and Phytochemical Studies on Leaf of Chenopodium album (Bathua Sag). Asian J. Exp. Biol. Sci. 2010; 1 (1): 91-95. Anti-cancer Activity Ethanolic and aqueous extract of the leaves of C. album showed positive results with successful control of cell’s growth. The cells were seeded with both the extracts and then allowed to grow for 24 hours, the cell growth was inhibited and apoptotic bodies were formed within 24 hours. Hepatoprotective Activity Hepatoprotective activity of C. album L. Alcoholic and aqueous extracts was carried out using Paracetamol and alcohol as hepatotoxin and by histopathology. The alcoholic and aqueous extracts of C. album significantly restore physiological integrity of hepatocytes. Alcoholic Extract of C. album L. Aqueous extract of C. album L. Nigam V, Paarakh PM.Hepatoprotective Activity of Chenopodium album L. Against Alcohol Induced Liver Damage. International Journal of Phytomedicine. 2011;3: 511-523 Spasmolytic and Analgesic activity The plant was extracted in ethanol and fractionated in ethyl acetate, chloroform, n-butanol and water. The crude extract and its fractions were tested in vitro on intestinal smooth muscles of rabbit. The crude extract exhibited a dose-dependent increase in relaxation of smooth muscles. Overall, the activity produced by n-butanol fraction was found to be highly significant. Analgesic effect of the crude extract was carried out by tail flick method in mice. 153 Anti-bacterial activity Anti-bacterial activity of C. album L. was evaluated against five human pathogenic bacteria viz. E. coli , S. typhimurium , S. aureus , P. vulgaris and P. aeruginosa . The aqueous extract revealed strongest anti-bacterial activity on S. aureus and methanolic leaf extract showed strongest anti- bacterial activity on P. aeruginosa . Anti-inflammatory activity The essential oil extracted from C. album exhibited potent anti-inflammatory activity against 12- O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate induced ear edema in mice. Anti-oxidant activity The anti-oxidant activity of different C. album extracts were evaluated against ascorbic acid as % inhibition of ABTS free radicals. ABTS radical is a blue chromophore produced by the reaction between ABTS and potassium per sulfate. The anti-oxidant activity (IC 50 value) determined by ABTS assay is shown in table below. Table: ABTS assay of different extracts of C. album Pandey S, Gupta RK.Screening of nutritional, phytochemical, antioxidant and antibacterial activity of Chenopodium album (Bathua). Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2014; 3 (3): 1-9. In FRAP assay, reduction of the ferric tripyridyltriazine to the ferrous complex gives an intense blue color at a wavelength of 593 nm. The intensity of the color is related to the amount of anti- oxidant reductants in the samples. FRAP activity is tabulated below. Table: FRAP assay of different extracts of C. album Pandey S, Gupta RK.Screening of nutritional, phytochemical, antioxidant and antibacterial activity of Chenopodium album (Bathua).Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2014; 3 (3): 1-9. GC/MS Analysis of C. album L. The list of compounds present in petroleum ether and mixed solvents extracts of C. album L. were identified with