Flacourtia jangomas; A Comprehensive Review

Author

Deepthi Krishna M, Mr. Jayachandran TP, Dr. Jyoti Haridran, Arathy Sreenivasan, Aparana PV, Binny Binoy, Sanusha TV

Abstract

Flacourtia jangomas (Lour.) Raeusch., belonging to the family Salicaceae (formerly Flacourtiaceae) and commonly known as Indian coffee plum, is a versatile medicinal plant widely distributed across tropical Asia and Southeast Asia. Botanically, it is a dioecious, deciduous tree characterized by sharp woody thorns on young trunks, glossy ovate-lanceolate leaves, and edible dark purple-red globose berries. Ethnobotanically, various plant parts including leaves, stem bark, fruits, and roots have been traditionally employed in Ayurveda, Unani, and indigenous folk medicine to treat gastrointestinal disorders (diarrhoea and dysentery), respiratory conditions, skin diseases, jaundice, and inflammatory ailments. Phytochemical evaluations demonstrate that F. jangomas is rich in bioactive secondary metabolites, notably polyphenols, flavonoids (quercetin and rutin), hydrolysable tannins, limonoids (Jangomin), terpenoids, and ascorbic acid. Pharmacological investigations confirm its potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, and antidiabetic properties. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of the pharmacognostical, phytochemical, and therapeutic potential of F. jangomas, highlighting its significance for future bioactivity-guided drug discovery and clinical development.

Keywords

Flacourtia jangomas, Ethnobotany, Phytochemistry, Flavonoid, Anti-inflammatory, Pharmacognosy.

Full Text:

Download Paper PDF

References

1. Kirtikar KR, Basu BD. Indian Medicinal Plants. Vol. 1. 2nd ed. Allahabad: Lalit Mohan Basu; 1933. p. 222-224.
2. Sleumer HO. Flacourtiaceae. Flora Malesiana. 1954;5(1):1-106.
3. Rai A, Mishra T. Ethnomedicinal and therapeutic values of Flacourtia jangomas. J Indian Bot Soc. 2020;100(1&2):42-52.
4. Sasi S, Anjum N, Tripathi YC. Ethnomedicinal, phytochemical and pharmacological aspects of Flacourtia jangomas: A review. Int J Pharm Pharm Sci. 2018;10(3):9-15.
5. Srivastava D, Prabhu SK, Rao GP. Taxonomic and ethno-biological status of Flacourtia jungomas (Lour.) Raeus: An endemic nutraceutical plant of Eastern U.P. Med Plants Int J Phytomedicines Relat Ind. 2009;1(1):49-53.
6. Seal T. Determination of nutritive value, mineral contents and antioxidant activity of some wild edible plants from Meghalaya state, India. Asian J Biochem. 2011;6(2):140-151.
7. Singh A, Singh RG, Singh RH. Phytochemical screening and antioxidant potential of Flacourtia jangomas fruit extracts. Int J Phytomed. 2012;4(3):320-325.
8. Debnath P, Shill BR, Sarkar KK. Phytochemical profile and GC-MS analysis of Flacourtia jangomas fruit for therapeutic applications. Biodiversitas J Biol Divers. 2025;26(12):6140-6150.
9. Pai A, Shenoy KC. Physicochemical and phytochemical analysis of methanolic extract of leaves and fruits of Flacourtia jangomas (Lour.) Raeusch. Int J Pharm Sci Res. 2021;12(3):1671-1678.
10. Le THG, Nguyen NP, Nguyen VGH, Duong TH, Le TKD. Phytochemical investigation of Flacourtia jangomas stems. Ho Chi Minh City Univ Educ J Sci. 2026;23(7):1588-1594.
11. Singh AK, Singh J. Evaluation of anti-diabetic potential of leaves and stem of Flacourtia jangomas in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Indian J Pharmacol. 2010;42(5):301-305.
12. Parvin S, Kader A, Sarkar GC, Hosain SB. In-vitro studies of antibacterial and cytotoxic properties of Flacourtia jangomas. Int J Pharm Sci Res. 2011;2(11):2786-2790.
13. Barbhuiya RI, Nath D, Singh SK, Dwivedi M. Mass modeling of Indian coffee plum (Flacourtia jangomas) fruit with its physicochemical properties. Int J Fruit Sci. 2020;20(S2):S1110-S1133.