Description
Climbing Flax (Hugonia mystax) is a climbing shrub attaching itself to supports by means of tendrils. The plant is harvested from the wild for local medicinal use. The plant Hugonia mystax is a woody evergreen liana distributed throughout India in the dry tropical forest it is also known as Modirakanni and Kamsamaraha. Mostly found in south Indian forest i.e. Kerala and Tamilnadu. The present study brings details of the pharmacognostic profile and phytochemical details of Hugonia mystax. It is an unexplored medicinal plant in the Indian medicinal system. According to ethnobotanical information, the root powder of H. mystax is used as the best antidote for snake or viper bite, anthelmintic, febrifuge, astringent and for the treatment of fever, verminous, peptic ulcers, intestinal worms. H. mystax consists of different phytochemical constituents like steroids, terpenoids, flavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides, phenols, tannins, saponins, and carbohydrates.