Medicinal properties and uses of Aegle marmelos (Bel) plant: A review
Aliza Subedi, Binita Bashyal
Abstract
In almost all cultures, medicinal plants have been utilized as a source of medicine. Plants have been used to flavor and store food for thousands of years, as well as to heal health issues and prevent diseases, including epidemics. Among them, Bel is one of the plants that has a long history of usage in the treatment of a variety of disorders. The aim of this paper is to identify the medicinal properties and uses of this Bel. For this purpose, different publications published from 1979 to 2021 were assessed through online portals. A total of 73 articles were reviewed for this purpose. Bel has been proven to offer a useful role in ethnomedicine. Various parts of Bel like leaves, roots, stems, fruit, and bark are composed of different phytochemicals like alkaloids, cardiac glycosides, terpenoids, saponins, flavonoids, steroids, and tannins. They are used as medicine due to their medicinal properties, including anti-diarrhoeal, antidysentric, antipyretic, antimicrobial, wound healing, diuretic, antifertility, antioxidant, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, etc. In addition to being a medicinal plant that grows on hillsides, the worship of Lord Shiva requires the offering of Bel leaves as an obligatory ceremony in Hindu culture. Bel possesses a variety of characteristics that reflect the significance of a variety of attributes, whether religious or therapeutic. More studies need to be undertaken to detect and investigate the plant's unexplored properties and uses.
Keywords: Bhel, Aegle marmelos, medicinal properties, ethnomedicinal values
Aliza Subedi, Binita Bashyal
Abstract
In almost all cultures, medicinal plants have been utilized as a source of medicine. Plants have been used to flavor and store food for thousands of years, as well as to heal health issues and prevent diseases, including epidemics. Among them, Bel is one of the plants that has a long history of usage in the treatment of a variety of disorders. The aim of this paper is to identify the medicinal properties and uses of this Bel. For this purpose, different publications published from 1979 to 2021 were assessed through online portals. A total of 73 articles were reviewed for this purpose. Bel has been proven to offer a useful role in ethnomedicine. Various parts of Bel like leaves, roots, stems, fruit, and bark are composed of different phytochemicals like alkaloids, cardiac glycosides, terpenoids, saponins, flavonoids, steroids, and tannins. They are used as medicine due to their medicinal properties, including anti-diarrhoeal, antidysentric, antipyretic, antimicrobial, wound healing, diuretic, antifertility, antioxidant, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, etc. In addition to being a medicinal plant that grows on hillsides, the worship of Lord Shiva requires the offering of Bel leaves as an obligatory ceremony in Hindu culture. Bel possesses a variety of characteristics that reflect the significance of a variety of attributes, whether religious or therapeutic. More studies need to be undertaken to detect and investigate the plant's unexplored properties and uses.
Keywords: Bhel, Aegle marmelos, medicinal properties, ethnomedicinal values
