A narrative review on genotoxic potential of medicinal plants used in Ayurveda

Genotoxic substances are those which are capable to induce a destructive effect on a cell’s genetic material. It can be either carcinogen, mutagen, teratogen or cytotoxic depending upon the dose, duration and mode of usage. Mutations may manifest in many forms as duplication, deletion or insertion.  However, all mutagens are genotoxic, not all genotoxins induce mutations. Currently traditional medicines and plant drugs are used across the globe without strict medical supervision. In a country like India, folklore medicines play a pivot role in health sector. Irrational long-term usage of any plant-based drug are capable to induce adverse reactions. Till date there is no single hand information about the genotoxic effects of medicinal plants used in Ayurveda. Many of the drugs reported for toxicity are potent drug candidates in Ayurveda. From the available literature 184 articles reported the genotoxicity of medicinal plants. After shortlisting with the inclusion and exclusion criteria’s 57 articles are found to be on genotoxic potential of medicinal plants. Present review reports genotoxic effect of 32 drugs used either as single or combination. It contains various array of drugs, for example poisonous drugs like Arka, Dhattura, Mandookaparni – which is a medhya rasayana, Guduchi – which is a potent immunomodulator and so on. Among them a few drugs like Palandu, Tanduleeyaka, Misreya, Chandrasoora, Sariba, Manjishta, Dadima, Guduchi etc. need special attention. This article tries to provide an insight on the reported genotoxic effect of plants used in Ayurveda.